Hermann Beck - Online Book Talk

About this episode

Hermann Beck discusses his award-winning book on antisemitic violence during the Nazi takeover in Germany.

Before the Holocaust: Antisemitic Violence and the Reaction of German Elites and Institutions during the Nazi TakeoverSpeaker: Hermann BeckHermann Beck has just been announced winner of the Yad Vashem Book Prize 2024 for his book Before the Holocaust: Antisemitic Violence and the Reaction of German Elites and Institutions during the Nazi Takeover.Historians have traditionally argued that antisemitic violence in Nazi Germany rose gradually, from low levels during the first years of Hitler's rule to a high point in the Reich-wide pogrom of November 1938. Before the Holocaust, based on research in more than twenty German archives, demonstrates that this long-held assumption is wrong. During the months-long Nazi takeover of power, beginning a mere five weeks after Hitler became Chancellor, waves of antisemitic violence engulfed large parts of Germany. Before the Holocaust examines the multitude of these hitherto unrecognized antisemitic attacks in the late winter and spring of 1933, as well as the reaction of German elites and institutions to this violence. Individual protests against violent attacks were already hazardous in March and April 1933, but established German elites were…

People in this episode

Guest: Hermann Beck

Topics covered

• Holocaust
• antisemitic violence
• Nazi Germany
• German elites
• historical research
• Yad Vashem Book Prize

Keywords

• antisemitism
• Nazi takeover
• German history
• violence
• Kristallnacht
• Yad Vashem
• historical archives

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Yad Vashem

Books & works: Before the Holocaust: Antisemitic Violence and the Reaction of German Elites and Institutions during the Nazi Takeover

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