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Despite some popular perception, Holocaust perpetrators are rarely cartoonish pure evil characters. In fact, many of them understood their guilt and actively sought to weave false narratives to exonerate themselves or avoid prosecution.

The story of Franz Lucas is one such narrative. In this episode, I talk with Andrew Wisely about Lucas, an SS doctor at multiple concentration camps. We discuss his complicity in the Holocaust as well as his attempts to avoid prosecution in post-war German society.65

Andrew Wisely is Associate Professor of German at Baylor University.

Wisely, Andrew. The Trial of a Nazi Doctor: Franz Lucas as Defendant, Opportunist, and Deceiver (2024)

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Email the podcast at holocausthistorypod@gmail.com

The Holocaust History Podcast homepage is here

You can find a complete reading list with books by our guests and also their suggestions here.

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Sometimes it can still be surprising how deeply the Nazi state tainted every aspect of society...including ornithology. In this fascinating episode, I talk with Nicholas Milton about Günther Niethammer, a famous academic who became a guard at Auschwitz where he continued his scholarly activities.

It's a really interesting examination of both individual choices during the Holocaust and the impossibility of remaining divorced from the reality of Nazi crimes.

Nicholas Milton is an historian, journalist, and birdwatcher.

Milton, Nicholas. The Birdman of Auschwitz: The Life of Günther Niethammer, the Ornithologist Seduced by the Nazis (2025)

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Email the podcast at holocausthistorypod@gmail.com

The Holocaust History Podcast homepage is here

You can find a complete reading list with books by our guests and also their suggestions here.

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The Nazis’ physical war on Jews also had important cultural repercussions. One of these was its assault on Yiddish. The Holocaust not only murdered many Yiddish speakers and destroyed Yiddish institutions, but it also changed the language itself.

In this episode, I talk with Hannah Pollin-Galay about fascinating work on Yiddish during the Holocaust. We talked about the new words added as well as the attempts by Jewish linguists (and survivors) to capture and understand the new Khurbn (Destruction) Yiddish.

Hannah Pollin-Galay is the Pen Tishkach Chair of Holocaust Studies and director of the Institute for Holocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies at the University of Massachusetts- Amherst.

Pollin-Galay, Hannah. Occupied Words: What the Holocaust Did to Yiddish (2024)

Follow on Twitter @holocaustpod.
Email the podcast at holocausthistorypod@gmail.com

The Holocaust History Podcast homepage is here

You can find a complete reading list with books by our guests and also their suggestions here.