Guenter Lewy - Böcker

The Nazis' attempt to annihilate the Jewish people, the Holocaust, continues to raise a disturbing question. About six million defenseless men, women, and children were murdered for no reason but their ancestry. Close to two million Jews were killed in mass shootings, while the remainder were asphyxiated or worked and starved to death. How could such terrible deeds happen in the heart of Christian Europe and among a nation known for its poets and thinkers, a people that had produced Schiller, Goethe, Bach, and Beethoven? What had converted so many seemingly ordinary people into killers, willing participants in what is probably the worst crime in modern history? That is the question Guenter Lewy seeks to answer in this book.Lewy provides a critical synthesis of recent literature on the perpetrators, broadening the discussion and developing a more complete and systematic answer to the question of why so many ordinary German people became mass murderers, drawing on previously untapped valuable sources, including officers' and soldiers' diaries; some 35,000 letters written by soldiers serving in the East, many of which describe the murder of Jews; the recollections of Jewish survivors, and most importantly, the record of the trials of hundreds of Nazi perpetrators by German courts. The result is a wealth of information about the Holocaust in all its horrible particulars and about those who carried out those hideous deeds. The book systematically examines the role of individual pathology, of specifically German factors such as obedience to authority, and the impact of ideology on group behavior. The actual perpetrators, Lewy concludes, acted out of a variety of motives. Some were convinced haters of Jews, while others killed out of a sense of duty, to advance their career, because they followed orders, or because they wanted to conform to the group. There was no uniform Nazi perpetrator type.Guenter Lewy grew up in Germany and lived some six years under Nazi rule. During the November 1938 pogrom known as Kristallnacht, he was on the receiving end of storm-trooper brutality, and his father was taken to the Buchenwald concentration camp, barely surviving his three-month ordeal there. The question of "why they did it," therefore, is of far more than theoretical interest for the author-it is a passionate attempt to illuminate a dismal chapter of history that cannot be forgotten.

Like every authoritarian regime in history, Nazi Germany tried to inhibit ideological freedom through book censorship. Between 1933 and 1945, Hitler's party orchestrated a massive campaign to take control of all forms of communication in the nation. Although Nazi propaganda has been widely studied, modern historians have decidedly neglected book censorship. In this book, noted scholar Guenter Lewy offers the first comprehensive analysis in English language of the ways in which the Nazis exerted control over the creation, publication, and distribution of books by authors, publishers, bookstores, and libraries.While Goebbels' Propaganda Ministry played a leading role, other entities engaged in censorship, including the Ministry of Science, Education and Popular Culture, Rosenberg's Office for the Advancement of German Literature, and Bouhler's Party Commission for the Protection of National Socialist Literature. The Gestapo and the Security Service were also involved in the process of enforcement. All of these organizations often acted on their own initiative both on the state and on the local level. As a result of these overlapping jurisdictions, the process of control was disorderly. This illustrates once again that the Third Reich was monolithic in theory but polycratic in practice.This book explores not only how the Nazis implemented book censorship, but also the ways in which this process affected German intellectuals. It deals with the controversial issue of the so-called "inner immigrants" -- authors who were opposed to National Socialism but chose to remain in Germany and concealed the true meaning of their writings by way of allegories or parables, such as Gottfried Benn, Gerhart Hauptmann, Ernst Jünger, Jochen Klepper, and Ernst Wiechert. Describing the fate of writers and publishers who came into conflict with the organs of censorship, Lewy provides a disconcerting and realistic portrait of intellectual life under the Nazi dictatorship.

Based on a variety of classified military records, Lewy provides the first systematic analysis of the course of the Vietnam War, the reasons for the failure of American strategy and tactics, and the causes of the final collapse of South Vietnam.

Roaming the countryside in caravans, earning their living as musicians, peddlers, and fortune-tellers, the Gypsies and their elusive way of life represented an affront to Nazi ideas of social order, hard work, and racial purity. They were branded as "asocials", harassed, and eventually herded into concentration camps where many thousands were killed. But until now the story of their persecution has either been overlooked or distorted.In The Nazi Persecution of the Gypsies, Guenter Lewy draws upon thousands of documents--many never before used--from German and Austrian archives to provide the most comprehensive and accurate study available of the fate of the Gypsies under the Nazi regime. Lewy traces the escalating vilification of the Gypsies as the Nazis instigated a widespread crackdown on the "work-shy" and "itinerants". But he shows that Nazi policy towards Gypsies was confused and changeable. At first, local officials persecuted gypsies, and those who behaved in gypsy-like fashion, for allegedly anti-social tendencies. Later, with the rise of race obsession, Gypsies were seen as a threat to German racial purity, though Himmler himself wavered, trying to save those he considered "pure Gypsies" descended from Aryan roots in India. Indeed, Lewy contradicts much existing scholarship in showing that, however much the Gypsies were persecuted, there was no general programme of extermination analogous to the "final solution" for the Jews.Exploring in heart-rending detail the fates of individual Gypsies and their families, The Nazi Persecution of the Gypsies makes an important addition to our understanding both of the history of this mysterious people and of all facets of the Nazi terror.

