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Final Verdict: The Holocaust on Trial in the 21st Century
The gripping narrative of one of the last Nazi criminal trials in Germany—that of Bruno Dey, a 93-year-old former concentration camp guard charged with accessory to the murder of more than 5,000 people—and a larger exploration of Germany's reckoning with the Holocaust, from silence to memory to today's rising tide of fascism and antisemitism.
Bruno Dey's trial surfaced at a pivotal moment for Germany and its thinking about the Nazi genocide. The Holocaust continues to occupy a crucial space in German public life, but country's near-universal commitment to Vergangenheitsbewältigung (dealing with the past through commemoration and atonement) has recently showed signs of fraying. This reflects in part the passage of time, and the fact that the last surviving witnesses—victims and perpetrators alike—are rapidly fading away.
But it’s also the result of profound changes in German politics and society. The far-right has made electoral gains and is openly challenging the country’s consensus around the Holocaust. At the same time, there is a small but vociferous group of intellectuals on the left who question Germany’s memory culture from a different angle, asking whether the Holocaust was indeed a singular crime. What does the Holocaust mean for the country’s new Muslim citizens from Syria and Afghanistan, many of whom arrived with their own traumas?
Final Verdict investigates questions that touch not just on German history, politics, and memory culture, but also on the author’s own family history. Buck revisits the silence that surrounds his own family’s experiences—and culpability—during the Nazi period. In the face of rising anti-Semitism in Germany, the United States, and globally, Final Verdict examines whether remembrance can bear the weight of warning and witness to prevent future atrocities.
Bruno Dey's trial surfaced at a pivotal moment for Germany and its thinking about the Nazi genocide. The Holocaust continues to occupy a crucial space in German public life, but country's near-universal commitment to Vergangenheitsbewältigung (dealing with the past through commemoration and atonement) has recently showed signs of fraying. This reflects in part the passage of time, and the fact that the last surviving witnesses—victims and perpetrators alike—are rapidly fading away.
But it’s also the result of profound changes in German politics and society. The far-right has made electoral gains and is openly challenging the country’s consensus around the Holocaust. At the same time, there is a small but vociferous group of intellectuals on the left who question Germany’s memory culture from a different angle, asking whether the Holocaust was indeed a singular crime. What does the Holocaust mean for the country’s new Muslim citizens from Syria and Afghanistan, many of whom arrived with their own traumas?
Final Verdict investigates questions that touch not just on German history, politics, and memory culture, but also on the author’s own family history. Buck revisits the silence that surrounds his own family’s experiences—and culpability—during the Nazi period. In the face of rising anti-Semitism in Germany, the United States, and globally, Final Verdict examines whether remembrance can bear the weight of warning and witness to prevent future atrocities.
336 pages, Hardcover
Published April 30, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 22, 2024
At the young age of 17, Bruno Day served as a guard at the Stutthoff concentration camp. In 2019, at the age of 93 he was brought before a court, accused in assisting of the murder of over 5,000 prisoners. One of the key questions raised by this trial, is why now? Why charge an elderly man who had such a minor role in the Holocaust? Through Dey's trial Tobias Buck's Final Verdict: the Holocaust on Trial in the 21st Century answers this question by following the case and delineating the historic failure of German postwar justice to adequately set precedents to charge those complicit in the infrastructure of the Holocaust until 2009.
Germany's guilt after World War II was clear beyond doubt, compared to the complicated conclusion of the First World War. The memory culture of the Holocaust and the collective societal guilt was a key part of the post war German identity, seen through memorials and the political approaches Germany has taken in supporting Israel and the Ukraine. I state 'was' here because Buck argues that this is changing, especially as both the perpetrators and the survivors of the Holocaust are dying, intellectuals debate the centrality of guilt, political parties use it as point of support or opposition and Germany has changed with conflict fueled immigration from Afghanistan, Syria and other nations. This last point is quite apparent in the courtroom as Dey's daughter appears in hijab as she has married a Muslim.
Buck's book is short, and the simple but straightforward writing hides a complex depth that struggles with the questions inherent in the Holocaust, what would I have done in this situation? Would one follow their internal conscience, or give sway to peer pressure and the "comfort of obedience?" Among the many people feature in this book: Dey did his job without documented complaint, Tobias Buck discovered his grandfather served in the SS and Charlotte Knobloch one of survivors who appeared before the court has been an important figure in revitalizing the Jewish community in Munich.
Recommended to readers and researchers of the Holocaust, Post-War Germany, Contemporary Germany, post Genocide justice or the legacies of works like Christopher Browning's Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution.
I received a free digital version of this book via NetGalley thanks to the publisher.
