Reviews (8)

Read this one
There are two recent books that touch on this subject. Ms. Pringle's and Christpher Hale's "Himmler's Crusade". Hale's book is about the expedition to Tibet, which also occupies a large part of this book. Even so, go with this one. Ms. Pringle is an excellent researcher and writes very well. She avoids veering off and making mistakes about military affairs, a major weakness in Hale's book. In addition, this book goes beyond the Tibet expedition (a fascinating subject) and takes up additional matters regarding the group set up by the SS to examine racial-biological-political issues. If you have an interest in Himmler or the SS, you won't be sorry you read this book.

Real-Life Nazis out of Indiana Jones Movies
Heather Pringle has done the world a service by producing awell-written account of the "science" produced by scholars working for the SS.The book is fascinating.Like all good history, it contains lessons for the modern world: 1. It is dangerous to mix politics and science, and 2. Even "smart" people can convince themselves of almost anything, especially if it will win them credit with powerful people.Unfortunately, as one looks around the world, the same willingness to ignore facts for the sake of ideology is still rampant.I wish more people would read Ms. Pringle's book.

The master plan: Himmler's Scholars and the Holocaust
To say that the plan was part of the purpose of the Nazi extermination is wrong.This effort was a scholarly one, designed to provide historical proof that would more importantly, correct the current false teaching of history and give a true account of history going back to the proper starting point, much earlier than the 3-4,000 BC given today to 55,000 BC and add the proper issues to history that would answer all that is misundertood and unknown of Earth's true history.Some do not want this to happen.
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Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Archaeology / Anthropology    3. Biography    4. Eugenics    5. Europe - Germany    6. Germany    7. History    8. History: World    9. Holocaust    10. Jewish Holocaust    11. Military - World War II    12. National socialism and intellectuals    13. Nazis    14. Social Scientists & Psychologists    15. World War II - Europe    16. Biography & Autobiography / Social Scientists & Psychologists   

Editorial Review

Rich Cohen, author of Read more

Reviews (41)

Excellent book about courage and resistance
I have read many books about Jewish resistance during World War II and this one is among the best I have read.Once I started reading it, I could not put it down.The book covers the life of Abba Kovner, a Jewish resistance fighter from Vilna, through World War II and its aftermath.At the end of the war, Abba planned and executed acts of revenge against the Nazis.This is described in the book as well as Abba's participation in Israel's War of Independence.The book is well written and easy to read.It gives you two different pictures of Jewish suffering during the war.One picture is that of many of the Jews in the Vilna Ghetto.....one of fear and submission to the Nazi oppression.The other picture is that of Abba and his group of partisans.....one of resistance and hatred of the Nazi oppressors.

An Amazing Testimony of Courage
Rich Cohen has written an extraordinary tale of heroism and survival during the most horrendous and brutal moment in mankind's history. The tale of these three individuals, Abba Kovner, Ruzka Korczak and Vitka Kempner, shine through as living testimonies in the dark night of the Holocaust. You will not be able to put this book down as you race through the pages of"The Avengers." It is so well written and well documented that you wish you had 20 more books just like this one. It really is amazing how these individuals actually survived this horrible time, but they did in fact prevail and triumph against overwhelming odds. Perhaps the greatest challenge that these people faced in the end was not to end up like the monsters who had persecuted them. Rich Cohen has done an amazing and tremendous thing by writing this book, sharing with the world the incredible testimony of these three courageous individuals. After you finish reading this book, you will never think about the Holocaust in the same way.

