Of Modeling and Morality: Writing World War II

Abstract

This contribution focuses on István Deák’s formative influence on the scholarship of Nazi occupation, collaboration, resistance, and the Holocaust, including his pan-European approach to these topics. It pays particular attention to his long-standing focus on individual decision-making and moral culpability as well as his ability to empathize with his historical actors, albeit without relativizing or justifying their behavior. Further, it discusses how Deák’s approach to writing for multiple audiences shaped a generation of his students and scholars.