How holocausts happen : the United States in Central America / Douglas V. Porpora.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Porpora, Douglas V.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945).

Atrocities--Central America--History--20th century.

Atrocities.

Apathy.

Central America--Politics and government--1979-.

Central America.

Central America--Foreign relations--United States.

United States--Foreign relations--Central America.

United States.

United States--Foreign relations--1945-1989--Moral and ethical aspects.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (236 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Philadelphia : Temple University Press, 1990.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

""History repeats itself, but it never repeats itself exactly,"" observes Douglas Porpora in this powerful indictment of U.S. intervention in Central America. Comparing the general public's reaction to the Holocaust in Nazi Germany with American public opinion of U.S. participation in the genocidal policies of Nicaraguan counter-revolutionary forces, and the governments of Guatemala and El Salvador among others, Porpora demonstrates that moral indifference to the suffering of others was the common response. With reference to Hannah Arendt's thesis of the banality of evil, he develops t

Contents:

Contents; Acknowledgments; 1. Introduction; 2. The Banality of Evil; 3. Moral Indifference, the Rise of Hitler, and the Exterminiation of the Jews; 4. The Two Faces of Genocide in Central America; 5. Has the United States Become a Party to Genocide? To a Holocaust-like Event?; 6. How We Allowed Ourselves to Become a Party to Genocide; 7. In the Footsteps of the Righteous; Notes; Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 203-216) and index.

ISBN:

9786612938856

9781282938854

1282938851

9781439904534

1439904537

OCLC:

630545113