European Mennonites and the Holocaust /
Mennonites in the Netherlands, Germany, Poland and Ukraine lived in communities with Jews and close to various Nazi camps and Holocaust killing sites. As a result of this proximity, Mennonites were neighbors to and witnessed the destruction of European Jews. In some cases they were beneficiaries or...
| Other Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Toronto ; Buffalo :
University of Toronto Press : Published in association with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum,
[2020]
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| Series: | Transnational Mennonite studies.
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| Subjects: |
| Summary: | Mennonites in the Netherlands, Germany, Poland and Ukraine lived in communities with Jews and close to various Nazi camps and Holocaust killing sites. As a result of this proximity, Mennonites were neighbors to and witnessed the destruction of European Jews. In some cases they were beneficiaries or even enablers of the Holocaust. Much of this history was forgotten after the war, as Mennonites sought to rebuild or find new homes as refugees. The result was a myth of Mennonite innocence and ignorance that connected their own suffering during the 1930s and 1940s with earlier centuries of persecution and marginalization. European Mennonites and the Holocaust identifies a significant number of Mennonite perpetrators, along with a smaller number of Mennonites who helped Jews survive, examining the context in which they acted. In some cases, theology led them to accept or reject Nazi ideals. In others, Mennonites chose a closer embrace of German identity as a strategy to improve their standing with Germans or for material benefit. |
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| Physical Description: | xiii, 337 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 1487525540 9781487525545 148750795X 9781487507954 |