It's been more than 70 years since the Holocaust, and people continue to question why such an atrocity was able to take place. In Why?, Peter Hayes expertly responds to that question with an eight-part answer. He packs an incredible amount of history and analysis into each section, beginning his response with a comprehensive analysis of why Jews have always been a target. He focuses on the rise of Nazism in Weimar Germany and the beginning of abuse aimed at the Jews. From there, he discusses how the Nazis went from using bullets to the more "humane" method of murder by Zyklon B gas in the death camps.
He discusses why more people didn't fight back, what caused other countries to overlook what was happening and the important lessons that can be learned from this combination of events that created a perfect storm of death. Because of its subject matter--the deaths of more than six million people in a few short years--Why? is not an easy read, but taken in short stints, it is vital. Hayes writes, "The Holocaust was not mysterious and inscrutable; it was the work of humans acting on familiar human weaknesses and motives: wounded pride, fear, self-righteousness, prejudice, and personal ambition being among the most obvious." These are weighty words to ponder in the current age. --Lee E. Cart, freelance writer and book reviewer