The historiography of the Holocaust /

The rise of the functionalist school in Holocaust historiography is the major theme that emerges from this volume of papers. The proponents of this school argue that the Hitler/Nazi/German intention and order to murder Jews appeared later rather than sooner. This viewpoint originated in Germany, but the studies in this volume show that by now it has also made significant inroads among UK and US scholars. Even the moderate and compromising Christopher Browning has by and large moved into the functionalist rubric. This major contribution sums up much of the historical literature that to date has appeared in English and German. Holocaust literature written in Eastern European languages is spottily, if at all, examined. The volume consists of 24 essays and the editor's introduction, and the essays are well footnoted. As always in compendia of this nature, the contributions are not of equal quality. Nevertheless, the volume will be a boon to Holocaust studies in the US. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. All college libraries; upper-division undergraduates and above. A. Ezergailis Ithaca College