While there is no shortage of excellent scholarship and historical research on the Holocaust, there has been little that has adequately answered the vital question: How was such a nightmare possible in the heart of Western civilization?

Historian Dan McMillan distills the vast body of Holocaust research into a compelling analysis that looks at a combination of factors—from Germany's failure to become a democracy until 1918, to the widespread acceptance of anti-Semitism and scientific racism, aftermath of World War I, and the class and political divisions it produced.

Putting the Holocaust into context with other tragic genocides including Rwanda, Cambodia, and Armenia, McMillan offers a compelling argument for how the perfect storm of bleak circumstances, malevolent ideas, and damaged personalities unleashed such terrifying atrocity and asking the question: could this ever happen again?

Dan McMillan holds a PhD in German history from Columbia University and a law degree from Fordham University, and has worked as a history professor and a prosecuting attorney. He lives in New York City.

Ticket Info: $10 general; $5 WAC, OHS, OJMCHE members
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Cosponsored with the World Affairs Council and the Oregon Historical Society