Zygmunt Bauman 
Modernity and the Holocaust 

Sociology is concerned with modern society, but has never come to
terms with one of the most distinctive and horrific aspects of
modernity – the Holocaust.

The book examines what sociology can teach us about the
Holocaust, but more particularly concentrates upon the lessons
which the Holocaust has for sociology. Bauman’s work demonstrates
that the Holocaust has to be understood as deeply involved with the
nature of modernity. There is nothing comparable to this work
available in the sociological literature.

Table of Content

Foreword.

1. Introduction: Sociology after the Holocaust.

2. Modernity, Racism, Extermination – I.

3. Modernity, Racism, Extermination – II.

4. On the Uniqueness and Normality of the Holocaust.

5. Soliciting Cooperation of the Victims.

6. The Ethics of Obedience (reading Milgram).

7. Towards a Sociological Theory of Morality Rationality and
Shame.

Index.

About the author

Zygmunt Bauman (1925-2017) was Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the Universities of Leeds and Warsaw. He is the author of many works including Legislators and Interpreters (Polity Press) and Modernity and Ambivalence (Polity Press). He was also awarded the Theodor W. Adorno Prize in 1998.