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This Has Happened: An Italian Family in Auschwitz
Five years after her return home from Auschwitz, Piera Sonnino found the courage to tell the story of the extermination of her parents, three brothers, and two sisters by the Nazis. Discovered in Italy and never before published in English, this poignant and extraordinarily well-written account is strikingly accurate in bringing to life the methodical and relentless e...more
Paperback, 224 pages
Published
March 31st 2009
by Palgrave Macmillan
(first published October 31st 2006)
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I quite liked this book. Of course it tells the story of a family who was taken from their home to the concentration camps and of the survival of one member of the family. What I especially enjoyed was the epilogues explaining the significance of the Italian people in hiding Jews and that this country had the lowest amount of Jews taken to the camps. This was beautifully written from Piera's point of view.
A beautifully written and translated piece. The writing is poetic at points and gives a more unique perspective to Holocaust narratives. While it is elegant prose up to a point, after the loss of her second sister the narrative breaks down and rushes to the end. Not terribly surprising given the experiences the author survived.
A poignant, heart-rending account of the Holocaust from the lone surviving member of a family of Italian Jews. The afterward that discusses how the Italian people helped prevent the deaths of thousands of other Italian Jews is an interesting counterpoint to what happened in other countries.
This is a true account of an Italian family during the Holocaust. It also has some really good commentary on the history of Italy and why Italy was a "safer" place during the Holocaust. Although the subject will be painful forever, this is a fairly short book and not grueling to read.
This book is definitely a MUST-READ for anyone interested in Holocaust Studies. Absolutely heartbreaking, but beautifully written. This memoir is so deep and raw, it will bring you to tears, and have you saying to yourself..."This Has Happened".
This is a slim memoir, enhanced by a forward and epilogue written by scholars which explain the historical context. The author, Piera Sonnino, wrote it for the benefit of her daughters and never intended it for publication. One of her children had it translated and published years after her death.
It is a fairly typical Holocaust memoir, distinguished mainly by three things: the Italian family that is the subject (not many stories about Italian Holocaust victims out there), the author...more
It is a fairly typical Holocaust memoir, distinguished mainly by three things: the Italian family that is the subject (not many stories about Italian Holocaust victims out there), the author...more
I actually liked this book a lot. My star system is just getting more and more ungenerous.
It's kind of depressing to me that reviews keep commenting that it's pretty much your basic holocaust survivor story. i hope that when i lose my entire family of 9 that's not what people say.
anyway, the memoir part is well written -- i do believe it provides a new perspective. and the book itself provides a number of short, informative essays on the manuscript and the situation of jews in italy ...more
It's kind of depressing to me that reviews keep commenting that it's pretty much your basic holocaust survivor story. i hope that when i lose my entire family of 9 that's not what people say.
anyway, the memoir part is well written -- i do believe it provides a new perspective. and the book itself provides a number of short, informative essays on the manuscript and the situation of jews in italy ...more
this was really well written, translated long after the author died. it was very well told. you should probably read it, also it's not that long a book.
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