Selling the Holocaust

"Provocative...It is hard to argue with Cole's assertion that the worldwide image of the Holocaust is now being made in America." -- The Washington Post Book World "Gifted with a sensitive understanding of the Holocaust, Cole sets out to parse the shifting myths of the Holocaust, especially its morphing into a ubiquitous, feel-good affirmation of America's core values...[Sellingthe Holocaust] makes an excellent complement to Peter Novick's superb The Holocaust in American Life, with which it shares an informed wariness about the perils of historical representation." -- Publishers Weekly"A thoughtful and brave study of how the Holocaust has become an overly central myth and too commercialized for its own effectiveness. Cole is a fellow at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum and is well positioned to know that there is no business like Shoah (Holocaust) business...If the Holocaust has assumed our century's moral crown, this book dares to challenge the emperor's clothes." -- Kirkus Reviews"Tim Cole explores the creation and definition of a mythic Holocaust, the Holocaust as symbol divorced from the historical reality of six million murdered Jews. He argues that the veneration of the Holocaust represents an attempt to understand history, but that this attempt is often harmful and belittles the truth." -- University ofNebraska Press"An intriguing book that raises many issues." -- Jewish Book World"Tim Cole explores the creation and definiton of a mythic Holocaust, the Holocaust as symbol divorced from the historical reality of six million murdered Jews. He argues that the veneration of the Holocaust represents an attempt to understand history, but that this attempt is often harmful and belittles the truth." -- Shofar

• Acknowledgments Prologue: The Rise (and Fall?) of the Myth of the 'Holocauast' PART I: PEOPLE 1. Anne Frank 2. Adolf Eichmann 3. Oskar Schindler PART II. PLACES 4. Auschwitz 5. Yad Vashem 6. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC Epilogue Notes Select Bibliography Index