Reviews (16)

TALES FROM THE DARK SIDE...

A remembrance of things past
Imre Kertesz, a concentration camp survivor and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature often asks in his work: is there life after Auschwitz?Can one live with the ineffable guilt that accompanies survival against all odds?For Borowski the answer appears to be no.On July 1, 1951, at age 29, Tadeusz Borowski opened a gas valve, put his head in an oven and took his life.There is no small amount of irony in the fact that after escaping the gas of Auschwitz and Dachau Borowski would end his life in this manner.
A lesson to learn
Will you enjoy reading this book? The answer is no. But if you were to ask me if you should read this book then I would have to say absolutely. Borowski wrote with an honesty that I found amazing. He gave me a small window to look through and see what my grandparents might have gone through. This book while often shocking and always disturbing allows a little understanding into what life was like inside the death camps. Not for enjoyment but education. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1922-1951    2. Borowski, Tadeusz,    3. Classics    4. Concentration camps    5. Fiction    6. Literature - Classics / Criticism    7. Short Stories (single author)    8. Slavic Literature    9. Translations into English    10. War stories, Polish    11. World War, 1939-1945    12. Biography: general    13. Borowski, Tadeusz    14. European history: Second World War    15. Fiction / Classics    16. Poland    17. Political oppression & persecution    18. Second World War, 1939-1945    19. The Holocaust   

Reviews (17)

Why I Didn't Like This Book
For some people, this book might have been great, but I found it rather boring.I just felt that I really didn't connect with the book like I do with so many others.Hey, I'm not trying to make it sound bad, it's just that this book might not be too exciting (especially when you have to write about it!)

An emotional fantastic history lesson
I never saw another butterfly is an incredible collection drawings and poems written by children and adolescents in the Terezin concentration camp. The first hand emotional reactions to the torture and horror of the Holocaust is expressed in this book. This is a fantastic history lesson for young readers as well as adults to the horrifying Holocaust experience. The story of the children's teacher Friedl Dicer-Brandeis is incredible, as they define her as a gentle and kind woman, who ironically studied art in Germany. I highly recommend this book for any library and it is a must have for Language Arts and History teachers.

Mind-blowing!
This book of poetry and images is powerful yet simple.Having had prior experience with the play of the same name, I thought I was prepared, but I wasn't.The poetry and images those children of the Holocaust created are truly amazing.We've read Anne Frank and Elie Weisel, but these peopms of life in Terezin from a child's eyes is extremely powerful.Elia grew up too soon, and his books are of an adult's perspective...what the children saw and felt is much more powerfully represented in this book.It is a true must for poetry, WWII, or literature buffs alike! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anthologies (multiple authors)    2. Art    3. Children's art    4. Children's writings    5. Concentration camps    6. Czech Republic    7. Holocaust    8. Literature - Classics / Criticism    9. Techniques - Drawing    10. Theresienstadt (Concentration    11. Europe    12. European history (ie other than Britain & Ireland)    13. History / Holocaust    14. The Holocaust    15. World history: Second World War   

Reviews (2)

A First Rate Look at the II SS Panzer Corps
As with his previous books, Michael Reynolds grabs the reader's attention and presents a wealth of detailed information of the operations of the II SS Panzer Corps. This corps distinguished itself in Normandy, Arnhem, the Ardennes and finally in the East against the Soviet tide.
Honest, Accurate, Impecable Detail
Having read 2 of Mr. Reynold's previous books 'Men of Steel' (History of 1st SS Panzer Corp) and Steel Inferno (1st SS PC in Normandy), I was eagerly anticipating this book on the exploits of the 9TH SS - Hohenstaufen and 10th SS - Frundsberg Divisions. True to form, this book is an incredibly insightful and detailed account of the savage defensive battles these divisions fought from Normandy, to Arnhem and the fighting on the Eastern Front and Vienna before the war's end. There is no question that Mr. Reynolds (a retired British Army Officer) is the pre-eminent expert on the Waffen SS and I thoroughly recommend that anyone with an interest in the German Army in WWII read this book as he will help dispell some of the myths that are all too common about these elite divisions. If you want to learn about the fighting elan of these soldiers, the tactics they employed against a numerically superior enemy and the motivation for continuing to fight against all odds, then this is a great book for you. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - Germany    2. History    3. History - Military / War    4. History: World    5. Holocaust    6. Military - General    7. Military - World War II   

