Raul Hilberg facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Raul Hilberg
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| Born | June 2, 1926 |
| Died | August 4, 2007 (aged 81) |
| Nationality | American |
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Notable work
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The Destruction of the European Jews (1961) |
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| Institutions | University of Vermont |
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Raul Hilberg (born June 2, 1926 – died August 4, 2007) was an American historian and political scientist. He was born in Austria to a Jewish family. Many people consider him the most important expert on the Holocaust. Historian Christopher R. Browning called him the "founding father" of Holocaust Studies. Hilberg's most famous work is a three-volume book called The Destruction of the European Jews. This book is seen as a key text for anyone studying the Nazi plan known as the Final Solution.
Contents
Life and Career
Raul Hilberg was born in Vienna, Austria. His family spoke Polish and were Jewish. His father was a salesman who had fought bravely in World War I. In 1938, when Raul was 12, Germany took over Austria. His family was forced out of their home. His father was arrested but later released because of his war service.
In 1939, when Raul was 13, his family fled Austria. They traveled through France and Cuba before reaching Miami, Florida, in the United States. This was the same day World War II started in Europe. During the war, 26 members of Hilberg's family were killed in the Holocaust.
The Hilbergs settled in Brooklyn, New York. Raul went to Abraham Lincoln High School and Brooklyn College. He first wanted to study chemistry but later changed his mind. From 1944 to 1946, he served in the United States Army.
During his time in the army, Hilberg worked in the War Documentation Department. He helped examine old records across Europe. In Munich, Germany, he found Adolf Hitler's private library. This discovery, along with learning about his family's deaths, made Hilberg want to research the Holocaust.
Academic Journey
After the war, Hilberg decided to study political science. He earned his first degree from Brooklyn College in 1948. He then went on to get his master's degree in 1950 and his PhD in 1955 from Columbia University.
Hilberg was very interested in how governments and large organizations (called bureaucracies) work. He wanted to understand how the Holocaust happened, focusing on the people who carried it out. He felt it was important to study this topic because many people were silent about it. He saw his research as a "protest against silence."
His main professor, Franz Neumann, was worried about Hilberg's chosen topic. He warned that writing about the Holocaust might hurt his career. But Hilberg continued his research, determined to uncover the facts. In 1955, his PhD paper won a special award, which meant it could be published.
In 1955, Hilberg started teaching at the University of Vermont. He spent most of his teaching career there. In 1974, he taught the first college course in the U.S. specifically about the Holocaust. He retired in 1991 as a professor. The University of Vermont later created a special professorship and a lecture series in his honor.
Hilberg also served on the President's Commission on the Holocaust. He received Germany's highest award for non-Germans, the Order of Merit. This was for his important work on the history of the Holocaust. In 2005, he became a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
The Destruction of the European Jews
Raul Hilberg is most famous for his book, The Destruction of the European Jews. He believed that while the Holocaust was a huge event, it was made up of many ordinary actions. He said that when you break it down, you find "completely recognizable, ordinary ingredients."
His professors thought his original study was too long. Hilberg wanted the whole book published, not just a small part. But it was hard to find a publisher. Some groups worried that the book would be criticized. They also feared it might cause problems because it mentioned some Jewish groups cooperated with the Nazis.
Challenges to Publication
Hilberg offered his complete book to many publishers for six years. But they all said no. Even Princeton University Press turned it down. Finally, in 1961, a smaller publisher called Quadrangle Books agreed to print it.
A wealthy supporter named Frank Petschek helped pay for the printing. He paid $15,000, which was a lot of money at the time. This allowed 5,500 copies to be printed. About 1,300 copies were given to libraries.
The book also faced delays in Germany. A German publisher bought the rights in 1963. But they waited two years and then decided not to publish it. They were concerned that parts of the book, especially about Jewish cooperation, would help anti-Jewish groups in Germany. Hilberg disagreed with this fear.
It took about 20 years for the book to finally be published in Germany in 1982. The publisher, Ulf Wolter, told Hilberg that the book was about "Injustice!" Hilberg was happy that his work would reach German readers. He hoped his book would be "solid enough for the next century."
Book's Approach and Structure
The Destruction of the European Jews was the first book to clearly describe the complex system the Nazis used. Hilberg looked at how the Holocaust was carried out through German eyes. He studied the political, legal, and organizational steps. He showed how ordinary clerks and officials, by simply doing their jobs, helped make the genocide happen.
Hilberg did not focus on the suffering of the victims. Instead, he showed how the Nazis developed methods and organized resources. They made decisions, set up camps, and trained people to carry out the "Final Solution." He found many documents that showed how this process worked. His book explained the bureaucratic ways genocide was put into action. He let the horror of the process speak for itself through the facts.
Hilberg's detailed research showed how different parts of the Nazi government worked together. Because of this, many individual officials saw their roles as separate from the actual killing. They did not call themselves "perpetrators." But Hilberg made it clear that these officials knew they were part of a process of destruction.
Hilberg's approach was to describe how the Holocaust happened, rather than why. He once said, "I have never begun by asking the big questions, because I was always afraid that I would come up with small answers." His detailed, factual approach had a big impact on other historians.
Public Role
Raul Hilberg was the only scholar interviewed for Claude Lanzmann's famous film Shoah whose interview was included in the final movie. He was a key influence on how the film showed the details of the genocide.
Hilberg also supported other historians. He backed Norman Finkelstein's research, especially his work on money claimed by Holocaust survivors. Hilberg also disagreed with some ideas in Daniel Goldhagen's book Hitler's Willing Executioners.
In 2007, Hilberg spoke about claims of a "new anti-Semitism." He said that comparing recent events to the deep-rooted anti-Jewish feelings of the past was like "picking up a few pebbles from the past and throwing them at windows." He meant that the scale and nature of anti-Semitism today are very different from the past.
Personal Life
Raul Hilberg had two children, David and Deborah, with his first wife, Christine Hemenway. After they divorced, he married Gwendolyn Montgomery in 1980. His daughter, Deborah, moved to Israel and became a teacher for children with learning disabilities. She wrote about her father's parenting style.
Hilberg was not religious and considered himself an atheist. He once said, "The fact is that I have had no God." However, after his second wife converted to Judaism in 1993, Hilberg began to quietly attend services at a synagogue. He admired the idea of Jews as "iconoclasts" or people who challenge traditional beliefs. He saw Jews as the "conscience of the world."
Raul Hilberg died on August 4, 2007, at the age of 81, from lung cancer. He was a non-smoker. He passed away in Williston, Vermont.
See also
In Spanish: Raul Hilberg para niños
- Jan T. Gross
