Daniel Goldhagen re-visits a question which history has treated as settled, and his research leads him to the inescapble conclusion that none of the answers holds true. That question is: How could the Holocaust happen? His response is an exploration of German society and its ingrained anti-semitism that demands a fundamental revision of our thinking about the years 1933-1945. The author marshals fresh, primary evidence - including extensive testimony from the actual perpetrators - to show that the killers were ordinary Germans who were not compelled to act as they did (they knew they could refuse without retribution) yet they killed willingly and zealously.

"** 'A monumental achievement." - SUNDAY TIMES

"** 'Powerful and well-researched... this book stimulates thought... It is a serious book written by a gifted scholar." - TLS

"** 'As stomach churning in its grueseome detail as it is mind-blowing for its radical façade stripping of one of the ghastliest episodes of human history." - DAILY MAIL

"** 'There is enough material here to disturb the human race to the end of time." - ROBERT KEE