Subjects:  1. Catholic Church    2. Christianity - History - Catholic    3. Christianity - History - General    4. Christianity - History - Social Issues    5. Christianity and antisemitism    6. History    7. Holocaust    8. Jewish - General    9. Judaism    10. Judaism - History    11. Leadership    12. Papacy    13. Relations    14. Religion    15. Religion - Christian Living    16. Religion - Classic Works   

Reviews (26)

Con-Artists and Ideologues, Please Rise!
Want a true life legal thriller that reads like fiction? Want a plot so outlandish that it is hard to remember that it is real? Something that will make you think, laugh, get angry, and make you proud, all in the same story?
Setting the record straight
To read mactans' review of the book with its glowing quotes by the trial judge (see his review with quotes from the judge), one would think that Irving won his suit. He didn't. Just as Irving selects bits of source documents and claims they absolve Hitler and the Nazis of the atrocities they are accused of, mactan gives only part of the story. Remember, Irving sued Lipstadt. He not only wanted damages, he wanted HER BOOK REMOVED FROM CIRCULATION. Talk about a dangerous precedent. Lipstadt did not say that Irving should not partake of his first amendment rights. As far as I know, she did not call for his books to be removed from library and bookshelves. Irving apologists want to frame the case as a dangerous attempt to sqaush a valid interpretation of history. Coming to different conclusions based on historical source material is not the issue here- misrepresenting source material to support a pre-existing bias or prejudice is. The same is true for book reviews.

A self-serving collection of distortions and out right lies
Read these quotes from Judge Gray's decision and you will get a very clear picture
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Subjects:  1. 1938-    2. England    3. Historiography    4. History    5. History - General History    6. History: World    7. Holocaust    8. Holocaust denial    9. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    10. Irving, David John Cawdell,    11. Jewish - General    12. Lipstadt, Deborah E    13. London    14. Penguin (Firm)    15. Political Freedom & Security - Human Rights    16. Trials (Libel)    17. Trials, litigation, etc    18. English law: defamation (slander & libel)    19. Europe    20. History / Jewish    21. Jewish studies    22. The Holocaust    23. True Stories   

Reviews (5)

Understanding the other side of the story . . .
I bought this for research and it is terrific. It really gets into the mindset and political background of the story of the White Rose and helps the reader to understand the 'why' of the story. Not as personal as other accounts, it nevertheless is a wonderful background that will help you see Nazi Germany in a whole new light while telling the moving and touching story of Sophie Scholl.

Sophie Scholl and The White Rose
It is quite impossible to do an adequate job of reviewing this book.
A very powerful and memorable book
SOPHIE SCHOLL & THE WHITE ROSE is, essentially, about the finest aspects of human nature. The White Rose members' integrity and their compassion for their fellow Germans and, more surprisingly, for the Jewish population who had endured years of prejudice and oppression followed by vicious persecution is very impressive.
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Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Europe - Germany    3. Germany - History - Third Reich (1933-1945)    4. Historical - General    5. History    6. History: World    7. Holocaust    8. Military - World War II    9. Women    10. World War II    11. European history: Second World War    12. Germany    13. History / General    14. Other warfare & defence issues    15. Second World War, 1939-1945   

Reviews (9)

The story of those who survived
In Nazi-occupied Europe the pre-war Jewish child population came to about 1.6 million. During the war an estimated 1.5 million Jewish children where killed , leaving only 6 to 7 percent of them alive at the end of the war. inspiring read
heartfelt and well written- it was great to have the interviews written and turned into short stories by a writer who wasn't directly involved in the holocaust. having jane marks writing it, she sees it from the perspective you and it do- from the outside. great book

Unforgettable
This is an unforgettable book about the fate of many Jewish children who survived during World War II all over Europe. From a very young age they had to learn to hide the truth about their origin. Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography/Autobiography    3. Children    4. History - General History    5. Holocaust    6. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    7. Jewish Holocaust Personal Narratives    8. Jewish children    9. Personal narratives    10. World War, 1939-1945    11. History / Holocaust   

