Representing 20 years of research and reflection, Leni Yahil’s book is astonishingly comprehensive. Yahil weaves a gripping chronological narrative that stretches from the Norwegian fjords to the Greek islands, from Amsterdam to Tehran - and even Shanghai. She systematically explores the evolution of the Holocaust in German-occupied Europe, probing its politics, planning, goals, and key figures. Along the way, she destroys persistent myths about the Holocaust: that Hitler had no plan for exterminating the Jews, that the Jews themselves went peacefully to the slaughter. Though Yahil finds that Nazi policies were often inconsistent, particularly during the years before the war, she conclusively demonstrates that Hitler was always working toward a final reckoning with world Jewry, envisioning his war as a war against the Jews. This book also recounts the numerous uprisings and acts of resistance in ghettos and concentration camps, as well as the activities of Jewish partisan units. Yahil describes the work of Jews in America, Palestine, and world organizations on behalf of Hitler's victims - often in the face of resistance by the allied governments and neutral states - and explores the factors that affected the success of rescue efforts. The Holocaust is a monumental work of history, unsurpassed in scope and insightful in detail. Objective yet compassionate, Leni Yahil brings together the countless diverse strands of this epic event in a single gripping account. -- Adapted from the book jacket.

Part I.The Jews of Germany during the rise and under the rule of the national socialists, 1932-September 1939. 1932: the year of decision -- Hitler implements twentieth-century antisemitism -- Jews in Germany during the early days of Nazi rule (through the end of 1935) -- Emigration: the dilemma of the Jews (through September 1, 1939). Part II. Prologue to the "Final Solution": the first phase of World War II, September 1939-1941. Toward the struggle for world domination (1939-1941) -- The war against European Jewry: the first assault (Autumn 1939 to Spring 1941) -- The Jews' struggle for survival (September 1939 to Spring 1941) -- Facing a triumphant Germany. Part III. Holocaust, 1941-1945. The quest for Lebensraum: Germany's wars (1941-1943) -- The final solution: the first stage, Einsatzgruppen -- The final solution: the second stage -- The final solution: overall planning -- Poland's Jews: from subjugation to extermination (1941-1942) European Jewry prior to deportation to the east (1941 to Summer 1942) -- The death factories in action (1942) -- Erntefest (the harvest festival) : the destruction of the Jews (1943) -- The armed struggle of the Jews in Nazi-occupied countries (by Israel Gutman) -- The last phase of the final solution (1944-1945) -- Rescue from the abyss -- Attempts at rescue -- Rescue on the brink.