Roaming the countryside in caravans, earning their living as musicians, peddlars and fortune-tellers, the Gypsies and their elusive way of life represented an affront to Nazi ideas of social order, hard work, and racial purity. They were branded as "asocials", harassed, and eventually herded into concentration camps where many thousands were killed. But until now the story of their persecution has been overlooked or distorted.In "The Nazi Persecution of the Gypsies", Guenter Lewy draws upon thousands of documents - many never before used - from German and Austrian archives to provide the most comprehensive and accurate study available of the fate of the Gypsies under the Nazi regime. Lewy traces the escalating vilification of the Gypsies as the Nazis insigated a widespread crackdown on the "work-shy" and "itinerants". But he shows that Nazi policy towards Gypsies was confused and changeable. At first, local officials persecuted Gypsies, and those who behaved in Gypsy-like fashion, for allegedly anti-social tendencies. Later, with the rise of race obsession, Gypsies were seen as a threat to racial purity, though Himmler himself wavered, trying to save those he considered "pure Gypsies" descended from Aryan roots in India. Indeed, Lewy contradicts much existing scolarship in showing that, however much the Gypsies were persecuted, there was no general programme of extermination analogous to the "final solution" for the Jews.Exploring in heart-rending detail the fates of individual Gypsies and their families, "The Nazi Persecution of the Gypsies" makes an important addition to our understanding both of the history of this mysterious people and of all facets of Nazi terror.

Like every totalitarian regime, Nazi Germany tried to control intellectual freedom through book censorship.Between 1933 and 1945, the Hitler regime orchestrated a massive campaign to take control of all forms of communication. In 1933 alone, there were 90 book burnings across 70 German cities, declared by a Ministry of Propaganda official to be “a symbol of the revolution.” In later years, the regime used less violent means of domination, pillaging bookstores and libraries, in addition to prosecuting uncooperative publishers and dissident authors. Guenter Lewy deftly analyzes the various strategies that the Nazis employed to enact censorship and the government officials who led the attack on a free intellectual life. Harmful and Undesirable paints a fascinating portrait of intellectual life under Nazi dictatorship, detailing the dismal fate of those who were caught in the wheels of censorship.

Advances in medical treatment now enable physicians to prolong life to a previously unknown extent, however in many instances these new techniques mean not the saving of life but prolonging the act of dying. In the eyes of many, medical technology has run out of control and contributes to unnecessary suffering. Hence the demand has arisen that patients should be entitled to choose death when pain and physical and mental deterioration have destroyed the possibility of a dignified and meaningful life and that their doctors should help them to realize this endeavor.At the present time there are seven jurisdictions in the world that, with various restrictions, have legalized the practice of assisted death -- physician-assisted suicide and/or voluntary euthanasia - to wit, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland in Europe and the states of Oregon, Washington and Montana in the United States. Four of these regimes - in the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and the state of Oregon -- have been functioning for many years, and we have for them a substantial body of data as well as much observational research. This book is based upon this material.The literature dealing with the moral, legal and social aspects of assisted death is voluminous, but there is a paucity of writing that provides a detailed account of the way these four regimes are actually working. Many partisans, on both sides of the issue, cite existing data selectively or, at times, willfully distort the empirical evidence in order to strengthen their case. Based on the documentary record and interviews with officials and scholars, this book seeks to give the specialist as well as the general interested reader a reliable picture of the way assisted death functions and to draw relevant lessons. While accurate factual information cannot settle a moral debate, it nevertheless is a precondition of any well-founded argument.'The author speaks authoritatively about the issues he addresses. I think this book does make an important contribution to the field. It will be of interest to students and scholars of PAS as a source of information and reference. I definitely recommend publication.' Stuart Youngner, Department of Bioethics, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine'The information collected here makes an important contribution to the literature on PAS because it collects a broad array of relevant information into a single volume. It is interesting and enlightening. This will make the book a valuable resource for anyone interested in the subject and an especially useful resource for academics who study or teach about the issues.' Rosamond Rhodes, Director, Bioethics Education, Mt Sinai School of Medicine

"The subject matter of this book is controversial," Guenter Lewy states plainly in his preface. To show the German Catholic Church's congeniality with some of the goals of National Socialism and its gradual entrapment in Nazi policies and programs, Lewy describes the episcopate's support of Hitler's expansionist policies and its failures to speak out on the persecution of the Jews. To this tragic history Lewy brings new focus and research, illuminating one of the darkest corners of our century with scholarship and intellectual honesty in a riveting, and often painful, narrative.