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Germany    3. History - General History    4. Holocaust    5. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    6. Jews    7. Jews, German    8. Judaism - History    9. Religion    10. United States - State & Local - Midwest    11. American history: from c 1900 -    12. Jewish studies    13. Religion / Judaism / History    14. The Americas    15. The Holocaust   

Reviews (4)

From Hitler to Hamas

Exploring the Nazi Roots of Palestinianism
For those , like myself , who are sick and tiredof the hate-filled international campaign to destroy Israel , and anihilate her people , this informative and fascinating book provides an exploration of the roots of Palestinianism and anti-Israel hatred.
An important investigation into an evil ideology.
This well written book scrutinizes the story of Haj Amin al-Husseini and how his influence has allegedly resulted in Islamo-fascism and Jihad terrorism becoming the dominant political philosophies in the Arab world. The reader being shown how Nazism took root in the Islamic world through the untiring efforts of al-Hussein,the former Mufti of Jerusalem.
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Subjects:  1. Europe - Germany    2. History    3. History - General History    4. History: World    5. Holocaust    6. Middle East - General    7. Military - World War II    8. Europe    9. European history: Second World War    10. Germany    11. History / Middle East    12. The Holocaust   

Subjects:  1. 1883-1945    2. 1889-1945    3. Diplomatic history    4. Europe - Germany    5. Europe - Italy    6. History    7. History - Military / War    8. History: World    9. Hitler, Adolf,    10. Holocaust    11. Military - World War II    12. Mussolini, Benito,    13. World War, 1939-1945    14. European history: from c 1900 -    15. Germany    16. History / General    17. Hitler, Adolf    18. Inter-war period, 1918-1939    19. Italy    20. Mussolini, Benito    21. Political Science / Communism & Socialism    22. Political leaders & leadership    23. Second World War, 1939-1945   

Subjects:  1. History    2. History - General History    3. History: American    4. Holocaust    5. Holocaust survivors    6. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    7. Judaism - General    8. Judaism - History    9. Personal narratives    10. Psychological aspects    11. Psychology    12. World - General    13. Judaism    14. Religion / Judaism / General    15. USA   

Reviews (10)

The second generation ogf surviv
I read this book many years ago. I was greatly moved by it, and through it understood the special burden children of survivors have to live with. Helen Epstein was the first to really explore the feelings and situation of the children of survivors. The secretness she writes about it, the things which were in the air but never spoken about play a large part in this.
Sensitive and powerful
I purchased this book for a friend who had been unable to get a copy here in Australia.
Hits Home
As the child of a survivor, this book talks about many of the things our family kept silent.Just reading that even one other person out there had similar feelings, experiences, and views was so very comforting.It is important that society acknowledges the 2nd Generation's special status.May the memory of all who perished, of all who survived, and all who havecome after them be ever for a blessing. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children of Holocaust survivor    2. Children of Holocaust survivors    3. History - General History    4. Holocaust    5. Holocaust, Jewish (1933-1945)    6. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    7. Jewish Holocaust    8. Military - World War II    9. Psychological aspects    10. Psychology    11. Europe    12. European history: Second World War    13. History / Holocaust    14. Second World War, 1939-1945    15. The Holocaust   

Reviews (5)

Disorganized, repetitive...
For those who are just now studying the history of Europe in the last mid-century, this all-embracing book on the impact of Nazi planning on all children may be a good place to start. For someone like me who has been reading about this stuff for about five years now (since being introduced to the medical ethics of Nazi use of children in medical school), this book tended to be an adequate rehash of a lot of information I had been introduced to in other books. Those books such as 'When Medicine Went Mad' by Caplan, the Nazi Doctors and the Nuremberg Code, 'Crying Hands', "The Origins of Nazi Genocide" by Henry Friedlander...and many, many more, this book did not contain enough new information, or provide new philosophical or ethical or moral input into this awful time in our human history to be worth the read.
If it had just ended with the Nazi's....
No one will ever know the number of children killed, injured or made to suffer during World War II. The number of children simply vaporized in the atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, or the fire storms in Tokyo or Dresden will never be known. Tragic as these incidents are, the deliberate actions of the Nazi's stand out with a particular cruelty because they were deliberate, the active policy of the Government that should have been in charge of their welfare, not their death.
True-believers who killed
If you need a reminder of the continuing hurt to families caused by World War II, direct your browser to www.its-arolsen.org . The site, in a complex of buildings in Arolsen, Germany, houses an organization called the International Tracing Service. ITS was established by the Western Allies in 1943 to help cope with the millions of human beings in Europe uprooted by World War II. The work of the ITS and its 15 miles of files continues to this day as people continue to attempt to discover what happened to loved ones.
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Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Children    3. Children and war    4. Children's Studies    5. Europe    6. Europe - General    7. History    8. History - Military / War    9. History: World    10. Holocaust    11. Military - World War II    12. World War, 1939-1945    13. History / Europe / General   

