THE WORLD WAR TWO GROUP discussion
LAND, AIR & SEA
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Books & Discussion on the Holocaust
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Liz V. wrote: "Returned arthttps://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe..."
Took a while, but good news!"
What is the news on your recovery? Hoping for the best.
All good now thanks Liz V. and back to reading :)
The Warsaw Orphan
by Kelly Rimmer
I've just finished reviewing this upcoming publication for NetGalley (June 2021) and you can read my review in full here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A very proud day for me and my little book. Number 5, ahead of the Bible, and Crime and Punishment!!! Incredible. https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...
Marc wrote: "A very proud day for me and my little book. Number 5, ahead of the Bible, and Crime and Punishment!!! Incredible. https://www.theguardian.com/books/202..."Congratulations Marc!
Bev wrote: "Marc wrote: "A very proud day for me and my little book. Number 5, ahead of the Bible, and Crime and Punishment!!! Incredible. https://www.theguardian.com/books/202......"Many thanks!
Liz, you might be interested in “Claiming My Place,” by Planaria Price/Helen West. It’s a Holocaust story without the camps. Written in the first person singular, it’s a YA/adults cross-over. Published a few years ago by FSG; it’s available electronically and audio book.
Marc wrote: "A very proud day for me and my little book. Number 5, ahead of the Bible, and Crime and Punishment!!! Incredible. https://www.theguardian.com/books/202..."Congratulations! Nice one Marc.
"All the Horrors of War" tells the story of a teenaged survivor of Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen (my mother) and the British military officer who led relief efforts at Bergen-Belsen, tracing their respective journeys over the last year of the war. (It was "a race against time" rescue story, in my mother's case.)
For more, please visit my website: www.bernicelerner.com.
Nooilforpacifists wrote: "Liz, you might be interested in “Claiming My Place,” by Planaria Price/Helen West. It’s a Holocaust story without the camps. Written in the first person singular, it’s a YA/adults cross-over. Publi..."Thank you for the suggestion.
Claiming My Place: Coming of Age in the Shadow of the Holocaust
Planaria Price
Bernice wrote: ""All the Horrors of War" tells the story of a teenaged survivor of Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen (my mother) and the British military officer who led relief efforts at Bergen-Belsen, tracing their re..."Sounds like an excellent story although a very sad one as well. Thanks for sharing details of your book with the group.
Liz V. wrote: "Nooilforpacifists wrote: "Liz, you might be interested in “Claiming My Place,” by Planaria Price/Helen West. It’s a Holocaust story without the camps. Written in the first person singular, it’s a Y..."Similarly my book Of Bitter Herbs and Sweet Confections suitable for both YA and adults. It is a fictionalized Holocaust memoir which tells of the survival of one young Jewish girl and her family exiled to Siberia and beyond.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1729756050/
Sad news Liz V. Thanks for posting the link.
Liz V. wrote: "Auschwitz orchestra member https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe..."
Yes- thank you for sharing.
The Girl in the Striped Dress: A completely heartbreaking and gripping World War 2 page-turner, based on a true story
by Ellie Midwood
I have been fortunate enough to read several books by Ellie Midwood and have found those that I have read to be extremely well researched and written. When I saw that this book was available to request as an Advanced Reader Copy, I quickly hopped on it and requested to read it. Many thanks to #NetGalley and #Bookouture for allowing me the privilege. All opinions are completely my own.
Midwood has an incredible knack for finding fascinating true stories from World War 2 and making them come to life for the reader. Several of her novels have been set in Auschwitz as is this one. It is factually inspired and most of the names of the characters in the novel are the names of real people. She did , however, change the last names of the two main characters - Helena and Franz. I appreciated that even before I started reading their story Midwood had written a note to the reader to explain some of the background.
The story is set in the year or so after the end of the war when DeNazification Trials were underway to try and deal with the worst offenders from the Holocaust realizing that there simply were not enough jails or infrastructure to imprison everyone who had in some way followed the Nazi ideology. The Americans were trying to get as many trials done as they could before they were simply placed back in German hands where they felt even more people would get away with very little in the way of consequences. This story comes to life through the course of the trial and it grabbed me almost immediately and drew me in to the point where I hated to put it down. I found it gut-wrenching as the various witnesses told their story through the use of flashback testimony.
