The Scourge of the Swastika

The Scourge of the Swastika: A Short History of Nazi War Crimes
AuthorLord Russell of Liverpool
LanguageEnglish
SubjectNazi war crimes
PublisherCassell
Publication date
19 August 1954
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint (hardback)
Pages259
OCLC570123
LC ClassD804.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

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The book provides a brief history of the Nazi war crimes and features graphic photographic evidence.

Publication

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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

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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

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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

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  1. ^ "British Officer Quits Army Post to Expose Nazi Atrocities". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 11 August 1954. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  2. ^ The Annual Obituary. St. Martin's. 1982. p. 254. ISBN 978-0-312-03876-2.
  3. ^ Chapman Pincher (1979). Inside Story: A Documentary of the Pursuit of Power. Stein and Day. p. 219. ISBN 978-0-8128-2588-6.
  4. ^ Bookseller: The Organ of the Book Trade. J. Whitaker. 1958. p. 1909.
  5. ^ Foges, Peter (28 September 2014). "How Hitch & Amis Discovered Evil In My House". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  6. ^ Justice of the Peace and Local Government Review. Justice of the Peace, Limited. 1964. p. 11.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ Middleton, Drew (14 November 1954). "A Catalogue of Degradation". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  9. ^ "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.
  10. ^ Cheyette, Bryan (8 July 2006). "Wedded to the umlaut". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  11. ^ "Gabor Maté: 5 books that changed my life". CBC News. 18 July 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  12. ^ Gardner, Bill (24 March 2013). "The Big Interview: Tony Greenstein". The Argus. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  13. ^ "The painful truth about survival". The Jewish Chronicle. 29 September 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2021.