To Redeem History: Real-Time Orthodox Responses to the Holocaust

How did orthodox Jews during the Holocaust give meaning to their tragic fate and continue to believe in God?

"Why? What was our sin that the punishment is so severe? We debated this question more than once in Belsen. Philosophizing Jews attempted to delve deeply into the truth and grasp the course of events. All the debates ended with an ancient conclusion: God's ways in running the world are inestimably beyond anything a mortal can understand." Ephraim Londner, postwar.

The harrowing events of the Holocaust were a stark confrontation between Nazi perpetrators and their Jewish victims. As the catastrophe unfolded, thinkers from different streams of Orthodox Judaism grappled with its meaning, offering profound theological interpretations to unimaginable suffering.

To Redeem History gives voice to these Orthodox rabbinic authorities, tracing how they responded as events progressed. How did Orthodox thinkers react to the unprecedented persecution witnessed before the war? Did their views shift as conditions worsened? And how did they interpret the Holocaust in its painful aftermath? Drawing from each Orthodox stream's distinct beliefs and traditions, their interpretations were shaped by key recurring themes: the ancient enemy Amalek, ideas of self-sacrifice and martyrdom, hopes of redemption, and the roles of silence, blame, and divine judgment.

Opening a window into the spiritual world of the past, To Redeem History reveals the depth and resilience of faith that sustained Orthodox Jews during this dark chapter. In doing so, it not only preserves and commemorates these powerful religious responses but also offers the possibility of reawakening this spiritual legacy for generations to come.