First-Person Accounts of Genocidal Acts Committed in the Twentieth Century: An Annotated Bibliography

(Hardback)

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Description

This bibliography includes English-language first-person accounts of individuals who survived or witnessed, as bystanders, journalists, diplomats, or liberators, genocidal acts in this century. The primary focus is on diaries, letter,s memoirs, autobiographies, oral histories, interviews and statements in newspaper articles or other texts. A secondary focus is on reports, films, microfilm collections, and archives that contain first-person accounts, essays about first-person accounts, and bibliographies that list first-person accounts. Although there are bibliography on genocide, this volume is the first to cover first-person accounts. The volume opens with a lengthy introductory essay on genocide. It then devotes chapters to specific genocidal acts, including German extermination of the Hereros, Ottoman genocide of the Armenians, Soviet-induced famine in the Ukraine, the Soviet's "Great Purge", the Soviet deportation of whole nations, the Holocaust, Gypsies during the Holocaust, Indonesian genocide of Communists and suspected Communists, Ugandan genocides, Pakistani genocide in Bangladesh, Burundi genocide of the Hutus, Indonesian genocide in East Timor, the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia, threatened genocide of the Baha'is, and genocide of various indigenous peoples. The chapters are subdivided by type of account, and all entries are annotated. The work includes subject and author indexes. The book aims to be a useful resource for historians, political scientists, and sociologists interested in genocide and international human relations.

Reviews

As a reference book, this bibliography is well-constructed and user-friendly. This bibliography will be of great significance to libraries for collection development and to scholars studying comparative genocides, the psychology of survivors and other individuals who witnessed the horrors inflicted upon the targeted people.-INTERNET
Expanding on this chapter "First-Person Accounts of Genocidal Acts," in volume 2 of Genocide: A Critical Bibliographic Review, ed. by Israel Charny (1991). Totten has compiled this book-length bibliography, which covers first-person accounts of genocidal acts in this century, excluding the view of the perpetrator. However, it is not just another Holocaust bibliography. The excellent descriptive annotations, the specialized focus on first-person accounts (including an insightful introductory essay on the uses and limitations of such material), the comprehensive coverage within this focus, the unusually wide scope of genocides included (e.g., against Armenians, Ukrainians, Cambodians), and the helpful author and subject indexes, all combine to create a unique bibliography of considerable value. It complements bibliographies of narrower scope (fewer genocides) but wider focus (more types of material), such as Abraham and Hershel Edelheit's Bibliography on Holocaust Literature, and its supplement, or Gabrielle Tyrnauer's Gypsies and the Holocaust: A Bibliography and Introduction Essay(1989). Suitable for academic and large public libraries, and for specialized collections on human rights, minorities, and 20th-century history.-Choice
The commentary and annotations provide valuable context and explanation for the list of resources.-ARBA
This excellent bibliography belongs in academic libraries and in any library with strong collections on human rights, ethnic groups, or modern history.-RQ
"As a reference book, this bibliography is well-constructed and user-friendly. This bibliography will be of great significance to libraries for collection development and to scholars studying comparative genocides, the psychology of survivors and other individuals who witnessed the horrors inflicted upon the targeted people."-INTERNET
"The commentary and annotations provide valuable context and explanation for the list of resources."-ARBA
"This excellent bibliography belongs in academic libraries and in any library with strong collections on human rights, ethnic groups, or modern history."-RQ
"Expanding on this chapter "First-Person Accounts of Genocidal Acts," in volume 2 of Genocide: A Critical Bibliographic Review, ed. by Israel Charny (1991). Totten has compiled this book-length bibliography, which covers first-person accounts of genocidal acts in this century, excluding the view of the perpetrator. However, it is not just another Holocaust bibliography. The excellent descriptive annotations, the specialized focus on first-person accounts (including an insightful introductory essay on the uses and limitations of such material), the comprehensive coverage within this focus, the unusually wide scope of genocides included (e.g., against Armenians, Ukrainians, Cambodians), and the helpful author and subject indexes, all combine to create a unique bibliography of considerable value. It complements bibliographies of narrower scope (fewer genocides) but wider focus (more types of material), such as Abraham and Hershel Edelheit's Bibliography on Holocaust Literature, and its supplement, or Gabrielle Tyrnauer's Gypsies and the Holocaust: A Bibliography and Introduction Essay(1989). Suitable for academic and large public libraries, and for specialized collections on human rights, minorities, and 20th-century history."-Choice

Author Bio

SAMUEL TOTTEN is an Assistant Professor at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. He is a member of the Council of the Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide (Jerusalem, Israel).