Lest We Forget: A History of the Holocaust combines compelling media clips with well‐written text to create a standard source for Holocaust Studies. The archival film and audio from the period blends perfectly with Professor David Cesarini’s text to put a very real face to the 20th Century’s greatest tragedy.
The content examines how the Holocaust developed, how it was executed, and how humanity has attempted to come to terms with it. Cesarini is an Academic Consultant to the Wiener Library of London and a professor of Modern Jewish Studies at the University of Manchester. He does not fall into any of the many traps that can trip Holocaust writers. Cesarini has no axe to grind; but he manages to capture the pathos of this sad chapter in human history. Lest We Forget is laced with wonderful archival film footage from period newsreels. The use of film and sound punctuate the text perfectly.
Lest We Forget is a model for all CD‐ROM software. If your Windows 95 computer has Quick Time for video playback, all you have to do to start the program is drop the disc in the drive and close the door. It is the picture of simplicity and perfect for libraries that do not wish to dedicate a computer terminal to a single CD‐ROM. Other producers should take note. Mac users may have to install some extensions; but, again, the start sequence only requires double clicking a start icon. In either case, Quick Time or the Macintosh extensions are included on a 3.5 inch floppy disk that comes with the package. The system is so simple there is no direction booklet that comes with the CD‐ROM. Unusually, none is needed.
Lest We Forget will work with Macintosh, Windows 3.1, or Windows 95 systems. For Windows, the computer must be a 486 or better with a minimum of 8 MB RAM and a 200 MB hard disk, a VGA graphics card and monitor, a 2x or faster CD‐ROM drive, and speakers. The Macintosh version requires a Mac IIci or better running System 7 or higher, 8 MB RAM with 5 MB available and a 200 MB hard drive, a color monitor, and audio speakers.
The most serious drawback to Lest We Forget is the inability to print or copy material. The lack of such an obvious feature is surprising in an otherwise well‐thought‐out product. Another problem is the annoying background music that plays while the computer is running the disc. It gets tiresome after a few minutes; but it can be easily turned off. If the user turns down the volume to eliminate the background music, he or she must raise it to view the film clips or to listen to archival sound segments. Nevertheless, this product on an important topic should be in every school. It is highly recommended for media centers, and public and academic libraries.
