THE WORLD WAR TWO GROUP discussion
LAND, AIR & SEA
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Books & Discussion on the Holocaust
Manray9 wrote: "Geevee wrote: "I appreciate the views and the discussion here. As I said there will be people (who are wishing to persecute others based on religion, colour or a raft of other things) all over the..."I agree with you. violence has become common with the average person always wondering what may happen when they go to the grocery store. Hate had become common too.
Here's a link from RealClearBooks.com to an article from The Guardian on:
Countrymen by Bo Lidegaardon the survival of the majority of Denmark's Jews despite a long German occupation.
I have not visited Denmark, but reading this section of the article: "From the moment they knew it was coming, Danish government officials made it clear to their policemen that no help was to be given to the Germans. Doors were opened everywhere, often to complete strangers, for Jews to hide. Fishermen living along the rugged Danish coast loaded their cutters and schooners with thousands of refugees and ferried them across to Sweden. They were often generously paid for taking the risk. But penniless Jews, who had fled from eastern Europe or were members of the Danish working class, were never rejected." makes me want to do so.
The Danes earned themselves honor and respect under difficult circumstances.
Looks very good, Manray. added to my TBR list. Thanks.
Good add Manray9, thanks.
@ Robert: I just found your comment # 406, dated Jan. 14th. I obviously had overlooked that there had been new posts on this page.Thank you for your support. There is this German saying: "Wehret den Anfaengen!" ("Nip things in the bud.") If Germans had adhered to it, in the 1920s, the Third Reich, WWII, and the Holocaust would never have happened.
There is some scientific, historic research. It found that the majority of people always felt safe after having experienced several decades of peace, and they refused to see the signs that a new war was about to happen. I am not saying that a new war is about to happen, but I see dangerous developments, and I also see that these dangerous developments are not taken seriously enough.
Just because there is anti-Semitism in the U.S. and in other parts of the world, it doesn't mean that the increasing anti-Semitism in Europe is nothing to worry about.
When I went to Amazon.de, 3 days ago, there was an editorial review for this German bestseller "Er ist wieder da" (English title: "Look Who's Back"). It stated that this book doesn't make you laugh ABOUT Hitler but rather WITH Hitler. --Do I have to say any more?
When I went to Amazon.de again, yesterday, to copy this editorial review, it was gone.
Gone is also my 1-star-review of this book on Amazon.com. (It is still on Goodreads.)
I can only say again and again: This development IS something to worry about.
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Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces
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Another new book, which I don't think has been mentioned before, and isn't listed on GR Yet.If it's Not Impossible...The Life of Sir Nicholas Winton by Barbara Winton
Description
There are around 6000 people in the world today who owe their lives to Nicholas Winton.
They are the descendants of a group of refugee children rescued by him from the Nazi threat in 1939. Some of them know of his existence and the part he played in their history, many others do not.
It was a short event in his life but a critical one for those whose lives were saved. For him that intervention was over in a flash and other adventures supplanted it. Only much later did this episode re-emerge in his life and ever since has brought him visitors from all over the world anxious to learn his story.
This book lays out that story in detail, exploring the motivation and early experiences that led to him acting to save young lives, while others looked the other way. His motto "If something is not impossible, then there must be a way to do it" led him to follow his own convictions and undertake an operation others had dismissed as unnecessary or too difficult. His life thereafter was full of exploits stimulated by similar motivation which, though not so consequential, remain testimony to his character. But what was his motivation? How had his life and background led to him being ready, willing and able to conduct a successful rescue operation of 669 children from Czechoslovakia at the age of 29?
His daughter has painstakingly sifted through her father's papers and talked to family and friends to construct a detailed account of his whole life. It explores the influences on his character as well as the historical events he was caught up in. Taken from his historical letters and writings, Winton's own words are introduced to convey the atmosphere of many of his diverse experiences.
Published by Matador on 8th May. ISBN-13: 978-1783065202
I haven't read that book Ron but thanks for mentioning the details as I'm sure some other group members may be interested.
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "This is one book that I have buried somewhere that I am yet to read:
by Lyn SmithDescription:
For the last twenty-five years ..."
Thanks for this. I just ordered it. Hard cover for 98 cents. I wanted the audio CD but that was $168.00 used?? Go figure.
Oh well, good old fashion hardback for 98 cents is pretty good :)
Another new WW2 title due out later this year and offering something a bit different to readers of this conflict:
Holocaust Versus Wehrmacht: How Hitler's "Final Solution" Undermined the German War Effort by Yaron PasherDescription:
In 1941, as Nazi Germany began its disastrous campaign against the Soviet Union, Hitler's other campaign, to exterminate European Jewry, was also commencing in earnest. What began with organized executions carried out by the Einzatsgruppen evolved into systematic genocide, reaching its frenzied final moments just as the Wehrmacht was meeting defeat on the military front. These campaigns—and Germany's failure—were inextricably linked, Yaron Pasher tells us in Holocaust versus Wehrmacht. Pasher argues, in fact, that the major share of the logistical problems faced by the Wehrmacht during World War II stemmed from Hitler's obsession with securing the resources—especially from the Reichsbahn railway—needed to implement the "Final Solution." To a degree never fully recognized or understood, Hitler's anti-Semitic ideology was his war's undoing.