Reviews (6)

A Book on Every Page
When reading this book I was struck by how many human lives are mentioned in passing, summed up in a paragraph and lost.The volume and diversity of tales told in this book reflects the number and diversity of people Mr. Vrba came into contact with during his horrific ordeal.Most of them died.
Trying to understand why it happened.
This is an extraordinary book about a teenager's journey through the Nazi extermination camps.Rudolf managed to escape from Auschwitz and warn the Hungarians Jews about the real purpose behind the upcoming transports thus saving hundreds of thousands.
A proven fraud and liar....
Sorry, but Mr. Vrba was exposed as a fraud before a court of law in Canada in 1988. This has nothing to do with " holocaust denial", only with his gross errors of fact. The three most obvious were:
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Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. General    5. Historical - General    6. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    7. Jewish resistance    8. Jews    9. Military - World War II    10. Persecutions    11. Personal narratives    12. Slovakia    13. Vrba, Rudolf    14. World War, 1939-1945    15. Biography & Autobiography / General    16. Europe    17. European history: Second World War    18. The Holocaust   

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography And Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Comic books, strips, etc    7. Fine Arts    8. General    9. Historical - Holocaust    10. Holocaust    11. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    12. Jewish - General    13. Jews    14. Personal Memoirs    15. Personal narratives    16. Social conditions    17. Ukraine    18. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs   

Reviews (8)

Informative but dull
If you want an overview of the capture of Eichmann this book will give it to you, but don't expect a gripping story.This is unglamorous espionage.Israel receives very specific informaiton of Eichmann living in Argentina but ignores it twice.When they finally decide to pursue him it turns out that Eichmann had given up running.He and his family were living thinly concealed lives in squalor.
"EICHMANN IN MY HANDS"is the TRUE, PERSONAL ACCOUNT by Peter Malkin.
The claims in this book and by the literary critics above are such complete, watered-down, political CRAP intended to sell another book on the subject. It is all third-hand, and poor at that.Read the TRUE and ACCURATE account by the Israeli Spy, recently declassified WHO ACTUALLY CAUGHT ADOLF EICHMANN.His famous book is called "EICHMANN IN MY HANDS". Before this book, he had to write under an alias, Peter Z Mann. His action novels reflect his life and are must-reads: "ULTIMATUM PU 94"and"CARLOS MUST DIE".(Also recommend the underground book written in 1961 immediately after Eichmann's capture "THE PLOT TO SAVE EICHMANN".

Operation Eichmann : The Truth about the Pursuit, Capture and Trial
Very interesting book. A story I was about which I was always curious. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1906-1962    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Eichmann, Adolf,    6. Germany    7. Germany - History - Post World War II (1945-1989)    8. Historical - General    9. History - Military / War    10. Holocaust    11. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    12. Israel    13. Middle Eastern    14. Military - World War II    15. Secret service    16. War Crimes And Criminals    17. War criminals    18. Eichmann, Adolf    19. Literary Criticism & Collections / Middle Eastern   

Reviews (5)

Nazi depravity at its worst
I had read Eugen Kogon's work titled "The Theory and Practice of Hell" and wondered could this work be any more enlightening as to Buchenwald camp. The reports, listed as personal narratives, are quite graphic and revealing as to the nature of this camp and its staff. This book is a real eye opener to any student of the Holocaust who desires a knowledge of camps inside Germany, as opposed to the death camps in Poland for instance. It reveals the abject corruption of the s.s. when they were exposed to unlimited money, power and control. I do not excuse their actions in any way, but am glad that these villains are portrayed in the cowardly light they lived in. One report of personal interest to me pertains to prisoners sent from Buchenwald to Auschwitz where the activities of Otto Moll, the sadistic beast of Birkenau are chronicled. I would appreciate any titles or information on this elusive person only from an information standpoint. I recommend this book for its educational and personal power...the depths that men sink to are truly bottomless.

