Description
The complete story of the Wannsee Conference, the meeting that paved the way for the Holocaust. On 20 January 1942, fifteen men arrived for a meeting in a luxurious villa on the shores of the Wannsee in the far-western outskirts of Berlin. They came at the invitation of Reinhard Heydrich and were almost all high-ranking Nazi Party, government, and SS officials. The exquisite position by the lake, the imposing driveway up to the villa, culminating in a generously sized roundabout in front of the house, the expansive, carefully landscaped park, the generous suite of rooms that opened on to the park and the lake, the three-level terrace that stretched the entire garden side of the house, and the winter garden with its marble fountain, all give today's visitor to the villa a good idea of its owner's aspiration to build a sophisticated, almost palatial structure as a testament to his cultivation and worldly success. But the beauty of the situation stood in stark contrast to the purpose of the meeting to which the fifteen had come in January 1942: the 'Final Solution of the Jewish Question'. According to the surviving records of the meeting, items on the agenda included the precise definition of exactly which group of people was to be affected, followed by a discussion of how upwards of eleven million people were to be deported and subjected to the toughest form of forced labour, and following on from this a discussion of how the survivors of this forced labour as well as those not capable of it were ultimately to be killed. The next item on the agenda was breakfast.
About the Author
Peter Longerich was until 2015 Professor of Modern German History at Royal Holloway University of London, and was a founder of the College's Holocaust Research Centre. An internationally renowned authority on the Nazis, his previous publications include Holocaust: The Nazi Murder and Persecution of the Jews (OUP 2010), Himmler (OUP 2012), and Hitler: A Life (OUP 2019).
Reviews
... it's a difficult intellectual task to place Wannsee in the context of the overall development of the Holocaust. But Longerich - a world-renowned historian of the Nazi period succeeds brilliantly... Skilfully translated from the original German by Lesley Sharpe and Jeremy Noakes, Longerich's Wannsee is a masterful crash-course on the decision-making process of the Holocaust. * Laurence Rees, Daily Telegraph *
A detailed, scholarly account Mr. Longerichs in-depth deconstruction yields unparalleled insight into the Nazi regimes blood-soaked goals. * Diane Cole, Wall Street Journal *
... Longerichs latest book offers the opportunity to examine differences of interpretation of the Wannsee Conference and the wider background of Nazi Germanys last steps to the extermination of the Jews of Europe. * Christopher R Browning, New York Review of Books *
This scholarly account of a handful of Nazi murderers goes as far as it can in exposing the kind of thing that happens when the moral structure collapses, and in its fine and unstated way it is also a penance. * David Pryce-Jones, National Review *
Debate about the meaning of Wannsee will doubtless continue, but Longerich's contribution is remarkable in its detail and depth. His book will remain indispensible to anyone interested in the topic. * Alun David, Jewish Chronicle *
... an austerely sober, concise, yet comprehensive account... painstakingly precise * Sheldon Kirshner, The Times of Israel *
Longerich's book provides context and analysis to that important document to plausibly explain the convergence of diverse decisions by components of the Nazi regime into the enormity of a radical solution the Holocaust. * Janet Levy, Jerusalem Post *
Longerich's book provides context and analysis to that important document to plausibly explain the convergence of diverse decisions by components of the Nazi regime into the enormity of a radical solution-the Holocaust. * Janet Levy, American Thinker *
For Holocaust scholars, this a must-read. A well-researched study of the meeting that determined many major decisions about the Holocaust. * Kirkus Reviews *
Wannsee is a useful, thorough overview of small but significant slice of history, and should certainly be of interest to anyone who wants to learn more about the obscenity that was the Nazi effort at a 'final solution'. * , Complete Review *
The mere fact that Peter Longerich ...has thoroughly investigated a most disgraceful period in Germanys history, and brought this book to bear to begin with, is resoundingly commendable. * David Marx, DavidMarxBookReviews.com *
A brilliant interpretation of the Wannsee Conference, where Nazi leaders hatched one plan among others for the 'final solution'. * Robert Gellately *
Book Information
ISBN 9780198834045
Author Peter Longerich
Format Hardback
Page Count 192
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 324g
Dimensions(mm) 223mm * 141mm * 22mm
About the Author
Peter Longerich was until 2015 Professor of Modern German History at Royal Holloway University of London, and was a founder of the College's Holocaust Research Centre. An internationally renowned authority on the Nazis, his previous publications include Holocaust: The Nazi Murder and Persecution of the Jews (OUP 2010), Himmler (OUP 2012), and Hitler: A Life (OUP 2019).
Reviews
... it's a difficult intellectual task to place Wannsee in the context of the overall development of the Holocaust. But Longerich - a world-renowned historian of the Nazi period succeeds brilliantly... Skilfully translated from the original German by Lesley Sharpe and Jeremy Noakes, Longerich's Wannsee is a masterful crash-course on the decision-making process of the Holocaust. * Laurence Rees, Daily Telegraph *
A detailed, scholarly account Mr. Longerichs in-depth deconstruction yields unparalleled insight into the Nazi regimes blood-soaked goals. * Diane Cole, Wall Street Journal *
... Longerichs latest book offers the opportunity to examine differences of interpretation of the Wannsee Conference and the wider background of Nazi Germanys last steps to the extermination of the Jews of Europe. * Christopher R Browning, New York Review of Books *
This scholarly account of a handful of Nazi murderers goes as far as it can in exposing the kind of thing that happens when the moral structure collapses, and in its fine and unstated way it is also a penance. * David Pryce-Jones, National Review *
Debate about the meaning of Wannsee will doubtless continue, but Longerich's contribution is remarkable in its detail and depth. His book will remain indispensible to anyone interested in the topic. * Alun David, Jewish Chronicle *
... an austerely sober, concise, yet comprehensive account... painstakingly precise * Sheldon Kirshner, The Times of Israel *
Longerich's book provides context and analysis to that important document to plausibly explain the convergence of diverse decisions by components of the Nazi regime into the enormity of a radical solution the Holocaust. * Janet Levy, Jerusalem Post *
Longerich's book provides context and analysis to that important document to plausibly explain the convergence of diverse decisions by components of the Nazi regime into the enormity of a radical solution-the Holocaust. * Janet Levy, American Thinker *
For Holocaust scholars, this a must-read. A well-researched study of the meeting that determined many major decisions about the Holocaust. * Kirkus Reviews *
Wannsee is a useful, thorough overview of small but significant slice of history, and should certainly be of interest to anyone who wants to learn more about the obscenity that was the Nazi effort at a 'final solution'. * , Complete Review *
The mere fact that Peter Longerich ...has thoroughly investigated a most disgraceful period in Germanys history, and brought this book to bear to begin with, is resoundingly commendable. * David Marx, DavidMarxBookReviews.com *
A brilliant interpretation of the Wannsee Conference, where Nazi leaders hatched one plan among others for the 'final solution'. * Robert Gellately *
Book Information
ISBN 9780198834045
Author Peter Longerich
Format Hardback
Page Count 192
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 324g
Dimensions(mm) 223mm * 141mm * 22mm
