Author Description

Originally published in 1960 in German as Der Gelbe Stern, this landmark book was one of the first comprehensive photographic accounts of the Holocaust. During the 1950s, researchers in Washington, D.C. and London pored over more than 1,500 tons of photographs and documents seized after World War II. In 1960 Gerhard Schoenberner gathered some 200 photographs from the newly uncovered material, most of them taken by Nazis to chronicle their war against the Jews. Schoenberner named the book after the yellow badge that the Nazis forced the persecuted Jews to wear. With its comprehensive, authoritative presentation of visual and textual evidence, much of which had not yet not been seen before, The Yellow Star shocked the German population and introduced the world to many haunting images. The book endures as one of the most important documentary accounts of the Holocaust, reprinted in many German editions and published in eight languages.The photographs are accompanied by extracts from Nazi and German documents-laws, decrees, and other Reich memoranda, field reports from SS officers and concentration camp directors, newspaper editorials, and other writings. Schoenberner also provides detailed captions to the photographs. Organized chronologically, the book follows the growing scope and terror of the Holocaust, from the first anti-Jewish laws and Kristallnacht to ghetto uprisings and the Final Solution, culminating in the liberation of the death death camps. Each chapter has a narrative introduction by the author.While remaining true to the author's original concept, this new edition is a completely fresh presentation of the photographs and documents, with several enhancements. Schoenberner has added new photographs, replaced others, updated the captions and commentary when necessary, and updated and expanded the bibliography. Even if anti-Semitism were not on the rise in today's world, The Yellow Star would still be an essential book. In photograph after photograph, page after page, the Shoah unfolds as inexorable horror-captured with resonance that remains unequaled.Praise for The Yellow Star: One of the Books of the Century.-Frankfurter Allegemeine ZeitungSince the defeat of Nazism we have seen many books on this subject, yet there are few that could be compared to this one... An exceptional work.-Le MondeA must for any library, and school, and household where concern and conscience are alive.-Die Welt