History Extra podcast
Simon Schama on the Holocaust
Apr 6, 2025
Join historian Simon Schama, renowned for his captivating storytelling and deep insights, as he discusses his latest work on the Holocaust. He shares his powerful first impressions of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the shocking complicity across Europe, and the chilling indifference of citizens during the Nazi regime. Schama reflects on the incremental nature of evil and contrasts personal tales—including that of Anne Frank—with society's varied responses. He also highlights the importance of memory in preserving the truth and combating contemporary anti-Semitism.
44:07
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Quick takeaways
- The Holocaust was a complex crime of complicity, involving local populations actively participating in or ignoring the atrocities against Jews across Europe.
- Understanding the gradual dehumanization of individuals serves as a crucial warning against future atrocities and emphasizes the need for collective vigilance against intolerance.
Deep dives
The Holocaust as a Crime of Complicity
The discussion revolves around the Holocaust, emphasizing the complexity of its execution as a crime driven by complicity across Europe. The notion that the Holocaust was not merely a top-down order from the Nazi leadership, but rather a collective, enabling environment within various European communities, is explored. This complicity manifested in the willingness of local populations to participate in or overlook the atrocities, as seen in places like Kaunas, Lithuania, where local nationalists engaged in horrific pogroms against Jewish communities in the early stages of the Nazi invasion. These actions underline how the collaboration of local populations and their indifference played a crucial role in the Holocaust's unfolding.
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