Synopses & Reviews
Destined to become the standard reference work on one of the
most hotly contested issues of World War II
Could the Allies have destroyed the gas chambers of Auschwitz-Birkenau in
1944, saving the lives of tens of thousands of Holocaust victims? Could the
Allied forces have cut the railway lines leading to Auschwitz, disrupting
the transportation of the Hungarian Jews to their deaths? Or are these
questions just speculative exercises in "what if" history, reflecting mostly
our concerns, not those of 1944? For years these questions have been debated
heatedly by historians, ethicists and military experts (though seldom in the
same forum).
Inspired by a conference held to mark the opening of the United States
Holocaust Memorial Museum, The Bombing of Auschwitz: Should the Allies
Have Attempted It? brings together the key contributions to this debate,
with new and original articles by eminent historians of World War II and the
Holocaust, and a selection of the most important documents and aerial
reconnaissance photos from 1944.
Among the issues discussed are:
· How much knowledge of Auschwitz did Allied intelligence agencies have?
· What British and American aircraft might have been used to carry out
attacks
against the gas chambers and rail lines, and when would they have come
within range?
· Would bombing missions have had a reasonable chance of success?
· Would even a successful mission have been a diversion of military forces
at a
crucial juncture of the war?
· What about our Soviet ally?
· Why were the appeals of Jewish groups rejected in 1944?
Published in association with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum,
and jointly edited by an aerospace historian and an historian of the
Holocaust, this book provides a balanced and comprehensive guide to these
and other questions, allowing readers to draw their own conclusions.
Stimulating and easy to read, this book will become an invaluable reference
source for general readers, scholars, and students alike.
Review
"An absorbing collection." Booklist
Review
"The definitive resource for understanding this deeply troubling episode in the 20th century's greatest horror." Kirkus Reviews
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 327-329) and index.
About the Author
Michael J. Neufeld is a curator and historian at the National Air
and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.
Michael Berenbaum Michael Berenbaum is a consultant for and former President
and CEO of the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation and is
Professor of Theology