In examining one of the defining events of the 20th century, Doris Bergen situates the Holocaust in its historical, political, social, cultural, and military contexts. Unlike many other treatments of the Holocaust, this revised, second edition discusses not only the persecution of the Jews, but also other segments of society victimized by the Nazis: Gypsies, homosexuals, Poles, Soviet POWs, the handicapped, and other groups deemed undesirable. With clear and eloquent prose, Bergen explores the two interconnected goals that drove the Nazi German program of conquest and genocide—purification of the so-called Aryan race and expansion of its living space—and discusses how these goals affected the course of World War II. Including firsthand accounts from perpetrators, victims, and eyewitnesses, the book is immediate, human, and eminently readable.

New to the Second Edition:
--Enhanced illustrations program with new photographs and expanded captions
--More personal accounts from members of specific groups targeted for destruction in Nazi Germany and German-occupied Europe
--Incorporation of new scholarship on key points, such as the work of Raffael Scheck on the German killing of thousands of French African soldiers in 1940
--Updated bibliography at the end of the text