Why Didn't the Press Shout? International Journalism During the Holocaust

Thirty journalists, historians, and authors examine the role of the press in 12 countries in reporting the Holocaust, both in the years leading up to World War II and during the catastrophe itself. There's an incisive introduction by journalist Marvin Kalb; other contributors include Max Frankel of the New York Times and authors Radu Ioanid, Tom Segev, and Leni Yahil. They write of a pattern of denial and concealment by the Soviet press and of the German's "collective hatred for the whole Jewish community." It is contended here that the Vatican remained silent on the issue and that the American press (especially the New York Times) relegated these critical stories to their back pages. The press in Poland and Hungary was anti-Semitic, and the British press considered the Shoah to be a "minor, marginalised item," the authors say. The contributors conclude that the press largely failed the challenge of reporting the mass murder of Europe's Jews. The book is certain to be a standard work on this aspect of the Holocaust. George Cohen
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