Why Use Reference Sources?
At the beginning of your research, it's good to get some background information or an overview of your topic. Encyclopedia and other reference books serve this purpose. You can also use them to find information on a specific event or person. Below are some good reference sources on the Holocaust.
Start Here
CREDO is an online collection of hundreds of reference books.
Just do a search on "holocaust" or "rwandan genocide" or "ethnic cleansing" and browse through the results. You should get articles from different perspectives and disciplines.
Selected Encyclopedias on Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing
Below are some specialized encyclopedias and reference books. Some are available online, others only in print.
- Modern Genocide: the Definitive Resource and Document CollectionIncludes resources and documents on the following genocides: Armenian, Bosnian, Camgodian, Darfur, East Timor Guatemalan, Herero, Rwandan, and the Holocaust.
- Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes Against HumanityThis encyclopedia spans the globe to explain the issues behind crimes against humanity and human rights issues as they relate to individual countries and the world at large. It traces the history of events that qualify as genocide and crimes against humanity, profiles perpetrators and heroes, and explains international laws and law proceedings aimed at ending genocide and crimes against humanity.
- Gale Virtual Reference LibraryThis is a database of articles from dozens of encyclopedia sources. Use the KEYWORD search box to find articles about specific places, ideas, events related to the Holocaust. Use the * to truncate words like music*.
- Holocaust Encyclopedia (ebook)This encyclopedia is produced by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and is available online. In addition to the valuable articles and their bibliographies, there are incredible images and photographs.
- The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933-1945This is a multi-volume set. Read the titles of the individual volumes carefully to make sure you are looking in the right one! It's not simply an alphabetical list!
- The Holocaust EncyclopediaAuthoritative scholarly single volume encyclopedia with articles by 100 international Holocaust scholars and historians. Includes hundreds of incredible illustrations and photographs.
- The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the HolocaustTermed "majestic" by reviewers this three-volume encyclopedia, abridged from a 30-volume set in Hebrew, is arranged alphabetically by town. The thousands of entries explore centuries of Jewish life from the Middle Ages on. Each entry provides vital information on the town's Jewish inhabitants on the eve of German occupation, gives the dates of Jewish roundups and mass executions and estimates how many Jews from that community survived the war. Includes more than 600 black-and-white photographs, most of which are from the archives of Israel's Yad Vashem Museum.
- The Encyclopedia of the HolocaustDon't let the 1990 publication date diminish the value of this resource, termed "indispensable" by reviewers. It is a scholarly work that summarizes research on the Holocaust done by historians, sociologists, anthropologists, psychologists, and more, and is itself a primary source of information. The illustrations and photographs, too, are primary sources!