In Poetry of the Holocaust, the editors Jean Boase-Beier and Marian
de Vooght (helped by many translators, advisors, and experts of one
sort and another) aim to give a fuller picture than do most Holocaust
anthologies of the poetry that arose from the Holocaust. Here there
are poems from languages that are less often associated with the
Holocaust (such as Norwegian or Japanese) and there are poems by or
about those victimised for perceived disabilities, or because they
were gay, or because their political or religious beliefs made them
targets of Nazi hatred. It is of course not possible to cover the
vast range of Holocaust poetry in one small anthology. But a
wider-ranging collection such as this might help readers who are less
familiar with the facts of the Holocaust to ?nd a way in, and to
empathise on an individual level with the many people who su?ered,
and are still su?ering. And perhaps ? because poetry engages the
reader?s emotions in a way that documentary writing cannot ? it
might also help us examine our thoughts and ways of behaving.