Powerful Book
This book is not for the faint of heart.It is the United States government report on the Buchenwald concentration camp that was liberated by American forces during the end of the Second World War.The book covers the state of the camp when it was liberated, the types of prisoners, the methods used to subdue and kill the prisoners, and the fate of the camp administration and guards once the camp was over run.The book also has a number of camp diagrams and black and white photos. Disturbing, but Important
As a Jew, I feel it is very important to be as informed as possible about the past of my religion and my people. The events of the holocaust, and in turn, the events at the Buchenwald Camp were truly horrific. From the knowledge of what occured there comes a sort of preventative aide-if people know of the tragedy that occured, then it can be prevented from ever happening again.The accounts offered in the Buchenwald Report are harrowing and disturbing. I read the entire book, from cover to cover, and although some accounts are somewhat tedious and repetative, there is nothing more intimate than someone's personal account of their experience at Buchenwald. I highly recommend this book to anyone with slight interest in the happenings of world war II and specifically, how the holocaust was personally effecting people's lives.The reason for four stars is first of all: As much as I find this book important to read, it's not enjoyable, as a book really should be. Such depressing subject matter, but it is important to be disposed to such information, as a sort of (to restate myself) preventative for something like this ever happening again. As for a historian's standpoint, also, I am not sure as to how accurate all of the information provided within this book is. A very valuable read, though. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Buchenwald (Concentration camp)    2. Germany    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. Holocaust    7. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    8. Jewish Holocaust    9. Jewish holocaust (1933-1945)    10. Military - World War II    11. Personal narratives    12. Sources    13. War Crimes And Criminals    14. European history: Second World War    15. Jewish studies    16. The Holocaust   

Editorial Review

When World War II began, Irene Gutowna was a 17-year-old Polish nursing student. Six years later, she writes in this inspiring memoir, "I felt a million years old." In the intervening time she was separated from her family, raped by Russian soldiers, and forced to work in a hotel serving German officers. Sickened by the suffering inflicted on the local Jews, Irene began leaving food under the walls of the ghetto. Soon she was scheming to protect the Jewish workers she supervised at the hotel, and then hiding them in the lavish villa where she served as housekeeper to a German major. When he discovered them in the house, Gutowna became his mistress to protect her friends--later escaping him to join the Polish partisans during the Germans' retreat. The author presents her extraordinary heroism as the inevitable result of small steps taken over time, but her readers will not agree as they consume this thrilling adventure story, which also happens to be a drama of moral choice and courage. Although adults will find Irene's tale moving, it is appropriately published as a young adult book. Her experiences while still in her teens remind adolescents everywhere that their actions count, that the power to make a difference is in their hands. Read more

Reviews (65)

Daja Vu All Over Again.
This is a true account by an Austrian child psychologist who helped to secure a safe environment for some of the multitudes of children during Hitler's Holocaust. In 1939, a group of Polish and Russian doctors had purchased some French castles to use as combined school and orphanage. Called OSE (Organization of Scientists and Educators), they attempted to save these young children of the parents in concentration camps. It is the story of survival, not of all; those who did survive bring to mind the story of the Von Trapp family as depicted in the movie, 'The Sound of Music," but multiplied many-fold.
Spellbinding
An amazing and spellbinding tale.She risked her life many, many times. Irene Gut definitely had guts!

