War and Genocide: A Concise History of the Holocaust

War and Genocide: A Concise History of the Holocaust (2002) was written by Doris L. Bergen, a professor of Holocaust studies at the University of Toronto. This nonfiction text presents the history of World War II in chronological order, beginning with the social conditions that predated the event and concluding with the immediate fallout. Bergen’s scholarship focuses on the human element of the war and the Holocaust. War and Genocide details the experiences of the Holocaust’s individual victims and its perpetrators as well as the international conflicts that took place.

Content warning: This book includes graphic descriptions of mass violence. Extreme forms of antisemitism, racism, ableism, anti-gay bias, and other forms of prejudice are discussed at length.

Plot Summary

The first chapter, “Preconditions: Antisemitism, Racism, and Common Prejudices in Early-Twentieth-Century Europe,” concerns itself with German culture and politics in the wake of World War I, then known as the Great War. Postwar Germany suffered from a climate of suspicion and distrust. Germany fought on the losing side of the conflict, and even the victorious nations faced economic instability. Eugenics was also becoming popular across the European and North American scientific communities. This created a hostile landscape for members of minoritized groups. Jews, Roma, Slavs, the gay community, communists, the physically and mentally disabled, Black Germans, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Freemasons were all persecuted under the impending Nazi regime.

Chapter 2, “Leadership and Will: Adolf Hitler, the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, and Nazi Ideology,” details Adolf Hitler’s early life and rise to power. Bergen characterizes the young Hitler as fairly unremarkable. However, he had grandiose ambitions and deep-seated antisemitic values. He rose to prominence in the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP, called the Nazi Party by English speakers) and organized a coup against the Bavarian government. Though the coup failed, his actions earned him credibility. In 1933, he was named chancellor of Germany.

Chapter 3, “From Revolution to Routine: Nazi Germany 1933-1938,” details the early years of Hitler’s regime. He gradually tightened his grip on Germany, cracking down on political dissent and ordering violence against communists, the handicapped, LGBT people, Jews, and Roma people. During this period, the first concentration camp was established at Dachau. Hitler also initiated Operation Hummingbird, a political purge in which Hitler ordered the execution of hundreds of party members and allies to consolidate power. Hitler declared himself the führer of Germany and began preparing for war.

Chapter 4, “Open Aggression: In Search of War, 1938-1939,” sees the beginnings of Germany’s bid for world domination. Hitler established treaties with world leaders like Josef Stalin and Pope Pius XII and had his troops invade and conquer Eastern European nations like Austria and Poland. Meanwhile, brutality against Jews and other minoritized groups increased in severity, and the concentration camp system began expanding.

Chapter 5, “Experiments in Brutality, 1939-1940: War Against Poland and the So-Called Euthanasia Program,” surveys Nazi German efforts in conquest, war, and genocide. Through a combination of barbarity and subterfuge, German forces terrorized Polish Jews and gentiles. In Germany, Nazi policy began to order the euthanasia of disabled adults via asphyxiation in gas chambers.

Chapter 6, “Expansion and Systematization: Exporting War and Terror, 1940-1941,” details the rapid acceleration of mass death and war perpetrated by the Nazi German government. In this two-year period, Germany invaded and conquered Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium, and part of France. Germany also broke its treaty with the Soviet Union and attacked several of its nations. The French, British, and Soviet governments all declared war on Germany. The German government began developing strategies to exterminate Jews from Europe.

Chapter 7, “The Peak Years of Killing: 1942 and 1943,” describes the extremity of the genocide perpetrated against Jews and Roma across Europe. This chapter also describes the various resistance efforts by Europeans living under Nazi rule. Germany’s capitulation to Soviet forces in the Battle of Stalingrad marked a turning point in the war. By 1943, Germany’s resources were dwindling, and its forces were losing footing against the Allies.

Chapter 8, “Death Throes and Killing Frenzies, 1944-1945,” details the final stages of World War II and the Holocaust. In the final days of the war, Nazi leadership broke down, and many of its highest officials committed suicide, including Hitler. Even when failure was imminent, the Nazis continued and even accelerated their genocidal efforts whenever possible. On May 8, 1945, the German government surrendered to the Allies.