Léon Poliakov

Léon Poliakov ( _ru. Лев Поляков; November 25, 1910 in Saint Petersburg – December 8, 1997 in Orsay) was a historian who wrote extensively on the Holocaust and anti-Semitism.

Born into a Russian Jewish family, Poliakov lived in Italy and Germany until he settled in France.

During World War II, he established the Centre de documentation juive contemporaine (1943) and after the war, he assisted Edgar Faure at the Nuremberg Trial.

He served as director of research at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS).

According to historian Jos Sanchez, Poliakov was the first scholar to critically assess the disposition of Pope Pius XII toward various issues connected to the Holocaust. In November 1950, Poliakov wrote "The Vatican and the 'Jewish Question' - The Record of the Hitler Period-And After," in the influential Jewish journal "Commentary". While this article was the first to consider the attitude of the papacy during World War II and the Holocaust, it was not until 1963, when German playwright Rolf Hochhuth published his play "Der Stellvertreter" that discussion of Poliakov's initial investigations in this area took on worldwide significance.

The contribution of Leon Poliakow enlightens the great role payed by the Church in saving Jews. Mentioning financial aid brought by Pie XII to help the Jews pay the contribution ordered by the nazis :

"this direct aid, accorded to the persecuted Jews by the Pope in his position as Bishop of Rome, was only the symbolic expression of an activity that spread throughout Europe, encouraging and stimulating the efforts of Catholic churches in almost every country. There is no doubt that secret instructions went out from the Vatican urging the national churches to intervene in favor of the Jews by every possible means." (The Vatican and the "Jewish Question", Commentary, p. 441)

Publications

* "L'étoile jaune - La situation des Juifs en France sous l'Occupation - Les législations nazie et vichyssoise" (Editions Grancher, October 1999 - three texts: a book of 1949, an article in "Historia" magazine in 1968 and a text of 1980) ISBN 2-7339-0642-9
* "Harvest of Hate: The Nazi Program for the Destruction of Jews in Europe" 1956
* "The History of Anti-Semitism: From the Time of Christ to the Court Jews" (orig. 1955; this tr. 1966; repr. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003) ISBN 0-8122-1863-9
* "The History of Anti-Semitism: From Mohammed to the Marranos" (orig. 1961; tr. 1973; repr. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003) ISBN 0-8122-1864-7, ISBN 0-8122-3767-6
* "The History of Anti-Semitism: From Voltaire to Wagner" (orig. 1968; tr. 1975; repr. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003) [preview at [http://books.google.com/books?id=w39m4aohL9gC Google Books] ISBN 0-8122-1865-5
* "The History of Anti-Semitism: Suicidal Europe. 1870-1933" (orig. 1977; tr. 1984; repr. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003) [preview at [http://books.google.com/books?id=94H61cGGGQ8C Google Books] ISBN 0-8122-3769-2
* "The Aryan Myth: A History of Racist and Nationalistic Ideas In Europe" (Barnes & Noble Books (1996)) ISBN 0-7607-0034-6
* "Jews Under the Italian Occupation" (coauthored with Jacques Sabille) (Howard Fertig; 1st American ed edition (December, 1983)) ISBN 0-86527-344-8
* «Moscou, troisième Rome» "Moscow, The third Rome"
* «L`Auberge des musiciens» (memoir)
* «L`envers du Destin» (autobiography)
* "De l'antisionisme à l'antisémitisme" (1969)