Book description
A riveting account of a forgotten holocaust: the slaughter of over one hundred thousand Ukrainian Jews in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution. In the Midst of Civilized Europe repositions the pogroms as a defining moment of the twentieth century.
'Exhaustive, clearly written, deeply researched' - The Times
'A meticulous,…
Why read it?
1 author picked In the Midst of Civilized Europe as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
As the Russian Empire collapsed and descended into civil war between 1918 and 1922, peasants, townspeople, and soldiers murdered over 100,000 Jewish residents in the Ukrainian lands. Jeffrey Veidlinger’s well-written, deeply researched account of this violence helped me understand what happens when empires disintegrate, and ordinary people are caught up in as well as participate in violence over contested territories.
For me, Veidlinger’s main achievement in this book is twofold: first, exploring the complex, horrific reasons why so many imperial peoples engaged in violence, and second, how the murders “explain how the next wave of anti-Jewish violence became possible.”
From Stephen's list on understanding Russia’s empire in Ukraine.
If you love In the Midst of Civilized Europe...
December on 5C4
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…
Want books like In the Midst of Civilized Europe?
Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like In the Midst of Civilized Europe.
Share your top 3 reads of 2025!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
1,278
readers submitted
so far, will you?
📚 If you like In the Midst of Civilized Europe, you might also like...
The Bridge
The Bridge provides a compassionate and well researched window into the worlds of linear and circular thinking. A core pattern to the inner workings of these two thinking styles is revealed, and most importantly, insight into how to cross the distance between them. Some fascinating features emerged such as, circular…
And Then They Were Gone
Of the 918 Americans who died in the shocking murder-suicides of November 18, 1978, in the tiny South American country of Guyana, a third were under eighteen. More than half were in their twenties or younger.
The authors taught in a small high school in San Francisco where Reverend Jim…
