Black Earth

by Timothy Snyder

First published 2015

In the 1920s, Hitler stoked fears of environmental collapse and food scarcity. Decades later, these same anxieties would fuel the mass murder of Jews across Europe. Historian Timothy Snyder uncovers the chilling connections between the Holocaust and the ecological crises of the modern era. Drawing on forgotten testimonies and untapped Eastern European sources, Snyder reveals how the Nazis' twisted ideology saw Jews as threats to a "Black Earth" - a world of dwindling resources that demanded radical "solutions." As today's ideological and environmental challenges mount, Snyder warns that our societies may be more vulnerable to such apocalyptic thinking than we dare to admit.

Genres: history, 20th-century, environment, non-fiction, 21st-century, academic

Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking

Tropes: historical-fiction, social-commentary

480 pages · Paperback · Crown

Content warnings: violence

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