Germany's guilt after World War II was clear beyond doubt, compared to the complicated conclusion of the First World War. The memory culture of the Holocaust and the collective societal guilt was a key part of the post war German identity, seen through memorials and the political approaches Germany has taken in supporting Israel and the Ukraine. I state 'was' here because Buck argues that this is changing, especially as both the perpetrators and the survivors of the Holocaust are dying, intellectuals debate the centrality of guilt, political parties use it as point of support or opposition and Germany has changed with conflict fueled immigration from Afghanistan, Syria and other nations. This last point is quite apparent in the courtroom as Dey's daughter appears in hijab as she has married a Muslim.
Buck's book is short, and the simple but straightforward writing hides a complex depth that struggles with the questions inherent in the Holocaust, what would I have done in this situation? Would one follow their internal conscience, or give sway to peer pressure and the "comfort of obedience?" Among the many people feature in this book: Dey did his job without documented complaint, Tobias Buck discovered his grandfather served in the SS and Charlotte Knobloch one of survivors who appeared before the court has been an important figure in revitalizing the Jewish community in Munich.
Recommended to readers and researchers of the Holocaust, Post-War Germany, Contemporary Germany, post Genocide justice or the legacies of works like Christopher Browning's Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution.
I received a free digital version of this book via NetGalley thanks to the publisher.
May 11, 2024
I came into this book expecting a broader scope reflection on history’s final judgment of the men and women complicit in the crimes of the concentration camps of Nazi Germany.
Using the case of a 93 year old German man who had served as a concentration camp guard at the age of 17 during the waning days of the Third Reich, the author reveals far more about the failings of the German judiciary after the war and the changes in how Germans themselves remember the holocaust.
I remember seeing the news in 2019 that a 93 year old man who had been a concentration camp guard and wondering what the purpose could be of such delayed justice.
Now, I know.
This is not a book about Nazi atrocities and the horrors of mass extermination. This is a book about how a nations identity and its collective memory can and should change over time. This is a book about the courage of the final living witnesses of history’s greatest atrocity sharing their voices for perhaps the final time.
Using the case of a 93 year old German man who had served as a concentration camp guard at the age of 17 during the waning days of the Third Reich, the author reveals far more about the failings of the German judiciary after the war and the changes in how Germans themselves remember the holocaust.
I remember seeing the news in 2019 that a 93 year old man who had been a concentration camp guard and wondering what the purpose could be of such delayed justice.
Now, I know.
This is not a book about Nazi atrocities and the horrors of mass extermination. This is a book about how a nations identity and its collective memory can and should change over time. This is a book about the courage of the final living witnesses of history’s greatest atrocity sharing their voices for perhaps the final time.
November 27, 2023
Thank you NetGallery, Hatchette Books and author Tobias Buck for allowing me to read “Final Verdict: The Holocaust on Trial in the Twenty-first Century”
I liked this book very much. Author Tobias Buck provides a detailed account of a 2020 trial in Germany with a solid perspective regarding background, focus, purpose and history. The trial of a ninety-three year old man who, at the age of eighteen, served as a concentration camp guard raises obvious questions regarding prosecuting “camp support staff,” the youth of the accused at the time and, of course, the often-controversial issue of prosecuting extremely old defendants ….ninety-three in the case of defendant Day. Author Buck is adept at explaining the German Judicial System which, itself, may seem strange to those of us accustomed to “trial by jury.” He provides wonderful insight into the prosecution of “Holocaust Defendants,” Germany’s constant struggle to maintain awareness and personal interviews with victims. The most original idea put forth by Buck and, indeed, the primary courtroom judge herself, is one that receives too little attention: the realization that no matter how indirect or peripheral was the part played by anyone and everyone who “did their job”
to facilitate the genocide…the murder of six million Jews could not have occurred. The book describes and explains, raises awareness and questions, presents quandaries and afterthoughts. It is difficult, perhaps, to write something truly different or new about The Holocaust. This is, however, a book that does so and involves the reader’s own conscience, judgement and moral philosophy. I chose to rate this book “four stars” rather than “five stars” because the focus upon this particular trial as opposed to others may be less consequential to most readers of Holocaust literature. But, of course, the real question posed by Buck may be somewhat hidden and there is certainly great irony in this.
