Abstract

U. S. cold-war interests have had a significant impact on historical writings concerning the roles of various groups during the World War II destruction of European Jewry. These writings focus, for example, on the Catholic Church's actions in saving children, rather than on the antisemitic pronouncements of Church leaders and their indifference to the killing of Jews during and immediately after the war. Holocaust historiography understates the aid given to Jews by the Soviet Union. It also minimizes the continuation of antisemitic acts on the part of Polish organizations, including the Home Army. Finally, the mythology surrounding Raoul Wallenberg dovetails nicely with cold-war politics and the desire of sections of the ultraorthodox Jewish community to forget their own disastrous actions.