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Priestblock 25487: A Memior of Dachau
by
Jean Bernard
In May 1941, Father Jean Bernard was arrested for denouncing the Nazis and deported from his native Luxembourg to Dachau's "Priest Block," a barracks that housed more than 3,000 clergymen of various denominations (the vast majority Roman Catholic priests).
Priestblock 25487 tells the gripping true story of his survival amid inhuman brutality and torture.
...more
Priestblock 25487 tells the gripping true story of his survival amid inhuman brutality and torture.
...more
Paperback, 177 pages
Published
October 28th 2007
by Zaccheus Press
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Eva
rated it
Recommends it for:
people who already know a little about the Holocaust
Recommended to Eva by:
found it on GR
Shelves:
holocaust-wwii,
b-non-fiction
This is simply astounding. I had a hard time even reading this and this is after reading a few books on the Holocaust. This was the first book I'd read coming from a clergyman and I wanted a different aspect which this gave me.
There really isn't much I can say about this- it should be required reading I think- for everyone. I had the hardest time getting through some parts- the evil that is in some people is astounding. I can't begin to imagine going through the things that I had a diffic...more
There really isn't much I can say about this- it should be required reading I think- for everyone. I had the hardest time getting through some parts- the evil that is in some people is astounding. I can't begin to imagine going through the things that I had a diffic...more
view all 21 comments
My father was part of the Rainbow Division which liberated Dachau at the end of WWII. He did not actually visit the camp, since the commanders did not recommend it and one of his tentmates was so traumatized by it, he sat in the corner of the tent and didn't speak until the Division moved out. So I am extremely interested in memoirs concerning the camp.
I was very disappointed in this one. For most of the time Bernard was a resident, the priests were treated much better than the ge...more
I was very disappointed in this one. For most of the time Bernard was a resident, the priests were treated much better than the ge...more
In 1941 Father Jean Bernard was imprisoned in Dachau for denouncing the Nazis. He was placed in Dachau's "Priest Block", a barracks for clergymen. He was released in 1942, but his experiences in the concentration camp led to his memoirs here.
This is the first book of a clergyman's involvement in the camps that I have come across and was even startled to find there was such a barrack as "Priest Block", though I suppose I shouldn't find that so shocking. Bernard'...more
This is the first book of a clergyman's involvement in the camps that I have come across and was even startled to find there was such a barrack as "Priest Block", though I suppose I shouldn't find that so shocking. Bernard'...more
Most people know I love studying WWII and this is no exception. Father Jean Bernard's portrait of survival in German concentration camp is simple, forceful and vivid and therefore impossible to put down or forget. It realy brings to light how not only Jewish people were trying to be exterminated but Catholics aswell. "Deeply moving...The suffering of these priests for the sake of the loving God is one of the modern age's glorious mysteries." Father George Rutler, author of A Crisis of...more
During WWII the Nazis sent priests and other clergy to concentration camps if they denounced the teaching of the party. This book is the memoir of Fr. Jean Bernard, a priest from Luxembourg. Fr. Bernard was released from Dachau for ten days during his "stay" there, but he returned because if he didn't, his fellow Luxembourger priests would've suffered for it. As I read and cried my way through this book, I wondered if my own faith would remain were I to be subjected to this kind of cru...more
Moving and powerful. I read Night many years ago in college, and remembered how graphic and disturbing it was. Priestblock 2587 was written from a different perspective- that of a priest who has been condemned to Dachau for opposing the Nazis. I didn't know that there was a whole section of Dachau set aside for priests and other clergy- in fact, one out of ten prisoners in Dachau was a priest or other clergyman. The story of Christians in the concentration camps is rarely told. Priestblock 2587 ...more
This was a strange recollection experience...one I haven't come across before, almost as if the author wasn't terribly keen on revisiting the memories for the sake of a book. It was strangely (but not surprisingly) detatched. Very raw and simple experience of pure survival, and nothing else. Most interesting is it is probably a very accurate depiction of his mind set during this time. Father Bernard makes a statement about one of his friends being at the bottom of a pile of corpses and the a...more
Sheri
rated it
Recommends it for:
readers interested in the Holocaust & Catholicism.
Recommended to Sheri by:
Liguorian
I read this book in a couple of hours. As a teenager I visited Dachau which is now a monument. The overwhelming feeling of misery and death surrounded me while I was inside, and I cannot begin to imagine the horror of being imprisoned there. The human spirit, love for one another and hope and faith in God is unbelievable.
