Niemieckie spojrzenie na akcję Reinhardt
German view of the Operation Reinhardt

Reflections on the Stephan Lehnstaedt’s book Time of killing

Summary/Abstract: The aim of the article is to review the book of German historian StephanLehnstaedt about the Operation Reinhardt, that is extermination of Jews in the GeneralGovernment district of German-occupied Poland, Bialystok district and other countriesoccupied by the Third Reich in the years 1942–1943. The author’s work is an interestinganalytical input in historiography of Holocaust, as well as the first synthetic depiction ofthe genocidal operation in German scientific literature. Lehnstaedt emphasizes that Shoahwas never only a ransacking mass murder but above all it resulted from criminal worldviewof the Nazis and competition between various centres of power within the regime. Inthe book he also writes about highly controversial topic regarding Polish-Jewish relationsbased on execution and results of the Operation Reinhardt, as well as culture of remembranceand remaining memorial places. Because all of this his reflections deserve a detaileddepiction and critical analysis.

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