No Anonymous Desk-Murderers in Yad Vashem Studies, Volume XXIX

No Anonymous Desk-Murderers, Bogdan Musial, Deutsche Zivilverwaltung und Judenverfolgung im Generalgouvernement. Eine Fallstudie zum Distrikt Lublin 1939-1944

Bogdan Musial’s extensive and in-depth research has produced a noteworthy book examining the civilian administration of the Lublin district of the Generalgouvernement (GG) in Poland. Musial demonstrates conclusively that the civilian administration of the GG, especially in Lublin, played an important, willing role in all anti-Jewish policy and were among its most important framers and implementers, as reflected in their initiatives to deport and kill Jews. The book’s focus on individuals and governmental departments that might otherwise escape our attention, such as Bevölkerungswesen und Fürsorge (Population and Welfare) and its head in Lublin, Richard Türk, is very enlightening. Two basic weaknesses stand out in the book – Musial’s insufficient use of Jewish sources even when they were easily accessible, and his unsubstantiated tendency to lump German anti-Polish policy with anti-Jewish policy. Still, this is a fine piece of research, flavored with a healthy dose of moral outrage that sheds light on an important aspect of the Holocaust.