Inside the Vicious Heart: Americans and the Liberation of Nazi Concentration Camps

by Robert H. Abzug

Forty years ago Allied soldiers liberated Buchenwald, Dachau, Belsen, and other concentration camps, and came face to face with the human ruins of the Nazi system of slave labor and genocide. What they saw transformed the definition of evil in the Western mind. Inside the Vicious Heart captures the shock of that discovery by telling the story of the camp liberations as experienced by American GIs and other eyewitnesses, including Eisenhower, Patton, Joseph Pulitzer, and Margaret Bourke-White. Through their diaries, letters, and photographs we see how those Americans finally made the world believe what until then had only been rumored.

Genres: World War II, Holocaust, 20th Century, School, Nonfiction, History

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Horrifying, amazing, and hard to put down. There are a lot of books about the Holocaust, but this one had a unique focus -- the American perception of the Nazi camps before, during, and after the war.

This book was especially relevant to me, as my dad was one of the American soldiers who arrived at Buchenwald after the liberation. He never talked about the camp and is now long gone. But I know he was there because he was in Patton's Army. And because I have the pictures he took, which are as grisly as those in the book -- the bodies, the ribcage in the oven, the murdered guards. He saw it all and stored the proof in his camera.

This is the first book that helped me imagine his experience there, through the emotional reports of other American soldiers at Buchenwald.

[Cindi Leiter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has many incredible points that never really occurred to me before. Sometimes, in our limited lives, we find that we cannot even imagine that there is even more to a story... that there may be more revelations that had simply never occurred to you. Some of the instances in this book have broadened my mind, made me think, and made me reconsider what I know while adding to that knowledge.

[Al Balderas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had high expectations for this book and they were all met. The stories, the descriptions, the quotes, the photos and the hard work put forth by the author helped this reader to better understand the horrors that millions of people went through during WWII. This is one case in which it's hoped that history will not repeat itself. One of the best ways to keep it from repeating itself in this case is to learn and be aware of the destruction unleashed by those hungry for power.

[Katricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tells an important story about not only the Holocaust, but the public- and especially American's reactions- to the sights and stories. It's easier for us now, 70 years later, to say, "Something like that couldn't happen today." And then you realize that was exactly what they thought 70 years ago. This book makes you think, and that's a good thing.

[Karen Levi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Albeit old and outdated, this work is an important addition to one's knowledge of the Holocaust and the chaotic period immediately following the end of World War II in Europe. I knew nothing about the labor and prison camps in Germany, since most knowledge about the Holocaust originates from the concentration camps in Poland and the larger ones in Germany. In December 2019, I visited Stutthof and Gross-Rosen in Poland, so I was aware that "smaller," but no less deadly, death camps existed.
The author described eyewitness accounts of the first groups of American soldiers and officers to experience the conditions of the prison camps and the nearly inhuman state of the survivors (through no fault of their own.) The initial reactions of the American liberators were shock, disbelief, and avoidance, typical emotions to seeing mass death, illness, and starvation of fellow humans. Less understandable were the secondary actions by the U.S. military when faced with resettling the stateless refugees of the war. Antisemitism continued to influence the individuals assigned to deal with the Jewish survivors. Britain and the United States did not loosen immigration policies to increase entry of displaced persons. It is now well established, that the immediate post war period was characterized by crime, corruption, and confusion.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

So how do you say nice things about a rich narrative on an absolutely horrible topic. I guess just like that. This effort is a 1985 retelling of a familiar tragedy that happened during World War II ... the Holocaust. This tale focuses on the American soldiers who liberated many of the concentration camps in Germany, such as Belsen, Dachau, Buchenwald, Mauthausen and the like. It does not focus on the extermination camps in the East that the Russians liberated on their sweep to Berlin. While there was a subtle difference between the two types of camps, it was only one of degree and intensity and scale. Both were places where unspeakable things happened to human beings.

This is not an easy read, but is approachable for the general reader. Pictures throughout bring an immediacy and reality to the narrative. This is an excellent start for anyone interested in learning about this facet of World War II. It also should be required reading for Holocaust deniers. I read this during the 2023/2024 war between the Palestinians and Israelis, which made for some thoughtful consideration. In the end, we need to make sure this never happens again.

[Samuel Goldberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good, but having just read two other books about Americans liberating the camps this feels like it would have been better as an introduction than a follow up, but it’s still worth reading and ps is a lot into it’s this spine. The sources also seem like a gold mine, and it goes get into stuff the other books I read don’t.

[Brandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

SHOCKING, HORRENDOUS, GROTESQUE are the words that come to mind when evaluating this book.
This book really gets to the heart of the aftermath of the concentration camps, etc.
You have learned through school, and word of mouth how horrid that the Holocaust was, but as the book mentions over and over again: It's just too horrible for humans to grasp.
It was very informative, and well written, and the pictures are not for the weak of heart or stomach, but something that I believe that everyone should see..... "Lest it be forgotten."

[Chewie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book talks about the liberation of Hitler's victims of the Holocaust. In April 1945, just as WWII was about to come to a conclusion in Europe, the allied armies discovered the concentration camps. They were horrified at what has transpired. The Jews were suffering at the hands of the Nazis. They were skin and bone, due to malnutrition. From 1933-1945, they were beaten, starved, and in some cases, were killed by single bullets to the head, or were burned in crematoriums.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Especially interesting for its explanation of the role of American soldiers during the process of liberating the concentration camps. Robert Abzug teaches history at the University of Texas at Austin. I read the book as part of a research effort preparing a final paper for my Information Studies coursework, on the International Military Tribunals at Nuremberg following the conclusion of WWII.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was wonderfully written and very concise. The carefully chosen photos are hard to look at, but reveal important emotions behind these account, as do firsthand accounts from liberators and concentration camp prisoners alike. Abzug makes very astute commentary and directs readers to examine overall themes of grief and shock.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you want to give up any hopes for a good night's sleep, just flip through this book for a few minutes before bedtime. You don't even have to read any of it, looking at the pictures is enough to cause sufficient nightmares and despair.

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a history major and I read this for my WWII class. It is an amazing depiction that brings the liberation of the concentration camps to life for those who never had to experience it. I suggest that anyone who in is interested in war history to read this book.

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to read this book for a history class in college. This book does a wonderful job illustrating the impact of the Nazi Concentration Camps from the view of not only those imprisoned in them but also the American soldiers who discovered the camps.

[Mark · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a disappointingly shallow and repetitive study of the subject, only partially redeemed by the final chapter on the displaced persons problem.