Alon Confino Livres

A groundbreaking reexamination of the Holocaust and of how Germans understood their genocidal project Why exactly did the Nazis burn the Hebrew Bible everywhere in Germany on November 9, 1938? The perplexing event has not been adequately accounted for by historians in their large-scale assessments of how and why the Holocaust occurred. In this gripping new analysis, Alon Confino draws on an array of archives across three continents to propose a penetrating new assessment of one of the central moral problems of the twentieth century. To a surprising extent, Confino demonstrates, the mass murder of Jews during the war years was powerfully anticipated in the culture of the prewar years. The author shifts his focus away from the debates over what the Germans did or did not know about the Holocaust and explores instead how Germans came to conceive of the idea of a Germany without Jews. He traces the stories the Nazis told themselves--where they came from and where they were heading--and how those stories led to the conclusion that Jews must be eradicated in order for the new Nazi civilization to arise. The creation of this new empire required that Jews and Judaism be erased from Christian history, and this was the inspiration--and justification--for Kristallnacht. As Germans imagined a future world without Jews, persecution and extermination became imaginable, and even justifiable.

Recent years have witnessed growing scholarly interest in the history of death. Increasing academic attention toward death as a historical subject in its own right is very much linked to its pre-eminent place in 20th-century history, and Germany, predictably, occupies a special place in these inquiries. This collection of essays explores how German mourning changed over the 20th century in different contexts, with a particular view to how death was linked to larger issues of social order and cultural self-understanding. It contributes to a history of death in 20th-century Germany that does not begin and end with the Third Reich.

Coming to terms with a troubled past is the mark of the modern condition. But how does memory operate? This powerful collection of original essays probes this question by focusing on Germany, where historical trauma and political turbulence over the past century have deeply scarred modern memory and identity. Tracing the role of memory in German history between the Reformation and reunification, contributors show how memory has a history and the presence of the past has historical context. With scholarly zeal and keen insight, these essays draw on ghost stories and the postwar fiction of Heinrich Böll, among other memory sites, escorting the reader through the streets of Alt Hildesheim and the grocery aisles of East Germany. By historicizing memory, this volume surpasses the efforts of previous memory scholarship in confronting Germany's National Socialist past. Standard approaches to memory in modern Germany have explored how the past represents social relations and is commemorated in literature, art, and personal narrative. In taking memory "out of the museum" and "beyond the monument," The Work of Memory investigates the ways memory forms social relations and is integral to the construction of identities, communities, and policies. Profound and provocative, The Work of Memory contributes to a much-needed anthropology of memory in modern Germany.

Alon Confino provides a critical examination of the interplay between nationhood, memory, and history, focusing on Germany. Through ten essays—three previously unpublished and one only in German—he presents a unique perspective on German national identity as a result of collective negotiation among diverse memories. This work not only sheds light on German history but also offers broader insights into the nature of nationhood itself.

Exploring the construction of German national identity, Alon Confino examines how local histories influenced the broader narrative of nationhood post-1871. Focusing on Württemberg, he highlights the challenges of reconciling regional peculiarities with a unified national memory. While early attempts like Sedan Day faltered, the concept of Heimat successfully intertwined local and national identities through cultural expressions such as museums, literature, and visual arts. Confino situates this identity project within modernity, prompting reflections on the role of history in shaping contemporary identities.

By comparing Holocaust research with interpretations of the French Revolution, the book uncovers new insights into the factors that enabled the persecution of Jews. It explores the historical and social contexts that contributed to this tragic event, offering a unique perspective on the interplay between revolutionary ideals and the subsequent rise of antisemitism. This analysis sheds light on the broader implications of these historical events and their impact on society.