The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish SufferingIn an iconoclastic and controversial study, Norman G. Finkelstein moves from an interrogation of the place the Holocaust has come to occupy in American culture to a disturbing examination of recent Holocaust compensation agreements. It was not until the Arab-Israeli War of 1967, when Israel's evident strength brought it into line with US foreign policy, that memory of the Holocaust began to acquire the exceptional prominence it enjoys today. Leaders of America's Jewish community were delighted that Israel was now deemed a major strategic asset and, Finkelstein contends, exploited the Holocaust to enhance this newfound status. Their subsequent interpretations of the tragedy are often at variance with actual historical events and are employed to deflect any criticism of Israel and its supporters. Recalling Holocaust fraudsters such as Jerzy Kosinski and Binjamin Wilkomirski, as well as the demagogic constructions of writers like Daniel Goldhagen, Finkelstein contends that the main danger posed to the memory of Nazism's victims comes not from the distortions of Holocaust deniers but from prominent, self-proclaimed guardians of Holocaust memory. Drawing on a wealth of untapped sources, he exposes the double shakedown of European countries as well as legitimate Jewish claimants, and concludes that the Holocaust industry has become an outright extortion racket. Thoroughly researched and closely argued, The Holocaust Industry is all the more disturbing and powerful because the issues it deals with are so rarely discussed. In a devastating new postscript to this best-selling book, Norman G. Finkelstein documents the Holocaust industry's scandalous cover-up of the blackmail of Swiss banks, and in a new appendix demolishes an influential apologia for the Holocaust industry. ' S cathing in his denunciation of the institutions and individuals who have cropped up around the issue of reparations.' New York Press 'The most controversial book of the year.' The Guardian 'His basic argument that memories of the Holocaust are being debased is serious and should be given its due.' The Economist |
From inside the book
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Page 98
... already widely known and reported in American law journals in the early 1950s . And , for all the media ballyhoo , the total sums involved ultimately came to less than a million dollars in current values . 27 Already prior to the first ...
... already widely known and reported in American law journals in the early 1950s . And , for all the media ballyhoo , the total sums involved ultimately came to less than a million dollars in current values . 27 Already prior to the first ...
Page 123
... already been largely met . " 67 Still , fifty years later the Holocaust industry was demanding money for “ needy Holocaust victims ” who had been living in poverty because the Germans allegedly never compensated them . What constitutes ...
... already been largely met . " 67 Still , fifty years later the Holocaust industry was demanding money for “ needy Holocaust victims ” who had been living in poverty because the Germans allegedly never compensated them . What constitutes ...
Page 178
... already queuing up to return the booty . A final recommendation calls on the United States to “ continue its leadership to promote the international community's commitment to addressing asset restitution issues . " After this report ...
... already queuing up to return the booty . A final recommendation calls on the United States to “ continue its leadership to promote the international community's commitment to addressing asset restitution issues . " After this report ...
Contents
Postscript to the First Paperback Edition | 151 |
Postscript to the Second Paperback Edition | 179 |
Appendix to the Second Paperback Edition | 207 |
Copyright | |
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according accounts actions actual alleged already American Jewish anti-Semitism approved assets audit Bradfield Bronfman called campaign camps charges Claims Conference closed Commission Committee compensation countries Court critical CRT-II December Department documents dormant accounts Eizenstat Europe European evidence example fact February figure Final Final Solution Financial findings former Fund German gold Gribetz Plan Hearings Holocaust industry Holocaust survivors Holocaust victims House Israel Israeli January Jewish organizations Jewish slave laborers Jews Judge Korman June lawsuits lawyers letter living looted maintained March memory million monies moral Museum names Nazi holocaust negotiations Neuborne never November Novick observes organizations original past persecution political President published question recalls received record Report Representatives rules Second Senate September settlement Singer slave laborers Special suffering Swiss banks Switzerland unique United Wiesel World York