Jews and Germans is the only book in English to delve fully into the history and challenges of the German-Jewish relationship, from before the Holocaust to the present day.The Weimar Republic era-the fifteen years between Germany’s defeat in World War I (1918) and Hitler’s accession (1933)-has been characterized as a time of unparalleled German-Jewish concord and collaboration. Even though Jews constituted less than 1 percent of the German population, they occupied a significant place in German literature, music, theater, journalism, science, and many other fields. Was that German-Jewish relationship truly reciprocal? How has it evolved since the Holocaust, and what can it become?Beginning with the German Jews’ struggle for emancipation, Guenter Lewy describes Jewish life during the heyday of the Weimar Republic, particularly the Jewish writers, left-wing intellectuals, combat veterans, and adult and youth organizations. With this history as a backdrop he examines the deeply disparate responses among Jews when the Nazis assumed power. Lewy then elucidates Jewish life in postwar West Germany; in East Germany, where Jewish communists searched for a second German-Jewish symbiosis based on Marxist principles; and finally in the united Germany-illuminating the complexities of fraught relationships over time.

In this book, Guenter Lewy explains and critiques the idea of false consciousness - that people living under capitalism do not know their best interests. This idea was prevalent in the writings of nineteenth century Marxism, modern communism, and the New Left. Lewy applies what German scholars call Ideologiekritik to the Marxian concept of ideology or false consciousness itself, to demystify the concept of mystification. He also presents an account of the historical development of the concept, and the dangers of its application in society.  Belief in false consciousness inspired many social scientists to propose that elite classes in capitalist countries use the media and the education system to manipulate the proletariat, thus perpetuating their own power. Lewy marshals social scientific evidence to refute that idea, demonstrating that education and the mass media in the United States in fact often challenge accepted values and the status quo.  Lewy documents Soviet and Chinese brainwashing efforts to eradicate dangerous political ideas and values derived from a belief in false consciousness. He also reviews attempts by Marxist and neo-Marxist educators and social scientists in the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) to free young people from false consciousness by means of emancipatory pedagogy--a program of intense political indoctrination.

Dostoevsky's dictum that when God is dead everything is permitted can have several meanings. It can refer to the behavior of individuals suggesting that someone who is or becomes an unbeliever will conduct himself immorally. Alternatively, the saying can pertain to the moral character of an entire country and mean a society that rejects God is doomed to moral decay. Guenter Lewy presents a few of the major arguments of those who question the relationship between morality and religion, and examines the case for the continuing dependence of morality upon religion.Beginning with Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov Lewy introduces the reader to the position that morality depends on religious belief. He then follows the idea throughout history, from its origin, to its extension during the Enlightment, to the Victorians, to the roots of atheism. Lewy then presents a critical discussion of Sweden as a model of a secular nation where morality is retained although most of the population is not religious. He shows that Sweden offers a serious and unique illustration of how democracy and morality can flourish in a post-modern environment."If God is Dead, Everything is Permitted"? as the author acknowledges, is more of an essay than a seemless history of the relationship of religion and morality. Lewy's fascination with the intersection and influence of religion on morality is not a new topic. Indeed the discussion is important and alive today in light of new technological and scientific advances. Although Lewy may not put closure to the debate about whether morality is dependent on religion the evidence presented here sheds light on the morality of today by examining its historical past.

Dostoevsky's dictum that when God is dead everything is permitted can have several meanings. It can refer to the behavior of individuals suggesting that someone who is or becomes an unbeliever will conduct himself immorally. Alternatively, the saying can pertain to the moral character of an entire country and mean a society that rejects God is doomed to moral decay. Guenter Lewy presents a few of the major arguments of those who question the relationship between morality and religion, and examines the case for the continuing dependence of morality upon religion.Beginning with Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov Lewy introduces the reader to the position that morality depends on religious belief. He then follows the idea throughout history, from its origin, to its extension during the Enlightment, to the Victorians, to the roots of atheism. Lewy then presents a critical discussion of Sweden as a model of a secular nation where morality is retained although most of the population is not religious. He shows that Sweden offers a serious and unique illustration of how democracy and morality can flourish in a post-modern environment."If God is Dead, Everything is Permitted"? as the author acknowledges, is more of an essay than a seemless history of the relationship of religion and morality. Lewy's fascination with the intersection and influence of religion on morality is not a new topic. Indeed the discussion is important and alive today in light of new technological and scientific advances. Although Lewy may not put closure to the debate about whether morality is dependent on religion the evidence presented here sheds light on the morality of today by examining its historical past.

In this book, Guenter Lewy explains and critiques the idea of false consciousness - that people living under capitalism do not know their best interests. This idea was prevalent in the writings of nineteenth century Marxism, modern communism, and the New Left. Lewy applies what German scholars call Ideologiekritik to the Marxian concept of ideology or false consciousness itself, to demystify the concept of mystification. He also presents an account of the historical development of the concept, and the dangers of its application in society.  Belief in false consciousness inspired many social scientists to propose that elite classes in capitalist countries use the media and the education system to manipulate the proletariat, thus perpetuating their own power. Lewy marshals social scientific evidence to refute that idea, demonstrating that education and the mass media in the United States in fact often challenge accepted values and the status quo.  Lewy documents Soviet and Chinese brainwashing efforts to eradicate dangerous political ideas and values derived from a belief in false consciousness. He also reviews attempts by Marxist and neo-Marxist educators and social scientists in the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) to free young people from false consciousness by means of emancipatory pedagogy--a program of intense political indoctrination.