SOVIET JEWISH STEPCHILD

Dr. Kiril Feferman's fascinating book analyzes the§Soviet Union's treatment of the Holocaust from§1941-1964 through the litmus text of the Babi Yar§massacre of 1941. "In the West, while we are familiar§with the concept of Holocaust denial, the Soviet§concept of Holocaust suppression is quite foreign to§us," explains Feferman, Yad Vashem lecturer,§researcher, and overall expert on the Former Soviet§Union, the Holocaust, and the Second World war.§Feferman attempts to answer such questions as: Why§and how did the Soviet views towards the§extermination of Jews aim at avoiding Nazi§accusations that that the Soviets were fighting a§Jewish war ? Why the Holocaust did not fit in the§simplistic, black-and-white Soviet mindset of "he who§is not with us, is against us ? Finally, Why the§Bolsheviks, who never had any scruples about the many§millions of Soviet civilians they themselves killed,§were forced to accept over time that the Holocaust§had to be treated differently than other, related§topics? Feferman does a masterful job of answering§these questions and many more in this carefully§researched, fascinating work.