Editorial Review

In a work that is as authoritative as it is explosive, Goldhagenforces us to revisit and reconsider our understanding of the Holocaust and its perpetrators, demanding a fundamental revision in our thinking ofthe years between 1933-1945.Drawing principally on materials eitherunexplored or neglected by previous scholars, Goldhagen marshals new, disquieting primary evidence that explains why, when Hitler conceived of the"final solution" he was able to enlist vast numbers of willing Germans tocarry it out.A book sure to provoke new discussion and intense debate. ... Read more

Reviews (193)

Many of the reviewers of this book validate the author's point....
Hitler's rise to power and tyranny was enabled and in fact, empowered by, the needs and convictions of the German people. The rise of Hitler and the pervasive support of him in Germany at that time were a coemergent phenomena. One did not create the other. Goldhagen's book is important in that it attempts to speak to the German public's complicitous role in the horrors that occured during WW II to Jews (which Goldhagen's thesis focuses on) and non-Jews alike. Many of the reviewers here are examples of Hitler's "willing executioners" of the truth, of decency and of humanity.

The message that matters
Goldhagen's large book has basically a single message: the perpetrators of Holocaust are Germans, not some Nazis. Ordinary Germans from all walks of life.
Racist Propaganda
Not appreciably less racist than the 1941 diatribe "Germany Must Perish!" by Theodore N Kaufman which advocated sterilizing the entire German population.As an aside, I doubt whether that little masterpiece (pubished before holocaust started) was helpful to the Jews in German-occupied territory.
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Subjects:  1. Antisemitism    2. Causes    3. Europe - Germany    4. Germany    5. History - General History    6. History: World    7. Holocaust    8. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    9. Jewish - General    10. Psychology    11. War criminals    12. History / Germany    13. Reading Group Guide   

Reviews (2)

What price political correctness?
If anything, the Holocaust has forced Christianity to reexamine its position concerning the place of Israel in God's plan of salvation. In the course of closely probing this point, Christians also have been led to identify and address the anti-Semitism inherent in its history. As a result, we have a movement called `Post-Holocaust Theology.' Williamson's book is a good example of this movement.He rightly identifies the problem of supersessionism or the Gentile feeling of superiority in the Church as compared to non-Christian Jews.In other words, after the early Christians split from Judaism, the former entity looked down upon and disregarded the latter entity.
Being good guests...
Clark Williamson, a professor emeritus of theology at my seminary, devoted much of life to Jewish-Christian relations and dialogue.The manner in which Williamson went about this is different from many; rather than relying solely on dialogue and exchanges in debate and conversation, with the occasional generic interfaith service thrown in for good measure, Williamson calls upon the Christian church to reorder its own thinking in light of a history of anti-Judaic and anti-Semitic sentiment that has been present from the time of the early Church Fathers to the aftermath of the Holocaust.Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Christianity - Church Administration - General    3. Christianity - Theology - General    4. Doctrinal Theology    5. History    6. Holocaust (Religious Aspects)    7. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    8. Influence    9. Judaism (Christian theology)    10. Religion    11. Religion - Church History    12. Theology, Doctrinal    13. Christian theology    14. The Holocaust   

Reviews (5)

feeling
Among the first books I purchased to study the Holocost. A concise summary
These three camps were put into full operation shortly after the assassination of Heydrich, the "brains" behind the Final Solution. Unlike concentration camps, these were extermination centers. Most were killed shortly after arrival. The man in charge seemed to be Christian Wirth, who can only be described as a beast in human form. Initially devoted to mass executions of Soviet POWs, the camps soon focused on liquidation of Jews once the Final Solution was put into full swing. Very little is known about the camps simply because there were so few survivors. These were truly some of the most dreadful camps, even though they operated for only a brief period.

EXHAUSTIVA Y RIGUROSA OBRA
Comparando muchos libros sobre la trist�sima c�lebre "Operaci�n Reinhard", Yitzhak Arad ha conseguido con su obra aglutinar de una manera exhaustiva y rigurosa, toda la informaci�n posible sobre esos cruentos a�os. El libro es ciertamente desgarrador y a medida que pasan las p�ginas, necesitas reflexionar sobre el devenir de la Humanidad. Pasaje a pasaje, logra nuestro estudioso autor, crear una tr�stemente cierta atm�sfera t�trica sobre el comportamiento de los genocidas, su actitud hacia los prisioneros, evacuaci�n de los Ghettos, construcci�n de las c�maras de gas, sublevaci�n de los campos, etc... S�lamente hay un peque�o inciso que hubiera podido ser mejorado: una m�s profusa y densa biograf�a sobre los autores materiales del Holocausto. Salvaguardando este matiz, se puede considerar esta obra como la m�s completa y documentada de todo el g�nero. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. History    2. History - Military / War    3. History: World    4. Holocaust    5. Jewish Holocaust    6. Military - World War II    7. European history: Second World War    8. Germany    9. Jewish studies    10. Second World War, 1939-1945    11. The Holocaust    12. Jews    13. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)   

