Background
Genre
The foreword of the ''Holocaust by Bullets'' was written by Paul Shapiro, Director of the Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. This book has been described by Major Travis W. Elms, a Judge Advocate of the US Army, as a "methodical piece" that :guides the reader through a complex period in World War II history". The memoir includes pictures of mass graves, villagers, the team and the investigation, as well as maps that detail the Nazi's invasion of the Soviet Union. Each chapter describes Desbois' story and introduction of the contextual history, whilst later chapters include eyewitness accounts in question and answer form.Synopsis
Origins of Desbois work
Witnesses to the execution
Detailing the experiences of witnesses is a core part of Desbois' work. For example, during his second visit to Rawa Ruska, the deputy mayorYaroslavtook Desbois to the mass grave of 1,200 Jews murdered in November 1943. The mayor had arranged for around one hundred witnesses to tell their story of what had happened during the Holocaust. One described the stream of blood coming from the pit after the execution, whilst others recall seeing the dismembered body of a woman on a tree after the pit was blown up with grenades. The latter witness was requisitioned by the Nazis to collect the body and place it in the pit. Each new witness, village and region, according to Desbois, led to discoveries. Desbois categorizes witnesses into three types: direct, indirect and requisitioned.Human dimensions of Nazi extermination
Desbois recounts the human, living impact of Nazi extermination, as seen in multiple interviews with witnesses. In one interview in Khvavtiv Ukraine, Olenaa bride on the day of the executionrecalls the moment when a friend of her mother's shouted, "Olena, Olena, save me!" whilst being transported on a German military truck. Many other indirect witnesses had seen the police take Jews – their friends and neighbors – from their homes and these witnesses watched them disappear from the street. Anna Dychkant, a witness from Lviv, describes a summer in which Jews were murdered. A boy at her school shouted "farewell" as he was taken to be murdered behind a neighbor's house. Desbois describes that many witnesses reported that the pits "breathed" and moved for a few days as the remaining Jews suffocated to death. In addition, there were cases of direct witnesses who were present at the assassination. Some instances reported that Jews were murdered in the middle of towns, with the knowledge of most villagers. For example, Yaroslav Galan witnessed how Jews were ordered to dig their graves, and then shot. In another case, Adolf Wislovskia witness from Lvivrecalls how Jews were murdered outside his house; he had counted 59 pits dug as mass graves over the six-month-long execution. A villager of Voskresenkoye, Olga Bitiouk, remembers the days she had hidden in a friend's attic to watch the killing of Jews, whose bodies were later dug up and burnt. Desbois mentions that most of his interviewees fell in the category of direct witnessesand makes clear the personal trauma of each individual when recalling their story. Villagers were not necessarily bystanders to the crime. In many cases, neighbors were requisitioned to serve the Nazis, cooking food, digging pits, and burying the bodies. One witness, Samuel Arabski, was requisitioned to fill a pit. As he attempted to do so, a hand coming out of the ground had “grabbed hold of his spade” and he had fainted. Others, usually farmers with carts, would be asked to gather clothes as the Jews undressed before being killed. Desbois also had the opportunity to interview Leon Wells, a famous survivor who worked in Yanovskaan extermination camp in Lviv. Wells, assisted by a commando of requisitioned youth, was ordered to pull out the gold teeth of Jews who had been dug up. There were 90,000 bodies. Other roles fulfilled by neighbors are outlined in Chapter X, including Ternivka, the "presser"who had to walk on bodies of the Jews who were shot; Zobolottia, the seamstresswho had to patch up Jewish clothing so they could be sent to Germany, and Hanna Senikova, the girl whose aunt had been requisitioned as a cook by the Germans.Steps of the Holocaust by bullets
In each village, the steps through which the Holocaust by bullets occurred were different. In certain cases, the Jews were asked to congregate in a common location, then loaded into trucks and taken to killing sites. Upon arrival, they were forced to take off their clothes and were shot in groups. Most of the time, the shooters were Nazis, but Desbois’ interviews sometimes mention the requisitioning of prisoners of war or local police to murder Jews. In addition, most witnesses recall that the Nazis forced villagers or prisoners to collect rings, earrings and gold teeth that belonged to the Jews. Some villagers would later take the leftover clothing of Jews for themselves.Operation 1005: the cremation of Jews