When Helena first arrived in Auschwitz she was told that she would be exterminated as soon as possible. First though she was chosen by a German officer to sing at the birthday celebration of Franz Dahler, another member of the SS. He liked her singing (and even more liked her) so he refused to allow her to be sent to her death and demanded she be assigned to work in "Kanada" under his command. Horrible though the job was (sorting the belongings of those who had just been exterminated), it was still one of the best jobs one could have in Auschwitz as the food was better, they were allowed to keep their hair (on their head) and they had better sleeping quarters. They lived however, surrounded by the stench of bodies being cremated pretty much 24/7.
Helena had no idea why she had been singled out to survive. The work was still extremely hard and whippings could occur for very minor reasons. When Dahler handed her a note telling her that he was in love with her, she was disgusted and couldn't believe it, but over time their relationship developed and ultimately, after the war they were married. Another inmate of Auschwitz, Novak became a co-plaintiff in the case against Dahler. He had personally been whipped by Dahler and had also watched as Helena developed a relationship with him. I honestly wondered if Novak was in love with Helena himself. He believed that Dahler was an abusive liar and rapist who manipulated Helena for his own benefit. Hearing his point of view throughout the trial was heart-wrenching.
Each trial also included a team which included at least one psychologist with experience in assessing whether an individual was telling the truth or not. They never expected that Dahler would come to trial holding his wife's hand, nor that she would seem so incapable of being parted from him.
Tis was a five star read for me. You can read my full review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Michael wrote: "I just finished reading 
byShlomo Venezia and while I found it difficult to read it was we..."An excellent and important book! Very worthwhile...
Before Babi Yar, eighty-years-ago, there was the first large-scale mass murder of Jews:https://www.jns.org/opinion/eighty-ye...
Bernice wrote: "Before Babi Yar, eighty-years-ago, there was the first large-scale mass murder of Jews:https://www.jns.org/opinion/eighty-ye..."
Investigators who later opened the pits found that 35 percent had been shot dead on the spot; the rest, wounded or not, had been buried alive. The perpetrators did not conceal their crime; local inhabitants saw the earth move up and down for days.
Excuse me, I'm going to stick my head in the toilet. those bastards.
Bernice wrote: "Before Babi Yar, eighty-years-ago, there was the first large-scale mass murder of Jews:https://www.jns.org/opinion/eighty-ye..."
A horrendous crime against humanity!
Dimitri wrote: "Bernice wrote: "Before Babi Yar, eighty-years-ago, there was the first large-scale mass murder of Jews:https://www.jns.org/opinion/eighty-ye..."
Investi..."
Well said, Dimitri.
I was very happy to be able to read an advance copy of The Girl Who Survived byEllie Midwood
courtesy of #NetGalley and #Bookouture. All opinions are my own.I have become a huge Ellie Midwood fan. Her books have consistently captured my attention and drawn me in as a reader and this one was no different in that respect. She seems to have an uncanny ability to find true stories of individuals affected by the Holocaust and share them as fiction while remaining true to the facts as they are available. This particular novel tells the story of Ilse Stein, a young Jewish woman from Germany and Willi Schulz, an officer of the German Luftwaffe who was assigned to work in Minsk (ByeloRussia) where he supervised brigades of women from the local ghetto.
Ilse was a young girl of 18 when she and her two sisters arrived at the ghetto. She watched her mother being put into a vehicle where she would eventually be gassed, and her father had died in her arms in the cattle car that took them from Germany to Minsk. We do learn bits and pieces of her sisters’ stories throughout the book but first and foremost we learn about how Ilse coped, learning from a Russian Jew named Rivka how to survive and do what she could in terms of stealing gun parts which could be used by local partisans and then after Rivka’s death, learning from another Russia Jew named Lisa. Her hope was to eventually leave the ghetto with her sisters and escape to the forests where local partisans fought against the Germans.
