Combining Burzlaff’s historiographical overview with a chapter from Fulbrook’s recent book, these readings explore the relations between social groupings and the Holocaust. They raise questions about how to reconcile the Holocaust as a defining event in people’s lives with the variety of wartime experiences, bringing together debates on categorization, politics, geography and community.

Jan Burzlaff, ‘Confronting the Communal Grave: A Reassessment of Social Relations During the Holocaust in Eastern Europe’, The Historical Journal 63.4 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019), pp. 1054-1077.

Mary Fulbrook, Reckonings: Legacies of Nazi Persecution and The Quest for Justice, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018), ch. 6 ‘Defining Experiences’, pp. 141-174.