Modernity and the Holocaust

The book by the famous sociologist and philosopher Zygmunt Bauman, Modernity and the Holocaust, has taken a special place among the numerous works on the tragedy of European Jewry. The author consistently refutes the thesis that this genocide was a manifestation of the fragility of civilization, instead suggesting that we look at the Holocaust as evidence of its powerful potential. Zygmunt Bauman demonstrates that the roots of the genocide go back to the very nature of modernity, important features of which are nationalism, the construction of an artificial social order, rational bureaucratic management, etc. The author refuses to limit the study and understanding of the Holocaust within the framework of Jewish history, and at the same time offers a deep analysis of the aspects that have a “modern flavor” and distinguish this genocide from others. According to Zygmunt Bauman, “The Holocaust was a legitimate inhabitant of the house called modernity.”