Subjects:  1. 1920-    2. 1922-    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Historical - Holocaust    8. Holocaust    9. Holocaust survivors    10. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    11. Jews    12. Poland    13. Religious    14. Salsitz, Amalie Petranker,    15. Salsitz, Norman,    16. United States   

Editorial Review

Written immediately after the end of World War II, this morally complex Holocaust memoir is notable for its exact depiction of the grim details of life in Warsaw under the Nazi occupation. "Things you hardly noticed before took on enormous significance: a comfortable, solid armchair, the soothing look of a white-tiled stove," writes Wladyslaw Szpilman, a pianist for Polish radio when the Germans invaded. His mother's insistence on laying the table with clean linen for their midday meal, even as conditions for Jews worsened daily, makes palpable the Holocaust's abstract horror. Arbitrarily removed from the transport that took his family to certain death, Szpilman does not deny the "animal fear" that led him to seize this chance for escape, nor does he cheapen his emotions by belaboring them. Yet his cool prose contains plenty of biting rage, mostly buried in scathing asides (a Jewish doctor spared consignment to "the most wonderful of all gas chambers," for example). Szpilman found compassion in unlikely people, including a German officer who brought food and warm clothing to his hiding place during the war's last days. Extracts from the officer's wartime diary (added to this new edition), with their expressions of outrage at his fellow soldiers' behavior, remind us to be wary of general condemnation of any group. Read more

Reviews (90)

Survivor
Playing the piano at a cafe in 1940 helped the author to overcome his apathy and despair.The ghetto in Warsaw did not depend upon smuggling to feed itself.The winter of 1941-42 was very hard in the ghetto.Cold, hunger, vermin were present.Five thousand people died of typhus. Refutes Claude Lanzmann's SHOAH and Other Holocaust Distortions

Survival, Courage, Determination and Music
Survival, Courage, Determination and Music!
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Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Composers & Musicians - Classical Instrumentalists    5. General    6. Historical - Holocaust    7. Holocaust   

Reviews (2)

Must read
Impressive book that describes, analyzes and chronicles the Skarzysko-Kamienna Slave Labor Camp.This is a little known place with a unique structure amoung the hundreds of forgotten camps.The author also provides a unique analysis of the economics of this camp and its social structure.The translation is rough in some parts but this book is the best overall book I have read about the camps, their social structure, organization, interations of liberation movements and economics.She also provides a unique insight into why many voluntereed to enter the camp and provides much historical background and the links to other Concentration Camps including Plaszow, the camp where Oskar Schindler was associated.

To Read, To Remember,To Know,, But Never Understand Evil
My Grandfather a 88 year old man today , Told Me a little bit of what he and his friends sufferd in that labor camp,Thru out the years , never spoke Much about it, and I was never able to understand how they came out of there alive and How they where able to take the pain and suffering, all I knew is that G-d was with them all the Time and they where with G-d, How interesting more then sixty years later a older man I never met comes in my office about somthing else with a book very important to him he starts telling me a story about that consertration camp I was shocked wait a Minute Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Forced labor    3. History    4. History - Military / War    5. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    6. Jewish Holocaust    7. Jews    8. Military - World War II    9. Persecutions    10. Poland    11. Science/Mathematics    12. Skarzysko-Kamienna (Concentra    13. War Crimes And Criminals    14. Ethnic studies    15. European history: Second World War    16. Prisoners of war    17. Religion / General    18. The Holocaust   

Subjects:  1. Historiography    2. History    3. History - General History    4. History and criticism    5. History: World    6. Holocaust    7. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    8. Judaism - History    9. Personal narratives    10. World War, 1939-1945    11. Europe    12. Religion / Judaism / History    13. The Holocaust   

Reviews (36)

Can the past be prologue?
Having been involved in intelligence work early in my life and having kept watching intel shenanigans, a book about the secret war against the Jews got my attention and I had an opportunity to read and research much of its contents. I found answers to questions I had not foundsince the creation of Israel. Why would such a widely divergent group of political leaders suddenly see eye to eye and approve something as controversial and futile as creating a Jewish State surrounded by masses of Arabs seeking their destruction? It is amazing how the founders of Israel were able to use the weaknesses of these world leaders to effectively blackmail them. In view of the current situation in Lebanon, Syria and Iran it was very educational to learn about the USS Liberty betrayal and subsequent conspiracy to hide the facts.
The Secret War Against the Jews: How Western Espionage Betrayed The Jewish People
The book was in great conidtion; I have no complaints.

