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According to most historians, the Holocaust in Hungary represented a unique chapter in the singular history of what the Nazis termed as the “Final Solution” of the “Jewish question” in Europe. More than seventy years after the Shoah, the origins and prehistory as well as the implementation and aftermath of the genocide still provide ample ground for scholarship. In fact, Hungarian historians began to seriously deal with these questions only after the 1980s. Since then, however, a consistently active and productive debate has been waged about the history and interpretation of the Holocaust in Hungary and with the passage of time, more and more questions have been raised in connection with its memorialization. This volume includes twelve selected scholarly papers thematically organized under four headings: 1. The newest trends in the study of the Holocaust in Hungary. 2. The anti-Jewish policies of Hungary during the interwar period 3. The Holocaust era in Hungary 4. National and international aspects of Holocaust remembrance. The studies reflect on the anti-Jewish atmosphere in Hungary during the interwar period; analyze the decision-making process that led to the deportations, and the options left open to the Hungarian government. They also provide a detailed presentation of the Holocaust in Transylvania and describe the experience of Hungarian Jewish refugees in Austria after the end of the war.

The capture of Adolf Eichmann and the subsequent dispute between Israel and Argentina before the Security Council of the United Nations have aroused new interest in the history of Nazi Germany in general and of its anti-Jewish policies in particular. This interest gained momentum as the preparations for Eichmann's trial progressed.The 15 years that have elapsed since the end of World War II have brought to light a plethora of new material and made possible a more objective evaluation of the Nazi design to liquidate the Jews of Europe, euphemistically referred to as “the final solution of the Jewish question.”This study has a modest aim. Its primary purpose is to present a succinct, though informative, account of the destruction of the Hungarian Jewish community during World War II, with special emphasis on the role of Eichmann and his collaborators. Its scope and coverage are limited, for, indeed, volumes would be required to write the definitive history of Hungarian Jewry during the Nazi era on the basis of the recently discovered documentary and archival material alone. Such a larger project is now under consideration.-Preface

The Politics of Genocide: The Holocaust in Hungary, Condensed Edition is an abbreviated version of the classic work first published in 1981 and revised and expanded in 1994. It includes a new historical overview, and retains and sharpens its focus on the persecution of the Jews. Through a meticulous use of Hungarian and many other sources, the book explains in a rational and empirical context the historical, political, communal, and socioeconomic factors that contributed to the unfolding of this tragedy at a time when the leaders of the world, including the national and Jewish leaders of Hungary, were already familiar with the secrets of Auschwitz. The Politics of Genocide is the most eloquent and comprehensive study ever produced of the Holocaust in Hungary. In this condensed edition, Randolph L. Braham includes the most important revisions of the 1994 second edition as well as new material published since then. Scholars of Holocaust, Slavic, and East-Central European studies will find this volume indispensable.