To read my full review visit the following link: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
In his From Peoples Into Nations: A History of Eastern Europe, John Connelly addresses the Holocaust.After the Wannsee Conference near Berlin in January 1942 created the basic plan for the Holocaust, the traditional German efficiency and ruthlessness took over:
After that point, wherever (Germans) controlled territory, from the Channel Islands off France to strips of territory in the Caucasus that they held for a few weeks; from the Greek islands to villages in Norway above the Arctic Circle, German authorities attempted to identify, segregate, deport, and destroy every last Jew. They acted very quickly. If in March 1942, 75-80 percent of the Jews to die in the Holocaust were still alive, by mid-February 1943, 75-80 percent of those who would die had been killed, mostly in killing camps on Polish territory.
Contemplating those numbers is mind-boggling.
Manray9 wrote: "In his From Peoples Into Nations: A History of Eastern Europe, John Connelly addresses the Holocaust.After the Wannsee Conference near Berlin in January 1942 created the basic pla..."
Pretty sad figures MR9!
War crimes trial bbc dot.com /news/world-europe-58747082
Manray9 wrote: "In his From Peoples Into Nations: A History of Eastern Europe, John Connelly addresses the Holocaust.After the Wannsee Conference near Berlin in January 1942 created the basic pla..."
I interviewed Karl Wolff who was an organizer but not m participant, and Gerhard Klopfer who was one of the 15 men sitting at the table for the first Wannsee Conference. The film about this, "Conspiracy" was required watching for my students.
I recently finished reading this excellent Three Sistersbook based on the real life experiences of three sisters during the Holocaust and beyond. You can read my full review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
by Heather Morris
Bev wrote: "I recently finished reading this excellent Three Sistersbook based on the real life experiences of three sisters during the Holocaust and beyond. You can read my full review here: h..."Excellent review Bev!
I thoroughly enjoyed Heather Morris's first two books in this series. I look forward reading this one!
Theresa wrote: "I thoroughly enjoyed Heather Morris's first two books in this series. I look forward reading this one!"I'm sure you will enjoy it! I have to confess that I like. reading the author's note first. Have a read ofcthis link.
https://www.yourstoriesofhope.com/liv...
Liz V. wrote: "Auction : Auschwitz tattoo instruments https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle..."
Interesting news article, I can understand why some people would be outraged.
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Liz V. wrote: "Auction : Auschwitz tattoo instruments https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle..."
Interesting news article, I can understand why some people would be outraged."
Wow! I can understand too.
Geevee wrote: "I've just finished Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland [bookcover:Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland..."For those who might be interested, this book is on sale today at amazon.ca for $1.99
On matters regarding the Holocaust there is one area that irritates the hell out of me. When Jews (or others) comment that the Western Allies' Bomber Forces could have stopped the Holocaust, either by bombing Gas Chambers (very small targets) or the Railway lines leading to camps (the Nazis had railway repair units that got very efficient).First of all the UK and the USA had many priorities for their bombers, and I don't see the Camps removal shortening the war as far as we were concerned.
The British had asked the National Jewish Council in Palestine on this subject. The reply was that they did not support bombing that might kill Jews.
The British, the USA (and the Soviets) had been fighting a total war against the Nazi State for years. I actually find advice from those not fighting the Nazi State to be slightly offensive. How would they like me to question their lack of fighting against the Nazis ?... now I realise many victims had not the protection of a State actor. But the question still stands, what are you doing to fight the Nazi State ? why aren't you doing more ?
As to bombing camps the collateral damage would be huge. Many prisoners would be killed. Would the Nazis then create methods of killing that were alternative to Gas and perhaps did not require buildings to operate ?
The Nazis damaged their own war effort by all this murder. They'd already ensured the Manhattan Project got their best scientists ... smart move.
