The Nazi Holocaust is a book written by Landau Ronnie S in 2006 which summarizes the history of the Jewish people from 300B.C.E to the period of the holocaust (Landau, 2006) . This enables the readers to understand the horrific consequences that came about as a result of Nazi decimation of the European-Jewish societies. Landau is a former director of Education at the Spiro Institute and the head of Library Literary Institute. In addition to this, he was a member of the faculty at the Leo Baeck College, and a held a masters in Classic and English. He has written intensively concerning the holocaust and, as such, his research can be credited as trustworthy. The Nazi holocaust places into context the historical occurrence of the holocaust and summarizes the events while taking into consideration the psychological, ethical and moral issues which have followed it thereafter. The book is written in a manner which helps human beings to understand the holocaust within the frame of everyday human experiences.
Summary and Key elements
Luanda, in the first chapter tries to bring to knowledge of people the historical, educational as well as the moral significance of the holocaust was a deliberate as well as systematic murder which led to the death of over six million Jews between 1941 to 1945, who were located in Europe in areas which were dominated by Nazi (Landau, 2006) . He points out to the fact that these people were punished and killed because they were Jewish and because they had broken any law. Nevertheless, regardless of intensive research being carried out by different people in different fields, there has been little understanding of the holocaust and most families of the victims continue to suffer psychologically from the trauma (Scharf, 2007) . He states that little developments have been made concerning these areas as people focus on the wrong things. He proposes several questions which people need to ask themselves, and he notes that in trying to find a solution, they will understand the events better. For example, they may try to understand how or when the Nazi people were given the right to determine the policy of annihilation as far as the Jewish in Europe were concerned.
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The author then proceeds to give a brief history of the Jewish people, in chapter two, from the reign of the Romans to the modern period (Landau, 2006) . He notes that during these periods most of the Jewish were focused on surviving without undergoing much suffering. The third chapter focuses on their modern experiences before the French revolution to the period just before the World War I. In chapter four, the author tries to examine the history of the modern Germans from the time they became unified in 1871, to the period in which Adolf Hitler rose to power in January 1933.
The subsequent three chapters highlight are devoted to explaining about the Nazi reign from 1933 to 1945 and the details of the holocaust which started by the legal assault made on the Jews living in Germany (Landau, 2006) . During 1938, the Nazi acquired control over Austria and killed a majority of Jews at that period. Thereafter, the Nazi invaded the Soviet Union and saw to it that there was a mass extermination of the Jews.
Analysis
This book is fundamental as it gives divergent views of how the Nazi holocaust might have started. The author notes that the Nazi leadership were cautious to cover their tracks as they did not want to be exposed. As such, there are no actual written documents which contain orders to massacres the Jews in the areas. However, the author highlights some of the causes as outlined by different scholars. The historian believed that Hitler’s leadership style might have played a key role. Although he did not give a direct order for the murder in writing, his speech and writings alongside other remarks made by leaders during its reign may have contributed directly to the incitement against the Jews. Other historians, famously known as Functionalist, believed that the ideologies, vision, and charisma of Hitler as having created a theoretical framework in which the annihilation policy of the Jews was founded on (Landau, 2006) .
Secondly, this book provides a clear insight into the progression of the Nazi holocaust. It highlights eight key steps which led to the decision which was branded the ‘Final Solution to the Jewish Question” (Landau, 2006) . This led to the death of many Jews before the decision arrived. After the decision, many of the Jews were subjected to intensive labour and sexes separated. In addition to explaining how the holocaust began and its progression, it also highlights some of the consequences which came about as a result. It focuses on the perpetrators and the bystanders and points a moral question to individuals on how to view such individuals. As such, this makes this book to be outstanding when compared to other books.
It is worth noting that the author sees the holocaust if taught skilfully can help to socialize people as well as civilize students to avoid such happenings in the future (Landau, 2006) . This is because the events are seen as being unique and affected not only the Jewish communities but it also had far-reaching effects on people worldwide. As such, he notes that these historical events can be used as educational means of sensitizing the public concerning the problems brought about by anti-Semitism, the dangers of racial discrimination, religious stereotyping national pride and minority identities.
Contextualization
The holocaust can be located in a different context within this book that is, Jewish history, Genocide in the modern age, German history and the triumph of ideology over conscience (Landau, 2006) . However, much of the emphasis is the extermination and murder of the Jewish people by the Nazis. The main reason why this is a primary focus is to develop a different perspective of the holocaust which a majority of people ignore. This becomes a useful tool in raising awareness of how genocide comes about and its impacts on people. This book has a well-documented event of history which brought about the holocaust. It provides historical events prior the holocaust and the implications the holocaust has had in the modern times (Stern, 2001) . For instance, it gives an insight of the Jewish history from the period of the Roman reign.
Conclusion
In conclusion, The Nazi Holocaust is an important source of understanding the holocaust and its impact on the Jewish and non-Jewish communities. The author of this book views the occurrence of this period from a different point of view as compared to other people. He tries to identify the causes of the holocaust by looking at the historical unfolding before the period. Not only does he focus on the Jewish communities, but also the Nazis and tries to identify the perpetrators of the same. In addition to this, the author focuses on the implication of the holocaust on the moral conscience of every person. As such, he sees this event as a tool of civilizing students and inculcating moral integrity among individuals. People are able to see the implication of racism, religious stereotyping and exclusion of minorities. This can help to avert future cases of genocide as currently being witnessed in various regions.
References
Landau, R. (2006). The Nazi Holocaust . Chicago: Ivan R. Dee.
Scharf, M. (2007). Long-term effects of trauma: Psychosocial functioning of the second and third generation of Holocaust survivors: Development and psychopathology , 19 (2), 603-622.
Stern, S. (2001). Calendar and Community: A History of the Jewish calendar, 2nd Century bce to 10th Century ce . Oxford University Press on Demand.
