The Scourge of the Swastika
.png) | |
| Author | Lord Russell of Liverpool |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Nazi war crimes |
| Publisher | Cassell |
Publication date | 19 August 1954 |
| Media type | Print (hardback) |
| Pages | 259 |
| OCLC | 570123 |
| LC Class | D804.G4 R83 1954 |
The Scourge of the Swastika: A Short History of Nazi War Crimes is a 1954 non-fiction book by Edward Russell, 2nd Baron Russell of Liverpool.
Synopsis[edit]
The book provides a brief history of the Nazi war crimes and features graphic photographic evidence.
Publication[edit]
The book's publication resulted in great controversy. Russell was ordered by the government to withdraw the book's publication. About a week before its publication, he resigned his position of Assistant Judge Advocate General. The book was published by Cassell on 19 August 1954.[1] The book quickly became an international bestseller,[2][3][4][5] and remained a bestseller for years.[6]
Reception[edit]
In his review for the ABA Journal, U.S. Circuit Judge John J. Parker wrote that Russell "rendered a distinct public service in giving us a brief history of these war crimes in a form that the average man can read and understand."[7]
Drew Middleton of The New York Times called it a "difficult" book for readers.[8]
Legacy and influence[edit]
The book has been cited as an early influence by novelist Howard Jacobson; The Scourge of the Swastika appears in Jacobson's novels The Mighty Walzer (1999) and Kalooki Nights (2006).[9][10] It has also been cited by Hungarian-Canadian physician Gabor Maté, whose grandparents were killed in Auschwitz, as the "book that changed his life."[11] Activist Tony Greenstein said it was the first book he ever read and that it influenced him to consider "how hateful human beings could be to other human beings."[12]
Filmmaker Mark Forstater authored I Survived a Secret Nazi Extermination Camp, in which he reflects on his extended family who died in the Majdanek concentration camp and Belzec extermination camp. Forstater reveals his first sight of a naked woman to be in a picture of Belzec inmates running to their deaths featured in The Scourge of the Swastika.[13]
References[edit]
- ^ "British Officer Quits Army Post to Expose Nazi Atrocities". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 11 August 1954. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
- ^ The Annual Obituary. St. Martin's. 1982. p. 254. ISBN 978-0-312-03876-2.
- ^ Chapman Pincher (1979). Inside Story: A Documentary of the Pursuit of Power. Stein and Day. p. 219. ISBN 978-0-8128-2588-6.
- ^ Bookseller: The Organ of the Book Trade. J. Whitaker. 1958. p. 1909.
- ^ Foges, Peter (28 September 2014). "How Hitch & Amis Discovered Evil In My House". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
- ^ Justice of the Peace and Local Government Review. Justice of the Peace, Limited. 1964. p. 11.
- ^ Parker, John J. (May 1955). "The Scourge of the Swastika. A Short History of Nazi Crimes. By Lord Russell of Liverpool. New York: Philosophical Library. 1955. $4.50. Pages 259". ABA Journal. Vol. 41. p. 449. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
- ^ Middleton, Drew (14 November 1954). "A Catalogue of Degradation". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
- ^ "Howard Jacobson: The day the Holocaust came to Manchester". The Independent. 1 April 2009. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
- ^ Cheyette, Bryan (8 July 2006). "Wedded to the umlaut". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
- ^ "Gabor Maté: 5 books that changed my life". CBC News. 18 July 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
- ^ Gardner, Bill (24 March 2013). "The Big Interview: Tony Greenstein". The Argus. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
- ^ "The painful truth about survival". The Jewish Chronicle. 29 September 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
 | This article about a non-fiction book on The Holocaust is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |