120 • The Psychodynamics of International Relationships 7 The Pathology and Prevention

Elie Wiesel writes with such power and poignancy of the Holocaust that he commands and deserves the most profound respect. Two of his themes have particular meaning for this essay: that the Holocaust, the dominant genocide of the modern era, defies all explanation; and that the drive to kill all Euro-pean Jews is central to the event, defining its mystery and horror. In his writings about Claude Larlzmann's monumental documentary, Shoah, and other cinematic treatments of the Holocaust, Wiesel has said that none "could encompass this tragedy comparable to no other. Certainly, in one sense, it is the most documented tragedy in history, but in spite of the testimonies, memoirs and superhuman efforts of survivors, we will never know how Auschwitz and Treblinka were possible-for the killers as well as for the victims " (Wiesel 1985, II, P. 1). As chairman of the (American) President's Commission on the Holocaust, Wiesel has reported that commission members discussed the special issue of "how to reconcile the especially Jewish victims with the universality of al