Jewish survivors
Desbois also interviewed several witnesses who attempted to hide Jews in their houses. Galina Boulavka's mother, on her deathbed, tells the story of the young girl who she hid in the family home in Lubomil for weeks. One day, when the girl could no longer bear to stay inside, she went to play in the front yard. Soon enough, she was discovered by the Germans and shot against the front door. Olga Kokodishka, who lived in Novy Yaritchev during the war, recalls the day when her family was denounced for hiding Jews. The Germans searched their house, smashing their belongings, but could not find the Jews who had escaped from the back. Instead, the Germans shot and killed her father.Interview methodology
Desbois explains in Chapter XI his research and interview methodology. His team would carry out historical research, such as studying German rulings, trials and depositions to understand the circumstances of the killing. Prior to each trip, his researcher Andrej Umansky would report on the narratives of German police or SS officers who had participated or observed the killings. After developing a rough idea of the dates of the executions and the names of the Nazi units responsible for the killings, they would proceed to interviews on the ground. During each interview, Desbois would ask questions pertaining to the individual's family life, residence and age during the war, to recreate the atmosphere of the time. Specific, pointed questions that focused attention on what the witnesses heard and saw help them remember the events. Desbois describes that he sticks to concrete accounts of the events in order not to influence the testimony. In certain cases, Desbois had to “successfully skirt around the guilt he intervieweemay have felt about receiving a Jewish garment,...or even about the simple fact of having been there when it occurred."Reception
The ''Holocaust by Bullets'' has been widely praised by historians and journalists. One common comment is the significance of Desbois’ work in the wider realm of Holocaust studies. Major Travis W. Elms argues that Desbois’ work should be widely read as it details the "personal account of how one Catholic became radically sensitized to the experience of Jews during the Holocaust." Elms states further that " recording this experience, Desbois has already made a lasting impact on Holocaust studies and Jewish-Catholic relations." In addition, Elms suggests that the book advocates for the protection of human rights during world conflict, and that it strives for an accurate portrayal of history. Similarly, the ''Library Journal'' mentions Desbois’ evident passion for the subject, and how he has been successful in making an "outstanding contribution to Holocaust literature, uncovering new dimensions of the tragedy." Others point out the difficulty of the task that Desbois has investigated. Deborah E Lipstadt, author of ''History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier'', describes the importance of Desbois’ work from a Jewish perspective. She comments how, taking care of the dead is one of the most treasured acts in Jewish tradition, because it cannot be reciprocated. She continues, saying: “Father Patrick Desbois has performed this act of loving kindness not for one person but for hundreds of thousands of people who were murdered in cold blood. He has done so despite the fact that many people would have preferred this story never to be uncovered and others doubted that it ever could be done. His contribution to history and to human memory, as chronicled in this important book, is immeasurable.” Furthermore, religious sources comment on the contribution of Desbois’ book to Christian- or Catholic-Jewish relations.{{Cite news, last=Spicer, first=Spicer, Kevin P., others=vol. 96, no. 3, date=2010, title=The Holocaust by Bullets: A Priest's Journey to Uncover the Truth Behind the Murder of 1.5 Million Jews, work=The Catholic Historical Review Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I. Archbishop of Chicago, describes how Desbois’ "Catholic faith, experiences of his own family, the support of the French bishops and the research capacities of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum are enabling him to carry out a work of discovery, of healing and reconciliation." Similarly, the ''Christian Science Monitor'' describes Desbois as a "human bridge between the modern Jewish world and the Catholic Church" who has shaped the way the Holocaust will be remembered. The book also received the 2008 National Jewish Award, a prestigious recognition that has also been awarded to books such as '' Nazis on the Run: How Hitler's Henchmen Fled Justice'' and ''The Jewish Enemy: Nazi Propaganda during World War II and the Holocaust''.References