"This was but a prelude; where books are burnt human-beings will be burnt in the end." ~~the German poet Heinrich Heine in 1820
Although I visited Dachau years ago and I've read many books--both fiction and non-fiction--dealing with life in concentration camps, I don't recall ever reading any individual accounts specifically about this particular camp, until I encountered this poignant diary by Father Jean Bernard from Luxembourg.
As I was reading Priestblock 25487 A Memoir of Dachau...more
Although I visited Dachau years ago and I've read many books--both fiction and non-fiction--dealing with life in concentration camps, I don't recall ever reading any individual accounts specifically about this particular camp, until I encountered this poignant diary by Father Jean Bernard from Luxembourg.
As I was reading Priestblock 25487 A Memoir of Dachau...more
This book is a fast paced and sobering account of the depth to which man's inhumanity can sink, and also of the strength which man can gain from faith and uniting his suffering to that of Christ.
From the first page I was captivated by the simplicity of the writing and the horror of the story. The book recounts the time that Fr. Bernard spent in the concentration camp of Dachau.
It is a beautiful account of humanity, humility and the best and worst of what we can do to each other. The horrors portrayed in this book had a deep impact on me. I always knew that life in a concentration camp was horrible but to actually read a first person account of the day-to-day life with a...more
It is a beautiful account of humanity, humility and the best and worst of what we can do to each other. The horrors portrayed in this book had a deep impact on me. I always knew that life in a concentration camp was horrible but to actually read a first person account of the day-to-day life with a...more
Maybe because we had just visited Dachau...or maybe because I teach the history of WWII....or maybe just because it is an incredible story- THIS BOOK IS FABULOUS! It is a true story, written by a Catholic priest who was sent to the Dachau concentration camp and never even found out why. This is a great account of the true happenings at this terrible institution.
This is one I blew through because a friend recommended it. Another little slice of history during WWWII -- the horrors of camp, the will of the survivors, etc. I know I sound like I take this lightly, but I have read quite a few concentration camp books and I think I'm ready to move on to new horrible disasters.
I've read many books on the Holocaust and visited Concentration Camps in Germany and Poland. Being Catholic and having visited Dauchau, I found this book especially interesting. Father Bernard effectively and honestly conveys his unique experience as a non-Jew during the Holocaust. While the book was full of sad, tragic, and almost unbelieavable stories and experiences, I was overjoyed to read that he fully recovered and lived to be 87 years old in the biographical note at the end of the book...more
No coincidence that a priest handed me a copy of this book a few days before we left for Germany and toured Dachau. What an education! We hear about the 6 M Jews killed in the Holocaust, but the other 6 M people killed (including Christians) aren't remembered often enough. Thousands of Catholic priests were sent through the concentration camp in Dachau. This memoir gives a unique glimpse into life and death in the camp. Simply a must-read.
After many years of Catholic education, I was stunned to read about this aspect of WWII. It is a very real, and yet guarded look at what European Catholic priests faced at concentration camps. Unshaken faith and hope. A great read, and an inspirational one.
This book is good. Midway I was thinking to myself - "This is quite repetitive" but then I thought, that's understandable really if you're in a concentration camp. There is nothing else but to focus on food and survival. And this is captured extremely well. What I did miss was more interiority (his faith, struggle, dialogue with Christ, etc.). I understand that this is not an aesthetical book but somehow I think it could be very enriching for the reader. I admire the book, "Man's ...more
Great read. Never knew they separated the priests from the other prisoners of Auschwitz. Great firsthand, detailed, and shocking account of events.
This was a pretty good book. It wasn't as good as some of the other Holocaust books I have listed on this site but it was a quick easy read.
As the title implies, it is the memoir of a priest in the Dachau prison camp. Bears similarities to Fr. Walter Ciszek's With God in Russia in that it deals with the day-to-day externals, where as Fr. Ciszek's He Leadeth Me reveals the spiritual side of his imprisonment and labor term under the Soviet GULAG.
This is a priest's memoir depicting another chapter of the Nazi concentration camps.
Another interesting experience on the horror of the concentration camp.
Gripping account of the Nazi hatred of God, and his priests.
Journal sort of style...hard to believe this is such an unknown book.
Worth reading!
I liked this book, it wasn't spectacular but I also pretty much shut my emotions off while I read it. Self preservation and all.
It was okay. Nothing spectacular or different than I had already learned about.
Great book - gives a different view of holocaust
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