What We Knew

“A very important book.”—Financial Times

“The authors of this absorbing and important book present the results of a major collaborative oral history project that is remarkable for its scope and sophistication.”—Richard J. Evans, The Historian

“Fascinating . . . The strength of What We Knew is its diversity. The accumulation of memories of Kristallnacht and deportation, as experienced by victims and onlookers, helps to construct the bigger picture. . . . But it is the vivid detail, such as chips of bone in the Auschwitz air, which really shock.”—Independent

“A wellspring of information, this text provides unprecedented insights into the mind-set and daily lives of ‘average’ Germans, and the lives led by Jews in Nazi Germany.”—History in Review

“The scale and depth of the survey which forms the foundations for the book, the scholarly treatment of its results and the lucid argumentation of the two authors make this a highly impressive and valuable work.”—H-Net Reviews

“A major contribution to the understanding of life in Nazi Germany.”—Booklist

“Sober and sobering. But it's the gripping immediacy of the interviews, laced as they are with anger, guilt, sadness and, still among some Christian Germans, pride, that carries the book.”—Publisher’s Weekly