Mark Roseman
Author of The Wannsee Conference and the Final Solution: A Reconsideration
About the Author
Mark Roseman teaches modern history at the University of Southhampton in England & has published widely on many aspects of the 20th century German history. He lives in Birmingham, England. (Bowker Author Biography)
Works by Mark Roseman
The Cambridge History of the Holocaust: Volume 1, Contexts: Origins, Comparisons, Entanglements (2025) 3 copies
»Du bist nicht ganz verlassen«: Eine Geschichte von Rettung und Widerstand im Nationalsozialismus (2020) 1 copy
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Roseman, Mark
- Birthdate
- 1958-09-07
- Gender
- male
- Education
- University of Cambridge (Christ's College)
Warwick University (PhD, 1987) - Occupations
- historian
professor - Organizations
- Indiana University, Bloomington
- Short biography
- Mark Roseman is an historian of modern Europe, with particular interests in the history of the Holocaust and in modern German history. At Indiana University, Bloomington, he is a Distinguished Professor since 2018, Pat M. Glazer Chair in Jewish Studies and Professor in History since 2004, and Adjunct Professor in Germanic Studies. Previously, he was a lecturer in German History at Aston University in the Department of Modern Languages; a senior lecturer in Modern History in Keele University's History Department; and a Professor of Modern History at the University of Southampton. Books include A Past in Hiding: Memory and Survival in Nazi Germany (2001) and The Villa, The Lake, The Meeting: Wannsee and the Final Solution, published in the USA as The Wannsee Conference and the Final Solution: A Reconsideration (2002).
- Nationality
- UK
- Birthplace
- London, England, UK
- Associated Place (for map)
- England, UK
Members
Reviews
'Engrossing and chilling, it helps our understanding of Wannsee's place on the twisted path to genocide’
SUNDAY TIMES
In 1947, American prosecutors were collecting information for the Nuremberg trials when they discovered a few pieces of paper, stamped Geheime Reichssache (Secret Reich matter). These were the minutes of a meeting that had taken place between top Nazi civil servants, SS officials and party representatives on 20 January 1942 in a grand Berlin villa on the shores of Lake show more Wannsee. Written in dry, bureaucratic language, the document lays out a plan for genocide: ‘In the course of the final solution … Jews fit to work will work their way eastward constructing roads. Doubtless the large majority will be eliminated by natural causes. Any final remnant that survives … will have to be dealt with appropriately’. The document goes on to consider how to deal with half Jews, Jews married to Germans and war-decorated Jews, suggesting forced sterilisation or an ‘old-age ghetto’ in order to avoid public objection. It has been called ‘perhaps the most shameful document of modern history’.
In his in-depth analysis, acclaimed historian Mark Roseman reflects that the Wannsee Protocol is, 'a kind of keyhole through which we can glimpse the emerging Final Solution'. Yet, it was not here that the decision was taken – mass murders had already begun and the first gas chambers had been built. So what was the real purpose of this meeting, in which 15 well educated men dined together, smoked cigars and discussed genocide? Roseman traces Hitler's careful signalling of his wishes, through the escalation of violent anti-Semitism to the killing squads in the Soviet Union and construction of extermination camps. Those who attended the meeting later tried to deny having seen the minutes; but their plea of ignorance was exploded by the document’s naked statement of murder.
The Folio Society has produced the first illustrated edition of this chilling and important work, showing photographs of the original invitation, the villa and the men involved. An arresting photograph of the Villa Wannsee's elegant but empty corridor, from the collection ‘Melancholy Grandeur’ by photographer Werner Zellien, is reproduced on the front board. show less
SUNDAY TIMES
In 1947, American prosecutors were collecting information for the Nuremberg trials when they discovered a few pieces of paper, stamped Geheime Reichssache (Secret Reich matter). These were the minutes of a meeting that had taken place between top Nazi civil servants, SS officials and party representatives on 20 January 1942 in a grand Berlin villa on the shores of Lake show more Wannsee. Written in dry, bureaucratic language, the document lays out a plan for genocide: ‘In the course of the final solution … Jews fit to work will work their way eastward constructing roads. Doubtless the large majority will be eliminated by natural causes. Any final remnant that survives … will have to be dealt with appropriately’. The document goes on to consider how to deal with half Jews, Jews married to Germans and war-decorated Jews, suggesting forced sterilisation or an ‘old-age ghetto’ in order to avoid public objection. It has been called ‘perhaps the most shameful document of modern history’.
