A RUSA Outstanding Reference Source 2025
From genocidal campaigns to careful neutrality to valiant lifesaving efforts, every country's experience of the Holocaust was different during and immediately following World War II. This book profiles 50 nations and territories from around the globe, examining how prewar conditions and attitudes toward Jews influenced the trajectory of that place's wartime experience and its role in the Holocaust. It also explores the aftermath and lasting impact of the Holocaust in these places. Each profile begins with a collection of at-a-glance facts about population, government leaders, wartime status, and more. All profiles begin with a brief introduction, followed by information about the Jewish population in that place, the prewar environment, wartime experiences, and the aftermath of the Holocaust. This standardized format makes it easy for readers to find specific information while also helping them place events within the proper historical context. A curated selection of further readings at the end of each profile and an end-of-volume list of books and Internet resources point readers toward materials for additional study.
While often conceptualized as a single event that happened the same way across all Axis or Axis-occupied countries, the Holocaust and reactions to it varied widely from country to country. In many cases, political and economic conditions in the prewar years, as well as the degree of anti-Semitism in a nation, influenced that country's experience of the Holocaust. Even after the war, countries experienced the aftermath of the Holocaust in different ways. Some places, such as Palestine, became a beacon for Jewish refugees, while others, such as Brazil, became a hideout for Nazi war criminals.
Bartrop, Paul R.: -
Paul R. Bartrop is Professor Emeritus at Florida Gulf Coast University, USA. He is the author and co-author of several books, including Resisting the Holocaust: Upstanders, Partisans, and Survivors (2016), Encountering Genocide: Personal Accounts from Victims, Perpetrators, and Witnesses (2014) and Genocide: The Basics (2014). He is also the co-editor, with Michael Dickerman, of the award-winning four-volume The Holocaust: An Encyclopedia and Document Collection (2017) and Resisting the Holocaust: Upstanders, Partisans, and Survivors (2016).
Professor Bartrop is a Past President of the Australian Association of Jewish Studies and in 2022 was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in the United Kingdom.
Grimm, Eve E.: - Eve E. Grimm was formerly a Senior Advisor to the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Research at Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, Florida, USA. A lawyer with advanced qualifications in law, after a working life in government service as a senior attorney she has written about the German legal profession during the Nazi period and the Holocaust. Having formerly taught in the School of Law at Monash University, Melbourne, she was one of the legal team that provided comment on the State of Victoria's racial vilification legislation and was for many years a member of the B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation Commission in Australia, during which she prepared numerous briefs relating to antisemitism. Her published work has appeared in the journal Without Prejudice, and she was a key contributor to The Holocaust: An Encyclopedia and Document Collection (2017). In 2022 she co-authored (with Paul R. Bartrop) The Holocaust: The Essential Reference Guide, joining two other books co-authored with Paul Bartrop in 2019: Perpetrating the Holocaust: Leaders, Enablers, and Collaborators and Children of the Holocaust.
