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ManyÌýof those touched byÌýthe repercussions of theÌýHolocaust were forced to makeÌýtheÌýdecision between religion and survival. SomeÌýsaw the racism and unrest early in the processÌýand converted to avoid persecution, but, as some of these texts discuss, it was too late for others. AfterÌýKristallnacht, it was increasingly difficult for conversions to go through if desired.ÌýOther texts cover the manner in which people, not just Jews, were treated after the liberation of the concentration camps - as if they were still dangerous or a risk to society after their torment.ÌýÌý

A majorÌýfuel for growing support in Germany during the Third ReichÌýwas the notion that Jewish people were inherently bad and harming the community. Many citizens of Eastern Europe fell into the notion that if the Jews were contained or Germany was rid of them, the economy and quality of life would improve. This was seen particularly in propaganda and campaigns to contain, intern, and eventually kill eastern European Jews during the early 1940’s. Part of the success of these campaigns came from years of tension and blame, wherein Jewish people were blamed for events such as children going missing eventually leading toÌýJudaism being associated with degree with Satanic practice. Even after the Holocaust, there was and is still is rampant anti-Semitism in some areas for similar supposed reasons. Mazal has collected texts from many facets of Anti-Semitism, to help bring awareness to the problem.

In an effort to fight Holocaust denial, or "Revisionism," Harry Mazal collected materials from both sides of discussion. Many selections in the collection go in depth on why some people refuse to accept that the Holocaust was a real eventÌýand do not believe that 6 million people, specifically Jews, died in the concentration camps across Europe. Other deniers believe that camps may have existed, but they were never death camps. These texts go into detail about multiple aspects of denial, including works that explain why denial helped to fuel the genocide, works that cover post-Holocaust thought and why the author believe it’s impossible that the atrocity occurred, and even some that discuss the experience of interned people just after liberation, and the manner in which they were treated by the immediate communities who had not been aware or had refused to believe that the camp was actuallyÌýkilling so many people.

Every social and cultural group has a unique and distinct experience, but the Jewish experience is particularly unique. Portions of the Mazal collection focusÌýonÌýthe Jewish experience, both in World War II Germany and beyond, including biographies describing the tension felt immediately before and after the war, experience during the Holocaust, and works analyzing what it must be like to exist in a socio-ethnic group that has been an outlet for tension for so long.