"Though Elie Wiesel's first book, Night, describes his concentration camp experience, Wiesel has rarely written directly about the Holocaust in his books. Now, as the last generation of survivors is passing and a new generation must be introduced to mankind's darkest hour, Wiesel has written a summing-up, illustrated, that serves both as a distillation of the most important aspects of Hitler's years in power and a fitting memorial to those who suffered and perished.

He begins with the creation of the Third Reich, continues through Western acquiescence, war, the gas chambers, liberation, and, finally, memory. He criticizes both Churchill and Roosevelt for what they knew and ignored; he praises little-known Jewish heroes. Included are testimonies from survivors that mark watershed events, such as Hitler's rise to power, Kristallnacht, life in the ghettos and concentration camps, liberation, and the displaced persons camps."--BOOK JACKET.