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Preface

• In 1942 people begin hearing of Nazi death camps.

• Postwar Germans feel guilt and shame over what happened and are unwilling to admit to it.
• The stories of survivors are the best way to learn about what happened.

• Survivors' stories are individual stories. They do not tell the complete picture.
• The experience of the Lagers (concentration and death camps) is unique to World War II.

Chapter 1, The Memory of the Offense

• Memory is not objective.

• Both oppressors and victims have memories that are altered by time and other factors.
• Nazis' confessions show that many of them were motivated to do what they did by an environment of fear and the need to follow the directives of their superiors.

• Some Nazis invented memories because the truth is too horrible to remember (e.g.., Louis Darquier de Pellepoix).

• Some Nazis blamed their actions on being indoctrinated by the ruling power...

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