Little-Known Polish Aid to Jews During the Holocaust
There is an unfortunate and unfair stereotype about Poles not doing enough for Jews during World War II. This book helps set the record straight by first showing that Poles were also victims of the Germans. In addition, unlike in other German-occupied countries, Poles were given the death penalty for the slightest aid to Jews. Despite all this, the heroine of this historical account risked her life every day to hide a group of Jews right under the nose of a German officer whom she was forced to serve. Absolutely thrilling!
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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Historical - General    6. Historical - Holocaust    7. Holocaust    8. Jews    9. Juvenile literature    10. Personal narratives, Polish    11. Poland    12. Rescue    13. Righteous Gentiles in the Holocaust    14. Women    15. World War, 1939-1945    16. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs    17. Reading Group Guide   

Reviews (10)

Good if You Don't Mind the Free Verse
I just read this book by Imre Kertesz, he has an accent over the second "e" but be sure you don't count the "e" in his first name because then it would be wrong and you might misprounce it if you were speaking to other people and that could happen because I was just talking to a man this weekend who mentioned his name except that I didn't realize until later that it was Kertesz because I think the man mispronounced the name or at least I think he did or else I had been mispronouncing it which could happen if I wasn't using the accent properly.He mentioned something about Kertesz and I kept expecting to find what he was talking about in this book except that I never found it in this book so it must be in another one of his books except that I don't know if any others besides "Fateless" has been translated into English although I suppose my friend could have read it in Hungarian if he knows Hungarian which I doubt he does.Did I mention that the title of this book is "Kaddish for a Child Not Born" because, if I didn't, I should because it's important to do so, or so I think.Anyway, I started reading this book and I had some trouble with it because the author (Did I mention that his name is Imre Kertesz?) has an interesting yet challenging style that comes across like someone who drank five cups of coffee speaking into a tape recorder for several hours and then giving the tape to his publisher (skipping the editor in the process) who had the entire rant transcribed into print and published without review (except for spelling of course because I would have noticed that I'm sure, or I think I'm sure) and all of a sudden we pick it up and listen to this uninterupted self-conversation.It gets really hard to follow at times and then you come across pearls of wisdom that you just have to underline partly because you don't want to have to go back to the beginning again to try and find it later.I probably underlined as much in this book as I have is a good Shakespeaean play although I certainly not trying to compare this to a Shakeperean play or even a sonnet.Anyway, I kept coming across these gems and touching stories that I underlined for later reference and I was glad that I kept reading this book non-stop just as the author seemed to have written it (non-stop, that is).Much, but not all, of it was how his childhood experiences in Auschwitz had affected him and a lot, but not all, of it was about how it affected his relationship with his once and former wife who ended up becoming a prescription-writing dermatologist or something like that.I had a hard time getting started on this book because it was sometimes 10-12 pages before paragraphs came to an end and I like to come up for air occassionally which is probably why I keep putting off reading "The Autumn of the Patriarch" that is, because of the pages-long paragraphs.Anyway, that's what I think about "Kaddish for a Child Not Born" or did I say what I think about "Kaddish for a Child Not Born" (I'm not sure I have yet) so if I didn't say then I will say that I found much to enjoy in this book but even though it's under 100 pages it seems long because it doesn't give a reader a time to take a break because it never stops and a lot of the words meander all over the place and often make you wish you could go back and get the author to talk about what he was talking about which he sometimes (but not always) does and then it ends.

Attention: Only read the new translation by Tim Wilkinson
Anyone who reads the poor first translation of Fateless and the shamefully bad translation of Kaddish cannot even get close to the true spirit of the original works.
New Camus
Sometime, last year, an article appeared in local newspaper listing few of the most influential European intellectuals of the times to come. One of them was Kert�sz. I was rahter sceptic about it, but that scepticism came from the lack of knowledge of Kert�sz's work. Up to that time I only read his short story that was, in my country, published together with Peter Esterhazy's, under the title "Same Story" which didn't impressed me much, at least not in the ammount necessary to confirm newspaper writings.
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Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. History    4. History: World    5. Holocaust    6. Holocaust survivors    7. Hungary    8. Jews    9. Literary    10. Europe    11. European history: Second World War    12. The Holocaust    13. World history   

Subjects:  1. Expeditions & Discoveries    2. History    3. History - General History    4. History: World    5. Holocaust    6. Special Interest - Adventure