Patrick Desbois is secretary to the French Conference of Bishops for relations with Judaism, advisor to the Cardinal-Archbishop of Lyon and advisor to the Vatican on the Jewish religion. Grandson of a deportee to the Rawa Ruska camp, he has set out to investigate the mass... More
In this heart-wrenching book, Father Patrick Desbois documents the daunting task of identifying and examining all the sites where Jews were exterminated by Nazi mobile units in the Ukraine in WWII. Using innovative methodology, interviews, and ballistic evidence, he has determined the location of many mass gravesites with the goal of providing proper burials for the victims of the forgotten Ukrainian Holocaust. Compiling new archival material and many eye-witness accounts, Desbois has put together the first definitive account of one of history's bloodiest chapters.
The Holocaust by Bullets in the news:
History Books Russia blog, Nov. 8, 2008
The Independent featured The Holocaust by Bullets in a full-length review as well as a news article, Nov. 1, 2008
The Museum of Jewish Heritage blog, Oct. 2, 2008
MIAMI HERALD, Sept 28, 2008
Official Site of the Cultural Services of the French Embassy, Sept .25, 2008
CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE, Sept. 23, 2008
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) honors Father Patrick Desbois, Sept. 24, 2008
JEWISH WISHES blog, Aug. 19, 2008
THE JEWISH WEEK ran a feature about Father Desbois and the book, May 14, 2008
"Part memoir, part prosecutorial brief, The Holocaust by Bullets tells a compelling story in which a priest unconnected by heritage or history is so moved by an injustice he sets out to right a daunting wrong…One might think Holocaust history has been exhausted, but Desbois breaks real news about how an emerging democracy in the New Europe still hasn’t emerged from World War II. We have witnessed a decade of forensic excavations documenting genocides in Guatemala, Bosnia and Rwanda, but only now are these same tools being used to find the murdered Jews of Ukraine, thanks in large part to Desbois." – The Miami Herald
"Using a diverse team consisting of a researcher, photographer, interpreter, and ballistics expert, Desbois endeavored to uncover these burial sites and the brutal stories behind them. He uses ample testimony from those who may have witnessed key parts of this brutal process, and he makes some surprising discoveries. The narrative flows because Desbois has such a passion for his subject; he writes simply and well, so that even readers with little initial understanding will learn a lot. The result is an outstanding contribution to Holocaust literature, uncovering new dimensions of the tragedy, and should be on the shelves of even the smallest library. Highly recommended." -- Library Journal, starred review
"An important addition to studies of the Shoah, agonizing to read and utterly necessary." -- Kirkus Reviews
Patrick Desbois is secretary to the French Conference of Bishops for relations with Judaism, advisor to the Cardinal-Archbishop of Lyon and advisor to the Vatican on the Jewish religion. Grandson of a deportee to the Rawa Ruska camp, he has set out to investigate the mass murder of Eastern European Jews by the Nazis during the Second World War. He is the winner of the B'nai B'rith International Award for Outstanding Contribution to Relations with the Jewish People. He lives in Paris, France.
Found in: Academic Subject Areas Books History, Politics, Sociology, Literature, Eastern European History, European History
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