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What is the Holocaust? Were Hitlet and his executioners sadistic psychopaths? Were ordinary Germans morally culpable for murdering millions of innocent victims? This volume seeks to explore these and other ethical, cultural and religious questions within a historical context. Beginning with the origin and growth of anti-Semitism, this historical survey continues with a consideration of the legacy of the Holocaust in the modern world. Designed as a book for students in colleges and universities, as well as for the general reader, Understanding the Holocaust details the key themes and events of the Holocaust and discusses their implications. Unlike other books on the subject it contains both a history of the Holocaust and extensive reflections on the social, religious and moral issues raised by the emergence of the Third Reich and its impact on subsequent history. The book also contains maps and illustrations related to the growth and development of Nazism and a lengthy biography. Rabbi Professor Dan Cihn-Sherbok received a doctorate in philosophy from Cambridge University and an honorary doctorate in divinity from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.He is Professor of Judaism at the University of Wales at Lampeter.His previous books include The Crucified Jew: Twenty Centuries of Christian Anti-Semitism (1992) and God and the Holocaust (1996).