One of the most engaging and horrifying books I have read
The Avengers follows the life of Abba Kovner and his associates, through the horror of Nazism through attempts at revenge, and to a life in Palestine. Although I have read several books on the holocaust, I must admit, I could not bought this book down. Cohen's writing style is very engaging. Cohen makes no value judgements here; it is up to the reader to decide right and wrong. Although I think most people would have a tough time accepting what the avengers tried to do after the war, I cannot possibly judge them. I also cannot imagine living the horrors (which are spelled out in graphic detail) that these Jews went through. One is struck again and again by the brutality and sadism used by these Nazi animals. Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Historical - Holocaust    3. History    4. History - Military / War    5. History: World    6. Holocaust    7. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    8. Jewish - General    9. Jewish resistance    10. Kovner, Abba,    11. Military - World War II    12. Underground movements    13. World War, 1939-1945    14. History / Jewish    15. Reading Group Guide   

Reviews (2)

The Neighbors Respond
Although most of the Poland's Jews are dead and few survivors have long left, the Anti-Semitism is alive and well. To quote a long previous review, "Surely it does not take a large armed force to control a group of unarmed civilians of a defeated nation! In any case, it is obvious that no one (including the Polish Commission) has proven consensual Polish involvement at beyond a reasonable doubt, and it is high time that various publications stop pretending that Polish culpability at Jedwabne is established fact." Beyond reasonable doubt? There are mountains of documents and eye-witness accounts, as well as volumes of well-researched books, including this one by Antony Polonsky, that provide a convincing argument that a huge number of Polish civilians acted as eager executioners of the Jews. Many Poles who helped save Jews are honored as Righteous Among the Nations at Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Israel. Undoubtedly, there aremany who remain unknown. But this book provides ample evidence about huge number of poles who are complicitous in Holocaust. Read it, make your own judgement.

Jedwabne�s Jewish Victims: Rushing to Judgment on Poland
One common but nonsensical theme in this anthology is the one about Poles being too conceited or too imbued with their heroism and victimization to face unpleasant facts about their history. In fact, Polish history freely acknowledges its dark chapters (e. g. Targowica). Polish WWII accounts often mention ignoble Polish conduct. Polish historical icons are subject to re-evaluation (e. g. the wisdom (?) of the Warsaw Uprising). Poles do recognize their character flaws (e. g. disunity).However, acceptance of unpleasant truths and the acceptance of unpleasant falsehoods are two different things. Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Antisemitism    3. Europe - General    4. History    5. History - General History    6. History: World    7. Holocaust    8. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    9. Jedwabne    10. Jews    11. Moral and ethical aspects    12. Persecutions    13. Poland    14. European History    15. European history: Second World War    16. History / Europe / Eastern    17. Jewish Studies    18. The Holocaust   

Reviews (21)

Thought-provoking and Thorough Investigation
I want to clear something up ~~ I don't "love" this book (that is what 5 stars stand for) but I do appreciate this book and it is definitely one of the best books I have read on the Holocaust. That is why I gave it a five star rating. It really is a thought-provoking book and very insightful. The author did a great job of following through with loose ends and she writes in a very detailed way that is not dry. History came alive in these pages.
An objective look at one man's crimes
I used to think anyone who was stupid enough to wear a swastika and call themselves a Nazi, regardless of their actions, deserved nothing less than the most heinous punishments the human mind could ever conceive. While I still believe this is true in many cases, reading the story of Franz Stangl, as revealed though Gitta Sereny's amazingly meticulous journalism, has made me think twice about it.
Why Do People Do What They Do?...remains unanswered.
Gitta Sereny was a British journo who had attended Franz Stangl's trial in 1970, and she had interviewed him in prison in Duesseldorf in 1971.She had also interviewed others, including survivors and keepers of Treblinka, as well as his wife and one of his daughters in Brazil. He was caught in 1967.Read more

Subjects:  1. Concentration camps    2. Europe    3. History - General History    4. History: World    5. Military - World War II    6. Prisoners and prisons    7. Prisoners and prisons, German    8. Stangl, Franz    9. World War II - Europe    10. World War, 1939-1945    11. Biography: general    12. European history: Second World War    13. Germany    14. History / General    15. Second World War, 1939-1945    16. The Holocaust   

Reviews (1)

