The Jewish Emergence from Powerlessness

Description

The theme of this book is the gradual emergence of the Jewish people from total political powerlessness - a development stretching over nearly 100 years and culminating in the consolidation of the State of Israel. Ironically, as Professor Bauer demonstrates, events during this period stemmed in part from a belief in the 'power' of the international Jewish community that never existed - but that motivated both the Germans and, after the war, the British. There are three parts to the book. The first deals with a series of lost opportunities to secure the safety of European Jews from Nazi genocide. The second describes the little-known extent of resistance, both armed and unarmed, among Jews in Europe during the second world war. The third covers the events leading to the creation of the State of Israel, including the relatively unrecognized influence of the survivors of the Holocaust. Professor Emil Fackenheim has written the foreword. This is a brief but absorbing study by one of the world's great experts on the Holocaust, who has drawn on a huge body of material to depict one of the unforgettable events in recent history from an arresting and unfamiliar viewpoint.