Fine account of the pro-Nazi crimes of the British and US ruling classes
This excellent book exposes the anti-democratic nature of the British and US ruling classes. It shows how for most of the last century they committed huge crimes in the name of anti-communism, doing far more evil deeds than their class enemies.
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Subjects:  1. American espionage    2. Espionage, American    3. Foreign relations    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. International Relations - General    7. Israel    8. Jewish - General    9. Political Science    10. United States    11. World - General    12. Jewish studies    13. Racism & racial discrimination    14. The Holocaust   

Reviews (24)

Grab this little gem and embrace it
What these 2 authors have done is brilliant, elegant and spellbinding.They have woven together a historical timeline based on best available sources and featuring first-hand testimony from Dr. Mengele's twins, to shed light on Mengele's medical "experiments" -- some of the deepest sociopathy ever known to mankind -- as well as the many profiles in courage spawned by the tragic events covered.The book comes across as a labor of love, in which the authors relate as 2 civil human beings to another, engaging the best in the reader to draw his or her own conclusions.Rarely do I view a nonfiction work, however worthwhile, as one that I cannot put down, but this book is an exception.Scholars of the WWII/Holocaust era cannot consider that their library or education are complete without this work.
Absolutely Spellbinding!
I first read this book several years ago, having gained it through chance really. (random bookclub selection) However, by the time I reached the middle of the book, I was completely in awe of the survivors as well as those poor souls who perished. The author is unbiased and thorough. The survivor accounts are invaluable. This is a book I intend to share with my children someday AND my grandhchildren. Lessons we simply cannot allow to slip through the cracks of history.

Children of the Flames
This book is written very differently but is a moving testimonial of outstanding children and a witness to their determined spirit to survive. I find it hard to imagine that anyone would put these precious innocent children through such unimaginable horrors.
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Subjects:  1. History - General History    2. History: World    3. Jewish - Ancient    4. Military - World War II    5. History / Holocaust   

Reviews (9)

One of My Favorite Researchers
I admire those who ask the hard questions.I admire those who don't fall into line with easy answers.I'm glad Stanley Milgram existed and did his groundbreaking work.I'm sorry he's not still alive to be doing more of it.I'd love to see his take on the current state of affairs in our country.I first learned of Milgram as a college student who was one of a group duplicating his experiment.I didn't shock anybody and argued with the "experimenter" as the task was being explained to me.And having read this book I still proudly wear my "Question Authority" button in honor of Milgram.The Blass book is an excellent read if you're willing to entertain some uncomfortable thoughts.

To shock or not to shock
Great book, couldn't put it down.It is an excellent book to get the whole story about Milgram and his famous experiment.What great insight Milgram found out about man, but was man ready to look in the mirror?If you teach psychology, or you are just interested in psychology, and want a more in depth look at Milgram, you won't go wrong with this one.My students are enjoying this as well.

When in doubt, experiment!
Milgram seemed to share the showmanship of P.T. Barnum and ingenuity of reality show creator Mark Burnett. If Milgram were alive, he might have been a top reality show creator.
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Subjects:  1. Authority    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Holocaust    7. Jewish Holocaust    8. Milgram, Stanley    9. Obedience    10. Social Psychology    11. Social Scientists & Psychologists    12. Social psychologists    13. United States    14. Biography: general    15. Europe    16. Psychology   

Reviews (2)

