The Seizure of Saddam Hussein's Archive of Atrocity

by Bruce P. Montgomery

Overview

The Seizure of Saddam Hussein's Archive of Atrocity examines the capture of the Baathist security files and the discovery of an invaluable Iraqi Jewish archive amid the Kurdish uprising and the US-led invasion of Iraq. The events ignited a fierce struggle for the files, which documented Saddam Hussein’s vast humanitarian crimes. The various battles to control the memory of Saddam Hussein's genocidal regime and reclaim Jewish patrimony reflected Iraq's inability to confront its past. The author examines these controversies, arguing that Iraq's failure to face its totalitarian history has condemned it to a future of vengeance.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781498556972
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	10/04/2019
Pages:	258
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Bruce P. Montgomery is former professor and Director of Archives at the University of Colorado.

Table of Contents

Chapter I: Iraq’s Seizure of Kuwait’s History

Chapter II: The Iraqi Kurdish Uprising: Seizure of the Anfal Files

Chapter III: U.S. Seizure of Saddam’s Archives of Atrocity

Chapter IV: The Iraqi Jewish Archive: Contested Cultural Patrimony

Chapter V: Rescue or Plunder: Struggle for the Baath Party Archive

Chapter VI: Restitution and Retribution

Editorial Reviews

This is a fascinating and close-to-comprehensive account of the transfers of large caches of pre-2003 Iraqi regime files to the United States before and after the US invasion. It will be of interest to scholars of Iraq and a must-read for those concerned about the ethics of removing a country's historical and cultural patrimony for external safekeeping and analysis.

Joost Hiltermann

This study is a fascinating overview of the history of archives in Iraq and the dilemmas facing the seizure of records from an authoritarian regime. Bruce P. Montgomery, a well-known archivist, presents a number of events related to the Baathist, Kurdish, and Jewish archives and addresses how the lines between restitution and retribution become complicated.

Joseph Sassoon

Montgomery’s book will be of interest to participants in and followers of discussions on the subject. It is also the first full-volume work dedicated to the history of the collections of documents seized from Saddam Hussein’s regime. In this light, it will be valuable reading for scholars of modern Iraq and Middle Eastern studies more broadly, along with those in the archival studies community.

Journal of Contemporary Iraq and the Arab World

This is an extremely valuable, authoritative, highly informative, and accurately researched book from a leading and most experienced archivist. It documents the crucial role of archivists and historians assisting persecuted people like Kurds, Jews, Christians, and indeed other minorities to come to terms with their own horrible history in order to organize their own future in humanity, democracy, social justice, and also in gender equality.

Ferdinand Hennerbichler

Montgomery’s book provides a rich history of the controversies over the fate of Iraqi records and archives. He expertly weaves Middle East history, international law, and archival principles into a compelling narrative of captured and seized Iraqi records that places them in historical and political context. Montgomery covers a lot of ground, exploring everything from Kuwaiti records captured by Iraq to the fate Iraqi Jewish archives, but also manages to capture crucial historical details and the unique nuances of each group of records. He provides a balanced and thoughtful account of the legal, ethical, and cultural controversies over these different groups of Iraqi records. This book belongs on the shelf of historians, lawyers, and archivists interested in the complex issues of Iraqi records and archives displaced by war.

Douglas Cox