Holocaust Resistance in Europe and America

This book brings together eleven essays that analyze different aspects of resistance to the Holocaust, which took many forms: armed and passive resistance, uprisings in ghettos and concentration camps, partisan and underground movements, the rescue of Jews, spiritual resistance, and preservation of Jewish artifacts and memories. Jewish resistance to the Holocaust faced numerous obstacles and difficulties. In many cases, resistance fighters risked not only their own lives, but also the lives of others. As such, there was a serious dilemma over whether to resist and over what methods of resistance should be used, because armed resistance could further harm the civilian population. The effort to resist was not in vain, however, regardless of whether the resistance participants survived or perished. To these fighters, resistance was seen as a moral victory over the Nazi regime.

The authors analyze resistance to the Nazi regime in Europe and America, and motivations of the American and Soviet Jewish soldiers to fight against Nazi Germany during World War II. The essays discuss strategies for Jewish survival, and armed and passive resistance in ghettos and concentration camps. The essays describe resistance to Holocaust denial, and difficulties in the preservation of memories about the Holocaust in Germany, Belarus and Ukraine. Several essays focus on the challenges which arise in the representation of Holocaust resistance in film and literature. This collection of essays significantly contributes to our understanding of resistance to the Holocaust, as well as its dilemmas and difficulties.