Sybil Milton
The study of women and the Holocaust has barely begun, and the complexities and contours of the subject . . . will keep historians and other analysts occupied for many years.
SYBIL MILTON
In any field of research there are pioneers, scholars who are willing to take the risks of exploring unmapped territory. The historians in this part of Different Voices all fit that description, none more so than Sybil Milton. Reprinted here, Milton 1984 essay on "Women and the Holocaust: The Case of German and German-Jewish Women" is a case in point. The overview she provides in this article is detailed and carefully nuanced. It also points the way toward many areas where more research is needed. Other scholars who write about women and the Holocaust refer to this article again and again. It sets a high standard for study about women and the Holocaust.
The resident historian at the United States Holocaust Memorial Council in Washington, D.C., Milton has published many important articles and books about the Holocaust. These works often discuss neglected areas of study--art during the Holocaust, for example; the plight of Gypsies; the Nazis' use of computers and other technologies; or what happened to women in the Third Reich. Uncovering what has been hidden or obscured by inattention, Milton's scholarship stays on--indeed helps to form--the cutting edge.
Earlier in this book, Gisela Bock focused on the impact of eugenic theory and race hygiene on German women. Marion Kaplan concentrated on the ways in which German-Jewish "housewives and mothers" coped with adversity prior to the outbreak of World War II. Now Milton broadens the scope to include an even larger array of factors and practices that persecuted German and German-Jewish women for
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