Endless Miracles: A Memoir

by Jack Ratz, Howard L. Adelson (Introduction)

Jack Ratz was a boy of fourteen when his hometown in Latvia fell to the Nazi forces, only a few years after the Russians had brought communism to the peaceful country. Despite the murder of his mother and four brothers, Ratz tells of endless miracles he witnessed during the how he and his father survived the Nazis' attack on their ghetto, how they were saved from a death camp by the Russian Red Army, and how they were able to escape to the West to live long and wonderful lives.

Genres: Memoir, History

176 pages, Hardcover

First published December 28, 1997

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

As Jack Ratz observes towards the close of his memoir, Endless Miracles, very few people - even fellow Holocaust survivors - have heard of the Stutthof concentration camp, where he spent eight hellish weeks, after surviving his time in the Jewish ghetto of Riga, the work-camp Lenta, and the death-camp Salaspils. The same could be said of the wider experience of Latvia's Jewish population during World War II, and for the same reason: namely, that so few people survived. The liquidation of Riga's Jewish ghetto, their systematic extermination in the nearby forest of Rumbula, left less than 1% of the population alive. Jack Ratz was among the few survivors.

That makes this memoir - one of the very few addressing the Jewish experience in World War II Latvia - especially valuable as a historical document. Although there were some narrative problems in Endless Miracles - with the account jumping from war-time memories to Ratz's family-life after the war, and then back again - as well as some editing issues, this was still a powerful story of suffering and endurance, and is well worth the time of anyone interested in the subject.

[Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A more hopeful version of Elie Weisel's "Night," but possibly more horrifying, because the author's memory of events and the emotions during the endurance are sharper, and therefore more painful. The story is told simply, and the heaviness is felt during the ordeal, but hope does spring eternal, and Mr. Ratz does good, good things with his life post-war and lives a life of honor. Imporant, moving reading.

[Anne Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jack Ratz tells the story of his life. He tells of his life in Latvia, then when the Nazis of Germany came. Jack lost his mother and brothers, but through ‘endless miracles’, strong will, luck, and faithfulness to God, Jack and his father make it to the liberation. From there, Jack tells us about his life after the war. His father gets remarried, Jack finds a wife, and they have three children. Jack also writes about visiting his homeland and Israel in the 1980’s. Jack speaks to schools and organizations and certainly is very much appreciated. He has lived a full life and will be remembered for his writings for years to come.

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is very similar to the book Night by Elie Wiesel. It is about a holocaust survivor that goes through the frightening journey of a concentration camp. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed the book Night, but this book in my opinion isn't as good as the one written by Wiesel.

[Ilene · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. This is Jack Ratz' memoir of the holocaust in Latvia. Because so few survived in Latvia I think this book is important for history. Others have reviewed this book far better and more succinctly than I ever could.