In his in-depth analysis, acclaimed historian Mark Roseman reflects that the Wannsee Protocol is, 'a kind of keyhole through which we can glimpse the emerging Final Solution'. Yet, it was not here that the decision was taken – mass murders had already begun and the first gas chambers had been built. So what was the real purpose of this meeting, in which 15 well educated men dined together, smoked cigars and discussed genocide? Roseman traces Hitler's careful signalling of his wishes, through the escalation of violent anti-Semitism to the killing squads in the Soviet Union and construction of extermination camps. Those who attended the meeting later tried to deny having seen the minutes; but their plea of ignorance was exploded by the document’s naked statement of murder.
The Folio Society has produced the first illustrated edition of this chilling and important work, showing photographs of the original invitation, the villa and the men involved. An arresting photograph of the Villa Wannsee's elegant but empty corridor, from the collection ‘Melancholy Grandeur’ by photographer Werner Zellien, is reproduced on the front board. show less
A short, focussed book on the Wannsee Conference; the event that codified the Holocaust. Roseman examines the Holocaust through the burning lens of this pivotal event, and uses his analysis of Nazi politics to explore the reasons why the most cultured nation in Europe turned for ten or so years into the most barbarous.
His conclusions are that there was no one reason for the Holocaust; but the picture he paints brings it home. The Holocaust was down to a mixture of historical prejudice, the show more culmination of 100 years of nation-building, the parallel 100 years of debate over Pan-Germanism, the theory of German defeat through betrayal in World War I, Hitler's own status as Führer and what that meant to the perception of his position and (seeming) infallibility, plus his own policy of keeping in power through encouraging savage social Darwinism amongst his subordinates, and the Nazis' own acceptance of violence and murder as a legitmate political tool.
The book is meticulously researched; given that the participants in the Final Solution did their best to hide the evidence of what they did, we have to thank the traditional German efficiency and bureaucracy for preserving so many of the primary sources that prove the fact of the Holocaust. Why anyone can persist in denying this event is beyond me, save that they either do not want to believe it, or they would happily participate in it themselves. show less
His conclusions are that there was no one reason for the Holocaust; but the picture he paints brings it home. The Holocaust was down to a mixture of historical prejudice, the show more culmination of 100 years of nation-building, the parallel 100 years of debate over Pan-Germanism, the theory of German defeat through betrayal in World War I, Hitler's own status as Führer and what that meant to the perception of his position and (seeming) infallibility, plus his own policy of keeping in power through encouraging savage social Darwinism amongst his subordinates, and the Nazis' own acceptance of violence and murder as a legitmate political tool.
The book is meticulously researched; given that the participants in the Final Solution did their best to hide the evidence of what they did, we have to thank the traditional German efficiency and bureaucracy for preserving so many of the primary sources that prove the fact of the Holocaust. Why anyone can persist in denying this event is beyond me, save that they either do not want to believe it, or they would happily participate in it themselves. show less
Lives reclaimed offers an an account of a little-known piece of World War II history—and a consideration of how that bit of history was represented and reinterpreted after the war. Lives Reclaimed explores the decision by members of a "counter cultural" bund to engage in resistance during Hitler's rule in Germany. The key questions the author explores are
• what really motivates rescuers?
• when is an action an altruistic as opposed to self-interested?
• in the context of an show more organization that has agreed to debate almost every action and to go with the opinion of the majority, how much credit should any one individual receive for the group's actions?
If you're interested in considering questions like these and want to broaden your knowledge of life in Germany during WWII, you will find much valuable material in this book. If you prefer titles that are emotionally driven, rather than intellectually driven, you may find this title less interesting.
I received a free CD copy of this title for review purposes. The opinions are my own. show less
• what really motivates rescuers?
• when is an action an altruistic as opposed to self-interested?
• in the context of an show more organization that has agreed to debate almost every action and to go with the opinion of the majority, how much credit should any one individual receive for the group's actions?
If you're interested in considering questions like these and want to broaden your knowledge of life in Germany during WWII, you will find much valuable material in this book. If you prefer titles that are emotionally driven, rather than intellectually driven, you may find this title less interesting.
I received a free CD copy of this title for review purposes. The opinions are my own. show less
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.This a very well researched history narrative told through interpretation of the letters and diaries of individuals linked through their membership in the "Bund". It is a chilling story of the individual, tiny steps in Germany before and during WWII. These are the idealistic individuals who believed in an ideal community and society. Their beliefs and hopes contrast sharply with their daily life of survival in a country plunging to the bottom. It is a story of small acts of defiance and show more helping of others. Well told. show less
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 13
- Also by
- 3
- Members
- 534
- Popularity
- #46,619
- Rating
- 4.0
- Reviews
- 9
- ISBNs
- 39
- Languages
- 7