I liked this book very much. Author Tobias Buck provides a detailed account of a 2020 trial in Germany with a solid perspective regarding background, focus, purpose and history. The trial of a ninety-three year old man who, at the age of eighteen, served as a concentration camp guard raises obvious questions regarding prosecuting “camp support staff,” the youth of the accused at the time and, of course, the often-controversial issue of prosecuting extremely old defendants ….ninety-three in the case of defendant Day. Author Buck is adept at explaining the German Judicial System which, itself, may seem strange to those of us accustomed to “trial by jury.” He provides wonderful insight into the prosecution of “Holocaust Defendants,” Germany’s constant struggle to maintain awareness and personal interviews with victims. The most original idea put forth by Buck and, indeed, the primary courtroom judge herself, is one that receives too little attention: the realization that no matter how indirect or peripheral was the part played by anyone and everyone who “did their job”
to facilitate the genocide…the murder of six million Jews could not have occurred. The book describes and explains, raises awareness and questions, presents quandaries and afterthoughts. It is difficult, perhaps, to write something truly different or new about The Holocaust. This is, however, a book that does so and involves the reader’s own conscience, judgement and moral philosophy. I chose to rate this book “four stars” rather than “five stars” because the focus upon this particular trial as opposed to others may be less consequential to most readers of Holocaust literature. But, of course, the real question posed by Buck may be somewhat hidden and there is certainly great irony in this.
December 18, 2023
Does everyone that worked in a concentration camp have equal reponsibility for the horrors that occur there? That is the question raised by this book and the trial of Bruno Dey, a guard at a camp during WWII. This book is an exploration of his trial, along with other trials for Nazi war crimes and a small history of Holocaust remembrance.
This book is fascinating and very well written. Multiple Holocaust victims are spoken to and the stories they convey are heartbreaking. The author goes into a deep dive of the war crimes trials after WWII and why there were so few compared to how many people could have been prosecuted. He also takes a deep look at the mindset of German people as a whole post war.
I didn’t know anything about the trial followed over the main course of the book so didn’t know what the outcome would be but it could be largely predicted based on the events of the trial and common sense. Even though I could see what was coming I enjoyed the journey there.
This book was incredibly hard to read at points but I think it is well worth it. Highly recommend to history/nonfiction fans of appropriate age.
This book is fascinating and very well written. Multiple Holocaust victims are spoken to and the stories they convey are heartbreaking. The author goes into a deep dive of the war crimes trials after WWII and why there were so few compared to how many people could have been prosecuted. He also takes a deep look at the mindset of German people as a whole post war.
I didn’t know anything about the trial followed over the main course of the book so didn’t know what the outcome would be but it could be largely predicted based on the events of the trial and common sense. Even though I could see what was coming I enjoyed the journey there.
This book was incredibly hard to read at points but I think it is well worth it. Highly recommend to history/nonfiction fans of appropriate age.
May 10, 2024
I can’t imagine being one of the attorneys in Tobias Buck’s Final Verdict: The Holocaust on Trial in the 21st Century. It details the prosecution of 93-year-old former concentration camp guard Bruno Dey. For his role as an SS guard at the Stutthof concentration camp from 1944 to 1945, he was charged with 5,230 plus counts of accessory to murder. His defense attorney Stefan Waterkamp argued prosecutors had no evidence of Dey’s direct involvement. He was 17 years old when he served at Stutthof. It was really interesting that he was tried in juvenile court because of his age at the time he was in the SS. Prosecutor Lars Mahnke helped some 30-plus witnesses tell the story of loved ones who died at the “work camp” as well as some who survived. The Hamburg juvenile court convicted him of aiding and abetting in the murder of at least 5,232 people. He was given a 2-year suspended sentence. As an attorney, I wanted more details about the actual evidence and court proceedings, but I’m sure most appreciate not being bogged down with all the legalese and mundane court details. This book was so intriguing to me.
May 8, 2024
I really did enjoy this read. There are a few thought provoking chapters that cut in between the courtroom drama and it complements it well.
However, I’m afraid I couldn’t possibly score this any higher. For a book centred on the Holocaust to get the date of the Final Solution wrong once is gravely disappointing, but to do it twice is unforgivable.
p.28 - January 1941
p.218 - January 1944
Speechless.
However, I’m afraid I couldn’t possibly score this any higher. For a book centred on the Holocaust to get the date of the Final Solution wrong once is gravely disappointing, but to do it twice is unforgivable.
p.28 - January 1941
p.218 - January 1944
Speechless.
March 4, 2024
The Final Verdict: The Holocaust on Trial in the 21st Century should be in every High School around the world. This book was full of history and was very interesting. It's a prime example of how Germany is trying to stop the cycle of wrong doings in the past. I did find it was a little drawn out towards the end, but overall a great read.
May 6, 2024
A compelling insightful book about perpetrators of the Holocaust still being held accountable over 70 years later.
Buck tackles Germany’s grappling with the aftermath of the Holocaust and even his own family’s unshared knowledge and compliance.
It’s definitely worth reading. Thanks to Hachette Books for the early read.
Buck tackles Germany’s grappling with the aftermath of the Holocaust and even his own family’s unshared knowledge and compliance.
It’s definitely worth reading. Thanks to Hachette Books for the early read.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews