Peter Novick Livres

Focusing on the evolution of historical objectivity, this book explores the aspirations and challenges faced by American historians since the late nineteenth century. Peter Novick delves into unpublished correspondence and published works, providing a nuanced perspective on how historians have defined their roles and the principles guiding their practice. The narrative reveals the interplay between theoretical ideals and practical realities, offering a comprehensive account of the profession's development and the ongoing debate surrounding the writing of history.

"How has the Holocaust come to loom so large in American life." "Peter Novick illuminates the reasons Americans ignored the Holocaust for so long - how dwelling on German crimes interfered with cold war mobilization; how American Jews not wanting to be thought of as victims, avoided the subject. He explores in detail the decisions that later moved the Holocaust to the center of American life: Jewish leaders invoking its memory to muster support for Israel and to come out on top in a sordid competition over what group had suffered most; politicians using it to score points with Jewish voters." "With insight and sensitivity, Novick raises searching questions about these developments. Have American Jews, by making the Holocaust the emblematic Jewish experience, given Hitler a posthumous victory, tacitly endorsing his definition of Jews as despised pariahs? Does the Holocaust really teach useful lessons and sensitize us to atrocities, or, by making the Holocaust the measure, does it make lesser crimes seem not so bad ? What are we to make of the fact that while Americans spend hundreds of millions of dollars for museums recording a European crime, there is no museum of American slavery?"--BOOK JACKET.

Welchen Stellenwert hat der Holocaust heute? Ein Beitrag zu einer aktuellen, notwendigen und schwierigen Debatte und zugleich ein Meisterwerk der Geschichtsschreibung. Je weiter der Genozid an den Juden zurückliegt, desto dramatischer und gesellschaftlich relevanter wird seine Bedeutung – in der Politik, Öffentlichkeit und Kultur in Deutschland, Europa und insbesondere den USA. Der Holocaust ist dabei zum universalen Maßstab für Gut und Böse geworden und unterliegt gleichzeitig einer anwachsenden Ritualisierung und Kommerzialisierung. Scharfsinnig, kritisch und provokant beschreibt Peter Novick diese Entwicklung, macht klar, welche Verzerrungen sich daraus ergeben und verdeutlicht, wie notwendig der sensible und unaufgeregte Umgang mit dem Thema ist und vor allem auch künftig sein muss.