The Holocaust by Bullets

Winner of the National Jewish Book Award: The story of how a Catholic priest uncovered the truth behind the murder of more than a million Ukrainian Jews.

Father Patrick Desbois documents the daunting task of identifying and examining all the sites where Jews were exterminated by Nazi mobile units in Ukraine in WWII. Using innovative methodology, interviews, and ballistic evidence, he has determined the location of many mass gravesites with the goal of providing proper burials for the victims of the forgotten Ukrainian Holocaust.


Compiling new archival material and many eye-witness accounts, Desbois has put together the first definitive account of one of World War II's bloodiest chapters. Published with the support of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.


"This modest Roman Catholic priest from Paris, without using much more than his calm voice and Roman collar, has shattered the silence surrounding a largely untold chapter of the Holocaust." —Chicago Tribune

"Part memoir, part prosecutorial brief, The Holocaust by Bullets tells a compelling story in which a priest unconnected by heritage or history is so moved by an injustice he sets out to right a daunting wrong." —The Miami Herald

"Father Desbois is a generation too late to save lives. Instead, he has saved memory and history." —The Wall Street Journal

"An outstanding contribution to Holocaust literature, uncovering new dimensions of the tragedy . . . Highly recommended." —Library Journal (starred review)