Scholarly...but is something missing?
The methodolgy adopted by the study involved sampling newspapers in five European countries for anti-Semitism in the forty years before WWII.Four roots of anti-Semitism are identified for analysis: racial, religious, economic and political. Contra Goldhagen, Brustein concludes that anti-Semitism was not an axiom of 19th century German nationalism.His other arguments are directed towards the impact of Jewish immigration from the East into Europe (pogroms and the Russian revolution) and the perceived involvement of Jews in the rise of leftwing politics.Race and religious practice served to further create a uniqueness for the group and a social opacity.There are a large number of challenging theses and arguments in this book.Facile certainties about anti-Semitism are explored in detail and some of the conclusions are controversial, e.g. about the relatively benign nature of Europe towards the Judaism in the 19th century.However, this is an exceptionally intelligent book in that it analyses anti-Semitism against a background of general European upheaval in the late 19th century and post WWI.The book argues that unlike other migrant minorities in search of labour, Jews were both disliked and feared (due to economic prejudices). The methodology of newspaper sampling over such a long period of time is debatable. The conclusion reached is that by and large the newspapers (the 'broadsheets') were neutral towards Jews. There is something missing here and that is a explanation of the potency of anti-Semitism in the political arena.Some element9s) of popular culture have not been caught in the trawl.
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Subjects:  1. 19th century    2. 20th century    3. Antisemitism    4. Ethnic Studies - General    5. Europe    6. Europe - General    7. History    8. History - General History    9. Jewish - General    10. Modern - 19th Century    11. Social Science    12. Sociology    13. European studies    14. Jewish studies    15. Social & political philosophy    16. Social Science / Ethnic Studies    17. The Holocaust   

Reviews (7)

Dissecting the Holocaust should be mandatory reading for anyone engaged in the study of the Holocaust!
Dissecting the Holocaust should be mandatory reading for anyone engaged in the study of the Holocaust!. This book is most thorough and informative of all books on the Holocaust that one can possibly get in a single volume. The information passed to the reader is volumous and undebatable. Holocaust officials refuse to engage in open debate with the authors of these articles because they haven't a leg to stand on. Their solution?-.. Bann the book and persecute and or imprison the authors.
Breaking the Law in Germany
It will interest some that taking the advice of one of the reviewers and putting this book in your luggage when you go to Germany will get you arrested. It is illegal to deny the Holocaust in Germany, where thousands of Germans are still dealing with the guilt of being part of this horror. Showing this book to people will not be concidered "free speach"- Germanny denies itself any right to water-down what happened.
A brief comment
I have the same thing to say about this book as I did about Dissecting the Holocaust. To many people this might be an impressive volume of research disproving the holocaust, but if you're one of those, you should know it pales in comparison with the really definitive work on the subject: The Annals of the International Tribunal at Nuremberg on War Crimes, which runs to over 20 large, thick volumes. Tens of thousands of pages long, covering the testimony of hundreds and even thousands of witnesses, there is no comparison between this work and the report of the War Tribunal. This entire book would be less than one small chapter in the Nuremburg report. If you want to see the real story, read that instead. You'll need to find a good college library to find one, but there is no better source. No surprise--the present book doesn't even mention that report--wonder why?
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Subjects:  1. Europe - Germany    2. History    3. History - General History    4. History: World    5. Holocaust denial    6. Military - World War II    7. Germany    8. The Holocaust   

Reviews (6)

An outstanding memorial propelling its images beyond museum walls
Why the need for a second edition of a classic Jewish studies survey of images from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC? Because with each decade that passes it becomes more important to preserve the images and realities of World War II events for future generations - and because THE WORLD MUST KNOW is an outstandingly well organized gathering of hard-hitting images from the German Holocaust. The Museum is a living memorial to the events and those who died - and THE WORLD MUST KNOW: THE HISTORY OF THE HOLOCAUST AS TOLD IN THE U.S. HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM is an outstanding memorial propelling its images beyond museum walls.
The World Must Know: The History of the Holocaust as Told in
With the ranks of survivors getting smaller for each year that passes, this book, shows us that we must never forget the atrocities that were commited towards humanity (Jews, Gypsies, Russian POW's and many others). The pictures that portray the holocaust are difficult to watch and the pictures of the shoes is a horrific reminder that these were once worn by people that hopes,dreams and aspirations for the future. The picture of the gypsy children is horrendous and it shows that the world must never ever forget the horrific acts that happened.