For the British in particular the Bomber Offensive was critical. From 1940 to 1944 the only means of attacking Germany directly is Bomber Command. You cannot be at war and do nothing, the Bomber Offensive had to hurt the enemy (military targets, industry, homes) and I do not accept that civilians aren't a valid target (yes I'm aware of the 1977 Protocol to the Geneva Convention, which would last 5 minutes if the enemy started breaking it first), Civilians man the Wehrmacht/SS, they clothe and feed it, they make weapons and ammunition ... but they're not a target ? right.
The greatest immorality was to lose the war, we did not. Pacifist attitudes from 2021 I find unconvincing, the view from those rose-tinted spectacles is not the one shared by most people in WW2. There was a time I had doubts about the morality of Area Bombing, I asked my Mother how she felt on this issue (born 1928), did she have any doubts ? she fixed me with a steely look and said, "None at all." She had probably seen London's East End burn and the dead laying in the streets.
How does bombing the camps or railway lines weaken the Nazi State ?.... I can see that Area Bombing will, that more accurate and effective bombing on Transport and Oil will. No I'm sorry the immorality for killing innocent people has to lay with the Nazis and the SS. Strategic Bomber forces were working overtime to support D-day, and that would be one of my priorities. Oh and by the way, what are you doing to topple the Nazi State ? tell me ...
Liz V. wrote: "Auction : Auschwitz tattoo instruments https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle..."
Why auction the only 3 known items if 2 of them already are in museums incl. Auschwitz Memorial?
Good book, Chris Browning did great job on that one. his research method was applied to a book I wrote; Occupation and Insurgency dealing with that same subject but from a different perspective.
This virtual exhibition on Kristallnacht may be of interest to some.https://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhib...
"Romania's Holy War" - The author mentions the Iasi Pogrom that took place after the commencement of Operation Barbarossa:https://www.yadvashem.org/education/e...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ia%C8%9...
This is a 30 page document on the subject if anyone is interested in further reading: "The Holocaust in Romania: The Iasi Pogrom of June 1941 by Radu Ioanid":
https://www.cambridge.org/core/servic...
"Romania's Holy War: Soldiers, Motivation, and the Holocaust" - The author provided numerous accounts of Romanian soldiers carrying out massacres after the fall of Odessa:"On 24 October, soldiers marched Jews from Odessa's jail two kilometers down the road towards Dalnik, shooting any who fell behind. After reaching antitank ditches, which were used as improvised mass graves, they machine-gunned groups of forty to fifty Jews at a time. Other soldiers shoved thousands of Jews into four warehouses near the jail, two with men and two with women and children, and set them ablaze. They shot or threw grenades at anyone who tried to escape."
"The Odessa massacre's total number of victims has been the subject of wild speculation. At the time, Einsatzgruppe D reported ten thousand dead. Postwar investigations claimed nineteen to twenty-three thousand victims, and some today suggest forty thousand. Trial records indicate hundreds hanged, five thousand shot near the port, hundreds machine-gunned at the antitank ditches on the road to Dalnik, five thousand burned in the warehouses, and hundreds more killed elsewhere."
The Odessa Massacre:
https://www.dw.com/en/the-odessa-mass...
https://www.dw.com/en/the-sole-jewish...
'Aussie Rick' wrote: ""Romania's Holy War: Soldiers, Motivation, and the Holocaust" - The author provided numerous accounts of Romanian soldiers carrying out massacres after the fall of Odessa:"On 24 October, soldiers..."
It is mind bogglingly awful!
It is indeed Bev :(
THE WORLD WAR TWO GROUP
Books mentioned in this topic
The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World (other topics)The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World (other topics)
The Unspeakable: Breaking my Family's Silence surrounding the Holocaust (other topics)
Something Beautiful Happened: A Story of Survival and Courage in the Face of Evil (other topics)
If This is a Woman: Inside Ravensbrück: Hitler's Concentration Camp for Women (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Jonathan Freedland (other topics)Nicola Hanefeld (other topics)
Yvette Manessis Corporon (other topics)
Sarah Helm (other topics)
Sarah Helm (other topics)
More...
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe..."
Took a while, but good news!