During the twelve years from 1933 until 1945; the concentration camp operated as a terror society. In this pioneering book; the renowned German sociologist Wolfgang Sofsky looks at the concentration camp from the inside as a laboratory of cruelty and a system of absolute power built on extreme violence; starvation; "terror labor;" and the business-like extermination of human beings. Based on historical documents and the reports of survivors; the book details how the resistance of prisoners was broken down. Arbitrary terror and routine violence destroyed personal identity and social solidarity; disrupted the very ideas of time and space; perverted human work into torture; and unleashed innumerable atrocities. As a result; daily life was reduced to a permanent struggle for survival; even as the meaning of self-preservation was extinguished. Sofsky takes us from the searing; unforgettable image of the Muselmann--Auschwitz jargon for the "walking dead"--to chronicles of epidemics; terror punishments; selections; and torture. The society of the camp was dominated by the S.S. and a system of graduated and forced collaboration which turned selected victims into accomplices of terror. Sofsky shows that the S.S. was not a rigid bureaucracy; but a system with ample room for autonomy. The S.S. demanded individual initiative of its members. Consequently; although they were not required to torment or murder prisoners; officers and guards often exploited their freedom to do so--in passing or on a whim; with cause; or without. The order of terror described by Sofsky culminated in the organized murder of millions of European Jews and Gypsies in the death-factories of Auschwitz and Treblinka. By the end of this book; Sofsky shows that the German concentration camp system cannot be seen as a temporary lapse into barbarism. Instead; it must be conceived as a product of modern civilization; where institutionalized; state-run human cruelty became possible with or without the mobilizing feelings of hatred.
#505570 in Books 2009-10-20 2009-10-20Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.25 x 1.28 x 6.13l; 1.90 #File Name: 0688016200742 pages
Review
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Freshman to the TopicBy John ThurstonKnowing virtually nothing about the war in the Pacific; I came across the recently published Ambrose book; The Pacific. One review promptly told me that the title was misleading and definitely did not cover the entire war in the Pacific. I was intrigued to gain an overall knowledge of that war; so I researched and came across this Costello edition. It fit the bill. For one who wants a thorough overview of the Pacific theater in World War II; look no further.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. best book on war I've readBy ShannonThis book is about war; not battles. It gives history with strategy and motivation from each perspective. It's about a contest and I felt; as a reader; there was a scoreboard I could see that reflected the gains and losses and forward thrust of the game. It's history so you know the outcome but it's also about when the participants knew the outcome and how they played the game going forward.There's books for battles and individuals; this is about the why and the how.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy jscantoneGreat informative narrative!