A powerful introduction to the Holocaust
This book, published by the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC, is the museum in book form.Filled with hundreds of photos and illustrations, some of them quite graphic, along with short but descriptiveand informative written pieces on everything one would need to know aboutthe holocaust from beginning to end, the book does a quality job ofintroducing the subject to the reader.Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - General    2. Exhibitions    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. Holocaust    7. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    8. Europe    9. Inter-war period, 1918-1939    10. Performing Arts / General    11. Second World War, 1939-1945    12. The Holocaust   

Reviews (35)

Hard to do fully
This is an excellent book in explaining how people can continue to support a concept that is as fully discredited as anything in history. Ask our own army that liberated camps what they found. What more can be said if Amazon protects anti-semites' "right" to lie from honest discussion, especially when it is by anonymous cowards. I doubt this will see the light of day, but I agree with the author, having been grown when the war ended and the denial began in spite of the overwhelming evidence by both sides (including a huge amount of Nazi records).

She Called John Sack An Anti-Semite and A Neo-Nazi
To give you an idea of where Lipstadt is coming from, I need only recount what she called John Sack on Charlie Rose (see title of this review). In a phone conversation afterwards in which he reminded her that he had sent her a favorable note about her book, she told him (he said):"You are worse than a Holocaust denier."This should tell us all we need to know about Deborah Lipstadt's belief (or non-belief) in the indivisibility of the truth. John Sack painstakingly researched Polish concentration camps for Germans, mostly civilians where 60,000 to 80,000 perished, men, women, children, and babies.According to his research, 3/4 of the camps' staffs were Jewish.This is to be found in John Sack's AN EYE FOR AN EYE, whose facts have been carefully checked.Lipstadt is a denier herself of historical atrocities that sort of provide some balance to the Holocaust.
Denying the Holocaust : The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory
This book strengthens the fact that the holocaust is overrated. Even though there is now doubt that the holocaust existed, this book presents facts that it might have been a political theater. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Antisemitism    3. Historiography    4. History    5. History - General History    6. History: World    7. Holocaust    8. Holocaust denial    9. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    10. United States    11. Europe    12. European history: Second World War    13. History / Holocaust    14. Jewish studies    15. The Holocaust   

Reviews (12)

Outrage and objectivity
Leff provides a necessary look at how the most influential newspaper in America dealt with the Nazi regime before and during the Second World War.
Missing:A Comparative Treatment

Blame the publisher
This is not a book about The New York Times and its miserable
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Subjects:  1. History    2. History: World    3. Holocaust    4. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    5. Journalism    6. Mass Media - General    7. Media Studies    8. Military - World War II    9. New York Times Company    10. Press coverage    11. Social aspects    12. Sociology    13. United States    14. United States - 20th Century    15. World War, 1939-1945    16. Europe    17. Media, information & communication industries    18. Religion / Judaism / General   

Reviews (4)

A new view
Well worth the read,A must for anyone interested in finding out about how Nazi Germany affected more than the Jewish population.
Hitler's Black Victims
Excellant book.Most people don't know that there were blacks in the holocaust, this book tells a lot.