A "Must Read" Book
Echoes from the Holocaust by Mira Ryczke Kimmelman is a riveting memoir that recounts her life as a child in Danzig to her life in the United States after World War II. Mira describes how the innocence, effulgence, and peace of her youth are shattered once the Nazi troops force her family to leave their home in Poland in October 1939. Embracing her Jewish heritage, Mira tells of how she strives to preserve her identity and pride as a Jew alive by receiving secret Hebrew lessons, attending prohibited Jewish gatherings, and becoming a member of the Zionist movement. Kimmelman refuses to let herself become discouraged when she learns that more than twenty of her family members and friends are killed by the SS officers.
Unbelievable horror!
From a priveleged upbringing in pre-war Gdansk, the author and her family are deported first to Warsaw then to other ghettos and camps. The book is written in a frank, no-nonsense fashion and she really states the facts about what happened to her and her family. An amazing book and one that everyone should read. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1923-    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Gdansk    7. Gdaânsk    8. Historical - General    9. Historical - Holocaust    10. Holocaust survivors    11. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    12. Jewish Holocaust Personal Narratives    13. Jews    14. Kimmelman, Mira Ryczke,    15. Personal narratives    16. Poland    17. United States   

Reviews (3)

partially uncommitted, self involved thinking
I must agree with the reader who says there is more style than substance in this book. This applies particularly to S. Felman's part of the book. D. Laub's articles are straightforward and clear, Felman's essays, however, are intellectually self involved, and convey a nervous kind of circular argumentation. This comes across as a very neurotic writing. But may be it's a sign of the times that trauma becomes a pretext for the somewhat usual textual interpretations of academic authors. May be it's also to be expected that most writers fail somewhat when they try to talk about personal or collective suffering. It is a difficult subject for sure. Read the book for its failures.

naive, furious and paranoid
Compared to most reflections on trauma and the holocaust (especially academic pig-headedness) this one stands out for its furious energy (often synonymous with intelligence), its naivete but also its paranoidintellectual evasiveness: in the end it doesn't know what it wants to say,which may have to do with its often tenuous, or non existent personalrelation to its topic. If you like style over substance this is a definitemust: Its rage still beats most academic useless blabla.

One of the most important books for our times
Testimony a brilliant and profound book. Analysing stories from the Holocaust, Felman and Laub argue the importance for society of witnessing those who have lived beyond the boundaries of existing cultural systems, and therefore their own capacity for witnessing themselves. A compelling and understated book for anyone interested in the boundaries of our own history and epistemology, and the hazards of venturing beyond them ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Authors    2. Literary Criticism    3. Literature - Classics / Criticism    4. Psychic trauma    5. Psychoanalysis and literature    6. Psychology    7. Semiotics & Theory    8. Cultural studies    9. Historiography    10. Literary Collections / General    11. Literary studies: general    12. The Holocaust    13. World history: from c 1900 -   

Reviews (6)

A Much Needed Slap in the Face
The next time you wake up and whine about having to go to work, make an appointment with this book.
The Real Survivors
One of the most popular films of 1993 was Steven Spielburg�s Schindler�s List, the story of Oskar Schindler - Rake and Saviour
Oskar Schindler, one remarkable man who outwitted Adolf Hitler and the Nazis to save more Jews from the gas chambers than most of the heroicrescuers during WWII.Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. General    5. Holocaust    6. Holocaust survivors    7. Holocaust, Jewish (1933-1945)    8. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    9. Personal narratives    10. Biography: general    11. Second World War, 1939-1945    12. The Holocaust   

Editorial Review

This book, published months after Italian writer Primo Levi's suicide in 1987, is a small but powerful look at Auschwitz, the hell where Levi was imprisoned during World War II. The book was his third on the subject, following Read more

Reviews (15)

A must for students of ethics
This is a book that causes the reader to reconsider, reflect critically one's own views, marvel at the level of depravity to which humans can steep, and is one which I imagine should be a standard text in ethics courses.
Thoughtful, intelligent, meaningful, and universal.
"The Drowned and the Saved" is the final book of Primo Levi (1919-1987), a Jewish-Italian chemist who survived the death camp of Auschwitz, and turned to authorship in his later years. This book is a group of a half-dozen related essays, each exploring a specific aspect of Levi's view of the Holocaust's causes and effects. Encourages introspection
Primo Levi suggests that perceiving the experiences of others is extremely difficult and grows more so as the distance in time, space, and quality increases. "We are prone to assimilate them to 'related' ones, as if the hunger in Auschwitz were the same as that of someone who has skipped a meal, or as if escape from Treblinka were similar to an esacpe from an ordinary jail."Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Auschwitz (Concentration camp)    3. Authors, Italian    4. Biography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Holocaust    7. Holocaust, Jewish (1933-1945)    8. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    9. Levi, Primo    10. Literature - Classics / Criticism    11. Personal narratives    12. History / Holocaust