Léon Poliakov

Léon Poliakov (Russian: Лев Поляков ; November 25, 1910 in Saint Petersburg – December 8, 1997 in Orsay ) was a historian who wrote extensively on the Holocaust and anti-Semitism . Born into a Russian Jewish family, Poliakov lived in Italy and Germany until he settled in France . During World War II , he established the Centre de documentation juive contemporaine (1943) and after the war, he assisted Edgar Faure at the Nuremberg Trial . He served as director of research at the National Center for Scientific Research ( CNRS ). According to historian Jos Sanchez , Poliakov was the first scholar to critically assess the disposition of Pope Pius XII toward various issues connected to the Holocaust . In November 1950, Poliakov wrote "The Vatican and the 'Jewish Question' - The Record of the Hitler Period-And After," in the influential Jewish journal Commentary . While this article was the first to consider the attitude of the papacy during World War II and the Holocaust, it was not until 1963, when German playwright Rolf Hochhuth published his play Der Stellvertreter that discussion of Poliakov's initial investigations in this area took on worldwide significance.

Léon Poliakov (Russian: Лев Поляков ; November 25, 1910 in Saint Petersburg – December 8, 1997 in Orsay ) was a French historian who wrote extensively on the Holocaust and antisemitism . Born into a Russian Jewish family, Poliakov lived in Italy and Germany until he settled in France . He co-founded the Center of Contemporary Jewish Documentation , established to collate documentation relating to the persecution of Jews during World War II . He also assisted Edgar Faure at the Nuremberg Trial . Poliakov went on to serve as director of research at the National Center for Scientific Research ( CNRS ) from 1954 until 1971. According to historian Jos Sanchez , Poliakov was the first scholar to critically assess the disposition of Pope Pius XII toward various issues connected to the Holocaust . In November 1950, Poliakov wrote "The Vatican and the 'Jewish Question' - The Record of the Hitler Period-And After," in the influential Jewish journal Commentary . While this article was the first to consider the attitude of the papacy during World War II and the Holocaust, it was not until 1963, when German playwright Rolf Hochhuth published his play Der Stellvertreter that discussion of Poliakov's initial investigations in this area took on worldwide significance.

Léon Poliakov (Russian: Лев Поляков ; 25 November 1910, Saint Petersburg – 8 December 1997, Orsay ) was a French historian who wrote extensively on the Holocaust and antisemitism and wrote The Aryan Myth . Born into a Russian Jewish family, Poliakov lived in Italy and Germany until he settled in France. He cofounded the Center of Contemporary Jewish Documentation , established to collate documentation on the persecution of Jews during World War II . He also assisted Edgar Faure at the Nuremberg Trial . Poliakov was director of research at the National Centre for Scientific Research ( Centre national de la recherche scientifique ) from 1954 to 1971. According to historian Jos Sanchez , Poliakov was the first scholar to assess the disposition of Pope Pius XII critically on various issues connected to the Holocaust. In November 1950, Poliakov wrote "The Vatican and the 'Jewish Question' - The Record of the Hitler Period-And After" in the influential Jewish journal Commentary . The article was the first to consider the attitude of the papacy during World War II and the Holocaust, but it was not until 1963, when German playwright Rolf Hochhuth published his play Der Stellvertreter , that discussion of Poliakov's initial investigations in this area took on worldwide significance. Although little noted at the time, Poliakov's 1951 Breviaire de la haine ("Harvest of Hate") was the first major work on the genocide , predating Raul Hilberg 's Destruction of the European Jews by a decade. It received some good reviews. Poliakov said in his Memoires that he refrained from even using the word "genocide", which was considered unfit for publication in 1951 when his groundbreaking work was first published. Léon Poliakov's excellent book on the Third Reich and the Jews is the first to describe the last phases of the Nazi regime on the basis, strictly, of primary source material. This consists chiefly of documents presented at the Nuremberg Trials and published in several volumes by the American government under the title Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression, These volumes contain, in addition to captured Nazi archives, a considerable number of sworn reports and affidavits by former Nazi officials. Poliakov, with a reasoned obstinacy, tells the story as the documents themselves unfold it, thus avoiding the prejudices and preconceived judgments that mar almost all the other published accounts. L'Auberge des musiciens [ Musicians Inn ] (in French). OCLC 461714504 . as cited in p247 of Bensoussan, Georges (2008).

French historian (1910–1997) Léon Poliakov ( Russian : Лев Поляков ; 25 November 1910 – 8 December 1997) was a French historian who wrote extensively on the Holocaust and antisemitism . He is the author of The Aryan Myth .