A must read!
An enlightening account of a largely forgotten chapter in European history...The best book on the subject. Extremely well written! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. African Americans    2. Blacks    3. Europe - Germany    4. Germany    5. History    6. History - General History    7. History: World    8. Holocaust    9. Modern - 20th Century    10. World War, 1939-1945    11. Black studies    12. Fascism & Nazism    13. History / Germany    14. Racism & racial discrimination    15. World history: Second World War   

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Art    3. Art And Society    4. Art thefts    5. Art treasures in war    6. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - General    7. Germany    8. History    9. Soviet Union    10. World War II - Europe    11. Cultural studies    12. Europe    13. History / Holocaust    14. History Of Art / Art & Design Styles    15. Second World War, 1939-1945   

Reviews (2)

amazing journey
The book is quite moving.It is written from a different perspective.Amalie masqueraded as a Christian Pole. Norman fought in the partisan movement (the underground). Their first meeting was most unusual.Norman had come to kill her (he thought she was the enemy);instead he ended up marrying her. A veryfresh look at a dark side of this century.

It's a factual, & extremely intriguing story of 2 survivors.
This book is an amazingly interesting and intriguing book which i strongly recommend to those people who enjoy love stories with a sad story behind it.Also i recommend this book to anyone who enjoys holocaust novels.Thesad memoir touched my heart and i know it will to yours as well. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Biography/Autobiography    3. General    4. Holocaust    5. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    6. Jews    7. Persecutions    8. Personal narratives    9. Poland   

Reviews (1)

A Story of Survival
Run East is truly a rare find.Extremely well written, it is a story of unique inner strength and survival against the greatest of odds.Although Mr. Pomerantz managed to avoid the devastation of the concentration camps, he repeatedly faced challenges of survival that test the outer limits of aperson's ability to survive.The situations that Mr.Pomerantz findshimself in are the equal of the best suspense novel.There are lessons oflife here for people of all ages, including children.Mr. Pomerantz isrequired to make decisions about life and survival, his and others, that weall can learn from.Run East is a book of historical significance that youwill be glad you read and will long remember. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1918-    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. General    5. Historical - Holocaust    6. History - General History    7. History: World    8. Holocaust    9. Jewish Holocaust Personal Narratives    10. Jews    11. Personal narratives, Jewish    12. Poland    13. Pomerantz, Jack,    14. Radzyân Podlaski    15. Refugees, Jewish    16. Soviet Union    17. World War, 1939-1945    18. Pomerantz, Jack    19. World history   

Reviews (5)

Hitler - Jehovah's Witnesses' Lover?
The book shows how the cult manipulates history by pointing to Nazi repression when it suits the organization. There was certainly no justification for the persecution of any people under Nazi rule.
another authoritative work on Jehovah's Witnesses' history
Penton has produced another characteristically fair work of objective and well-documented scholarship. While he does not tolerate the distortions of history perpetrated by Jehovah's Witnesses and their historian apologists, Penton emphasizes the courage of average Witnesses during the Holocaust and the dubious nature, from a scientific perspective, of contemporary attempts to identify Witnesses and others as being part of "cults" whose members are "brainwashed." In this work, Penton is able to give a closer look at one particular time period in the history of Jehovah's Witnesses than he was able to do in his broader history of the whole movement (Apocalypse Delayed).
Provoking a Reaction
It is amazing how two people can read the same book and one will conclude that "its vitriol left a terribly bad taste," but the other person will say that, "This book is required reading to fully understand the holocaust and why it occurred."
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Subjects:  1. Christianity - Jehovah's Witnesses    2. History    3. History - General History    4. History: World    5. Jehovah's Witnesses    6. Nazi persecution    7. Sources    8. Western Europe - General    9. European history: Second World War    10. Germany    11. History / Europe / Western    12. Second World War, 1939-1945    13. The Holocaust   

Reviews (8)

