Anatomy of a Genocide
| Company type | Book |
|---|---|
| Industry | Publishing |
| Founded | 2018 |
| Founder | Omer Bartov |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Products | History book |
| Owner | Simon & Schuster |
Anatomy of a Genocide: The Life and Death of a Town called Buczacz is a 2018 publication by historian Omer Bartov that explores the ethnic interactions among Poles, Ukrainians, and Jews in the town of Buczacz (present-day Buchach, Ukraine), with a particular emphasis on the Holocaust. Released by Simon & Schuster, this work offers an in-depth microhistorical perspective that unveils the intricate social relations and violent events during this era. It has been acknowledged for its thorough examination of interethnic strife and genocidal processes, providing significant contributions to Holocaust scholarship and the study of Eastern European history.
Background
Omer Bartov, a professor specializing in European history at Brown University, has a personal connection to Buczacz, where his mother grew up before emigrating to Israel prior to World War II; most of her family perished in the Holocaust. The project originated in the mid-1990s after conversations with his mother revealed that genocide was influenced not only by external forces but also by preexisting local social dynamics. The volume of material gathered compelled Bartov to divide his research into two separate books, with a future installment planned to cover Buczacz’s inhabitants from 1848 to 1914 and their patterns of migration.
Publication history
Initially published in English by Simon & Schuster in 2018, the book subsequently reached wider audiences through translations into Polish (2019, Wydawnictwo Czarne), Hebrew (2020, Am Oved), and German (2021, Suhrkamp Verlag). These versions have extended its influence across important European and Israeli readerships.
Reception
Historian Grzegorz Rossoliński-Liebe characterizes Bartov’s study as "a significant and groundbreaking analysis" that redefines perspectives on the Holocaust in Galicia by employing a microhistorical approach centered on everyday local experiences. Historian Havi Dreifuss praises the book’s subtle depiction of ethnic relationships and conflicts, situating Holocaust research within the broader context of World War II genocides without merging distinct narratives, thereby deepening understanding of both Jewish destinies and those of other regional populations.
Awards
The work received the National Jewish Book Award recognizing it as the best Holocaust-related book of 2018.
Further reading
- Non-English reviews
- Related book