Can philosophy adequately confront an event as morally catastrophic as the Holocaust? Berel Lang's "Act and Idea in the Nazi Genocide" breaks new ground in analyzing how this historical watershed challenges contemporary Western philosophical thought. Through careful examination of ethics, art, and historical interpretation, Lang demonstrates that the Holocaust fundamentally alters how we must approach philosophical inquiry itself - not as a universal, detached exercise, but as an inherently historical and particularized endeavor. His methodology mirrors Cartesian epistemological self-examination, as Lang confronts his own philosophical understanding against the stark particularity of genocide. While the work displays remarkable clarity, sensitivity, and analytical rigor, it sometimes sidesteps crucial foundational moral questions and inadequately engages previous Holocaust scholarship, particularly theological contributions from Fackenheim, Arendt, and others. Nevertheless, Lang convincingly establishes both the possibility and necessity of post-Holocaust philosophical reflection, modeling how scholars can responsibly engage with this unprecedented historical event and its profound implications for moral philosophy and human self-understanding.