Although the author is concerned to dispel mystery and examine the historical facts of the Holocaust, it does not occur to him to doubt that it did occur and that it was a disaster of the greatest magnitude. The evidence he cites is incidental to his central purpose, which is concerned with examining how people became aware of what was happening and how they tried to come to terms with it once they knew. The documents he quotes are therefore the more horrifying in their stark revelation of the way that Nazi ideology defined Jews outside the human framework and the executioners then methodically set about liquidating them, to the number of 5,200,000 million at least.

He also presents damning evidence of the indifference of allied officialdom, and particularly of the British War and Foreign Offices, to the fate of the Jews even when they did know of it. The greatest value of the book, however, is to ‘anchor the Holocaust in the historical consciousness of the generations that follow it’, not as an allegory of evil or as an academic exercise, ‘turning away from the abyss ... by way of a footnote’, but as an event of our century, when prejudice, bureaucracy, and technology have combined to produce an event of unprecedented evil.

Bauer points out that the event, although unprecedented, is not unrepeatable: It did not arise from the supernatural, nor from the evil of one man, but from historical circumstances, and it has continuing historical consequences. In failing to do what was possible to save European Jewry from its fate, the allies weakened the moral imperative behind their war aims. In refusing’ to acquiesce in their fate, Jews, through Zionism, asserted themselves as a force in history, making it rather than suffering it. In tolerating the anti-Zionism provoked by the foundation of the state of Israel, western intellectuals join in the complicity of silence of their forbears. Yet Israel also, in refusing to the Palestinians the right that Jews have claimed for themselves to shape their own history is showing that it has learnt only too well the lesson of its enemies.

That these enemies still exist, in the heart of American conservatism as well as, more understandably, in the poverty of the refugee encampments, is shown by the ‘gutter literature’ which seeks to dismiss the Holocaust as an invention of anti-Nazi propaganda. Quite rightly, Bauer does not seek to debate these fantasies, but associates them with the school of conspiracy literature to which they belong, together with forgeries like the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, lunatic delusion like Mein Kampf, and political paranoia of the kind peddled by the League of Rights and its like, supporters of which claimed that the Vice-Presidency of the late Nelson Rockefeller put the world just a heartbeat away from domination by the ‘Zionist-Bolshevik conspiracy’. To waste time on such rubbish is a tragic diversion from the task of trying to comprehend the world we live in. Yehuda Bauer’s book serves this latter task with admirable clarity of mind.

In the small world of Australian publishing, Rigby are at pains to dispel rumors that their recent takeover by a plaster firm spells the end of their vigorous local publishing program. To celebrate the 120th anniversary of their name, they have announced ‘Australia’s richest ever literary contest’. The contest, which is open to all authors, is divided into the four categories of adult fiction, humour, non-fiction and children’s literature. All entries must have an Australian theme. Prizes, which total $20,000, include a grand prize of $10,000. Full details can be obtained from Rigby Limited, P.O. Box 104, Norwood, 5067.

This issue of ABR marks the completion of the first year of this series. To mark the occasion, we are also running a small competition. Readers may have noticed over the year that there have been some changes in our editorial policy. In this issue, for example, we have brought together a number of specialist reviews of economics and sociology texts, and next month we will be doing the same thing with books on Australian history. Also, in response to many suggestions, we are going to start taking a look at Australian secondary school textbooks. Next month we will publish a survey of some recent English textbooks, and in July we will do the same thing for mathematics. Both surveys will be written by experienced school teachers, and will not attempt to be comprehensive, but to note trends in text­book publishing and to pick out those books which the writers consider particularly good or particularly bad. An index will be published shortly. But we also want to know what changes you, the readers, would like us to make so that we can serve your needs better. Long thoughtful replies will be considered for action. Short pithy replies will be published and the best will earn its author a dozen bottled of champagne from Eliza Needs Cellars.