Holocaust Forgotten - Five Million Non-Jewish Victims

by Terese Pencak Schwartz

Eleven million people were killed in the Holocaust. Almost six million of these were Jewish - Hitler's most recognized victims. But, five million were not Jewish. Who were these other victims?

The author, a Jewish convert of Polish Catholic descent, whose uncle was murdered by Nazi soldiers, discovered that there are many non-Jewish survivors eager to share their stories.

Genres: Holocaust

74 pages, Paperback

First published April 19, 2012

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very short but informative book. The books (like this one) with stories of survivors are heartbreaking. It's so easy for me to see these things beginning to happen here.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you've read in any detail about WW II, this book wouldn't really tell you anything new. It was mostly like more important when Schwartz set up her website.

However, if you are just starting to study the War, this is worth reading. Schwartz covers a wide variety of topics, and it makes a good companion to the US HOlocaust Memorial Museum in DC.

[Erica · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I trust the stories I found the opening had some misinformation.

Below is the quote that definitely stuck out as misinformation.

"Their ethic was inspired by atheism, neo-Paganism, and Scientific Racism. Their ethic was voiced before Hitler ever rose to power by the Scientific Racists in the U.S. who reacted with horror to new, undesirable, peasant immigrants from places like Poland and Italy, "

I'm assuming the author means they were inspired by the popular (in the early 1900s) pseudo scientific concept of social darwinism. Social Darwinism is widely considered a pseudoscience because it misapplies biological concepts like natural selection and "survival of the fittest" to social, political, and economic systems, lacking scientific validity and often used to justify discriminatory ideologies. 

The truth about the Nazis is much more complex. But it doesn't have origins in atheistic, neo-paganism, or Scientific Racism. Because Social Darwinism was none of those things.

Other than that, the stories from the book were good. It's a rather quick read.

[RaW · Rating 4 out of 5]

I asked a friend the question "why don't we ever hear about all the other people that were killed in the Holocaust?" This book attempts to answer that question and shine a light on the 5 million additional people that were killed in the Holocaust beyond the 6 million Jews.

The book is easy to read, informative, and is essentially short essays written by either Holocaust survivors (or relatives or other knowledgeable sources). It was a horrible time in history, and books like this one make sure we don't forget it.

[Dorothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Polish holocaust heroes

It appears not only the Polish heroes of the holocaust, but the millions of non Jews killed during that period have been forgotten. They, too, were destined for genocide. This book recognizes the tortured lives of the non Jewish victims of the Nazis, but also thosee forgotten heroes that saved many jews from their death

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow - how little I knew about the things that happened during the holocaust.
A very short book but some heart rendering recollections.

[Colleen Lahey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book that reminds us that 5 million Non-Jews were also killed in the Holocaust.

[Eileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

There were 12 Million

Many people the world over do not realize that have the people who died in the camps were non-Jewish. Who knows the story of the other 6 million.