A well detailed view of the beginning of a nightmare
A most insightful and highly detailed work concerning man's worst scientificly guided attrocities.And most releavent to those living in this very day.
Excessive detail; overall, worth your time
An extremely detailed account of one of the worst human rights atrocities in recent memory.Unfortunately, the book is so thorough that it detracts from the flow. Footnotes or endnotes would significantly help the problem. You will find yourself bored throughout the book because you are constantly hammered with small details. And that is why it gets 3 stars.
the second great one
A very important book that must be read with the "Nazi Doctors" ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1933-1945    2. 20th century    3. Europe - Germany    4. Euthanasia    5. Germany    6. History    7. History - General History    8. History: World    9. Holocaust    10. Medical ethics    11. Moral and ethical aspects    12. National socialism    13. Political aspects    14. Politics and government    15. European history: Second World War    16. Fascism & Nazism    17. History / Holocaust    18. The Holocaust    19. racist and eugenic ideologies; handicapped; disabled; Jews; Gypsies; Holocaust   

Editorial Review

I am going to say it clearly and succinctly: this brand-new book is one of the most important scholarly works of the year. Seeking to understand why some people were poor, homeless, criminally inclined, mentally ill, and in other ways socially inadequate, 19th-century theorists turned to the science of eugenics, the concept of genetically unfit people. This stunning book is an exploration of the profound contemporary resonance of this concept and how it directly contributed to such persecutions as the Holocaust.Read more

Reviews (4)

Fascinating, but doesn't make the case...
I'm not a biologist, but I've done a fair bit of reading on eugenics. I feel "Unfit" doesn't doesn't make the case it sets out to make. Although there are certainly very silly ideas associated with eugenics in the past, it doesn't mean the science hasn't since become quite refined and persists under different names.
Brilliant
This stunningly brilliant book explores the birth and consequences of eugenics in the world, and its connections to the Holocaust. "The Unfit: A History of a Bad Idea" is thoroughly researched, yet the writing is so beautiful it reads like a novel - a fascinating and disturbing one, which should be read by millions.

Two major problems
This book was well written and appeared well-researched and thorough for the most part.There was a wealth of information, and I particularly liked the biological perspective on eugenics.I often hear eugenics addressed in moral and social terms, while the bad science behind it goes unmentioned.I have two major issues with the book, however.
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Subjects:  1. Discrimination & Racism    2. Eugenics    3. History    4. Life Sciences - Genetics & Genomics    5. Science    6. Science/Mathematics    7. Social History    8. Sociology    9. Genetics (non-medical)    10. The Holocaust   

Reviews (10)

Remarkable Man, Amazing Story
Defy The Darkness is the story of the author's (Joe Rosenblum) life before, during, and after World War II.After the Germans invaded Poland, he was, due to his Aryan looks, able to survive by working on the farm of a Polish family who were very kind to him.As a result, he was able to bring food to his own family which helped to prolong their lives.Rosenblum was a very remarkable man.He took his father's place on various slave labor details, he spent time with Russian partisans, and he survived around eighteen months in Birkenau at a time when the average person might have survived eighteen minutes.He had wits; he had strength of character, and, as with most camp survivors he had, as odd as this may sound, luck on his side.The two most indelible images in the book; the gauntlet that the prisoners were continually forced to run at Majdanek, and the prisoners at Birkenau stuffing whole frogs in their mouths due to their incredible hunger.This is a story that had to be told and a book that must be read.

Unforgetable Account of Horror, Suffering and Bravery
This book is fantastic. Joe Rosenblum's story is inspiring. I have shared this book with many people and every one of them found the book intriguing. Mr. Rosenblum went through hell and emerged a hero and a very decent man. Very well written with co-author Mr. Kohn.

Heartwrenching Acts of Bravery & Wit
This book was a page turner that I could not put down.It went straight to my heart and I wondered if I could do the same things to survive.Joe's thoughts and actions were absolutely amazing, thinking about my 14 yr old nephew the whole time.Unimaginable acts of bravery and the things he has to overcome just to stay alive.Giving kindness to anyone he could even though it could mean death in an instant.Watching and telling his stories of death all around him and of his family.The work he had to endure, the pain, and the hopes to keep him going.Read more

Subjects:  1. 1925-    2. Biography&nbs