front cover of The Bulgarian Jews and the Final Solution, 1940-1944
The Bulgarian Jews and the Final Solution, 1940-1944
Frederick B. Chary
University of Pittsburgh Press, 1972
Virtually all of Bulgaria's Jewish citizens escaped the horrors of the Polish death camps and survived either to migrate to Israel or to remain in their homeland. Frederick Chary relates the history of the Bulgarian government's policy toward the Jews and how the determination and moral courage of a small country could successfully thwart the Final Solution.

Dr. Chary uses the German diplomatic papers captured at the end of the war, published and unpublished Bulgarian sources, archives in Bulgaria and Israel, as well as personal interviews with survivors and former diplomats and officials to reveal intensely dramatic and moving stories-the still mysterious death of King Boris, the intrigues by which Bulgaria stalled deportation, the expulsion of Jews from the new territories, and examples of guilt, appeasement, and courage.
[more]

front cover of Persecution and Rescue
Persecution and Rescue
The Politics of the “Final Solution” in France, 1940-1944
Wolfgang Seibel
University of Michigan Press, 2016
In 1942, two years after invading France, the Germans implemented their policy of exterminating the Jews. In contrast to Jews in many parts of German-occupied Europe, however, the majority of Jews in France survived, thanks to opposition to the Nazi extermination policy from Church dignitaries and the moral indignation of the average Frenchmen. Seeking to maintain popular support, the Vichy Regime bargained with the Germans over the substance and extent of its collaboration, which the Germans needed in order to hold France.

Translated from the German and drawing on German and French sources, Wolfgang Seibel traces the twisted process of political decision-making that shaped the fate of the Jews in German-occupied France during World War II. By analyzing the German-French negotiations, he reveals the underlying logic as well as the actual course of the bargaining process as both the Vichy Regime and the Germans sought a stable relationship. Yet that relationship was continually reshaped by the progress of the war, Germany’s deteriorating prospects, France’s economic and geopolitical position, and the Vichy government’s quest for domestic political support. The Jews’ suffering intensified when the Germans had the upper hand; but when the French felt empowered, the Vichy Regime stopped collaborating in the completion of the “final solution.” Persecution and Rescue: The Politics of the “Final Solution” in France, 1940–1944 demonstrates the ways in which political circumstances can mitigate—or foster—mass crime.


[more]


Send via email Share on Facebook Share on Twitter