And Peace Never Came

by Elisabeth M. Raab

“It is Easter Sunday, April 1945, early in the morning, maybe just dawn. We stand still, like frozen grey statues. Us. Seven hundred and thirty women, wrapped in wet, grey, threadbare blankets, standing in the rain. Our blankets hang over our heads, drape down to the soil. We hold them closed with our hands from the inside, leaving only a small opening to peer out, so that we save the precious warmth of our breath.” ( from Chapter 5 ) So begins the author’s sojourn, her search for freedom that begins with the chaotic barrenness in which she found herself after her liberation on Easter Sunday, April 1945, and takes her across several continents and half a lifetime. Raab paints a brief yet moving picture of her idyllic life before her internment and the shock and the horrors of Auschwitz, but it is in the images of life after her liberation, that Raab imparts her most poignant story ― a story told in a clear, almost sparse, always honest style, a story of the brutal, and, at times, the beautiful facts of human nature. This book will appeal to a number of audiences ― to readers interested in human nature under the most trying circumstances, to historians of World War II or Jewish history, to veterans and their families who lived through World War II, and to those interested in politics and the evils of political extremism.

Genres: History

205 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Care · Rating 3 out of 5]

Elisabeth Raab's And Peace Never Came is a tough autobiography to read. She experiences so much hardship and trauma, and deals with her damaged self so late in her life that the account reads in a pained way. Having lost so much, it truly is surprising that any Holocaust survivors are able to do anything, let alone write their horrific experiences down, bearing witness to a genocide. In regards to this particular memoir, it gave a more rare look at the feminine experience in Auschwitz and then an ammunitions factory in which Raab was enslaved. The starved-for-yous were such a unique experience for me to encounter; I've never read another Holocaust account where victims suffering under such devastating conditions maintained their "humanity" and sympathy so resolutely in the face of evil. Sharing recipes, carving trinkets for each other, making sure everyone had the equal amount of food to eat. Different experience, same hell, but these women are admirable to say the least. As well, her details on the Displaced Persons (DPs) crisis post-war was illuminating and an area spoken of rarely in this depth in Holocaust memoirs.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the few books that I read in university that I actually enjoyed. Well, maybe not enjoyed so much as appreciated, because it is a fairly haunting story of the holocaust.

[Djdee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Holacaust memoir.Very compelling yet informative.Well developed story.