Through four major Wehrmacht military campaigns—Moscow, Stalingrad, and Kursk in the east and Normandy in the west—Pasher explores this fatal contradiction in Hitler's efforts to dominate the European continent. As Operation Typhoon, the sequel to the German invasion of the Soviet Union, got underway in November 1941, organized train transports began carrying Jews to the East—with the last trains taking Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz just as the Allies invaded Western Europe and moved inexorably to encircle the Third Reich. In these years, this book shows us, the trains transporting Jews could have carried men, machines, and fuel to depleted and trapped divisions in the Caucasus, and later, to the Western Front. As the Germans moved deeper into Soviet territory, they became increasingly dependent on train transport—which entailed converting Soviet railway line to German specifications; and yet, however successfully this conversion was completed, the trains that might run on these rails were working elsewhere in service of the Final Solution, leaving the Wehrmacht's overextended armies without the resources to survive, let alone win, their final battles.
In the end, what Hitler called "the Jewish problem" was his downfall. In documenting the distribution of Germany's resources and operational capabilities through four major campaigns, Holocaust versus Wehrmacht offers a clear picture of the Nazis' military objectives as inseparable from—and finally, fatally susceptible to—Hitler's and his henchmen's other, ideological war to rid Europe of Jews.
Also posted in the New Release thread.
This is a true assessment. Having interviewed hundreds of German vets, even high ranking SS men, all agree that the railway used to support the Holocaust was lethal to the German military, as upwards of 70% of all European rail was so dedicated. Talk about shooting oneself in the foot.
The book should make interesting reading I think Colin.
I saw a copy of this new release today, looks like the work of some excellent research, not a happy story I'm sure but should be of great interest to some members in the group:
If This Is a Woman : Inside Ravensbruck - Hitler's Concentration Camp for Women by Sarah HelmDescription:
On a sunny morning in May 1939 a phalanx of 800 women - housewives, doctors, opera singers, politicians, prostitutes - were marched through the woods fifty miles north of Berlin, driven on past a shining lake, then herded through giant gates. Whipping and kicking them were scores of German women guards.
Their destination was Ravensbrück, a concentration camp designed specifically for women by Heinrich Himmler, prime architect of the Nazi genocide.
For decades the story of Ravensbrück was hidden behind the Iron Curtain and today is still little known. Using testimony unearthed since the end of the Cold War, and interviews with survivors who have never spoken before, Helm has ventured into the heart of the camp, demonstrating for the reader in riveting detail how easily and quickly the unthinkable horror evolved.
Also posted in the New Release thread.
January 18th marks the first day of the Jewish armed resistance in the Warsaw ghetto in 1943.
The Pink Triangle: The Nazi War Against HomosexualsDid I miss it or has it not been mentioned here before??
This book is not only the only book on the Subject, but a amazingly well written account of what happened to those subject to Paragraph 175.
Paragraph 175 did not need any more evidence than an allegation of he looked at me wrong & once in the death camp, there was little or no community to support each other.
Little is known about how many died or who they were & following the war, these men were not liberated, as paragraph 175 was not repealed until 1994.
During the Nazi period, post 1935 around 40% of prosecutions were the result of private accusations & as many as 8500 men were convicted each year.
Richard's book is a must read, as not only is it incredibly well researched, but it is about an area of the death camps that is ignored by too many writers.
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Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces
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I've not read this Alan but will at some stage.
It really is well worth the read, as it places the nazi's use of Paragraph 175 & the growth of the Nazi party into context with each other. Paragraph 175 it's self existed for most of the last century, but where prior to 1935, under 1000 were convicted, but by the start of the war it had hit over 8000 per year.
Richard goes into the dubious history of the Hitler Youth & the Night of the long knives, the way the First World War Ended & the groups of disillusioned men roaming Germany between the wars.
In light of what has happened is Paris with the savage assassination of Hebdo staff and the killing of Jews by the same extremists, some of our earlier comments on the differences between Hitler's rise and actual antisemitism, seem almost naive.I, for one, am having to re-think a lot of my beliefs, not only about the past but also about hope for the future. It is a hollow and bereft experience. Perhaps I will bring this up in a new thread as soon as I have had time to make the reassessment. But , I do think we all need to spend some time doing the same thing.
cameron wrote: "In light of what has happened is Paris with the savage assassination of Hebdo staff and the killing of Jews by the same extremists, some of our earlier comments on the differences between Hitler's ..."Agreed, although the focus of Islamic State hatred appears to be much wider--not only Jews but all "non believers."
These events have brought back the skeleton in the French closet, since France voluntarily gave up its Jews in 1940-43, established the collaborative Petain government in Vichy, and the government still has stolen Jewish artwork that it holds, knwing their are heirs and proper owners. They were as bad as the Lithuanians.
Just started this read and its a very good one.. another fine read by Mr Bascomb.Hunting Eichmann: How a Band of Survivors and a Young Spy Agency Chased Down the World's Most Notorious Nazi
Neal Bascomb
Doubledf99.99 wrote: "Just started this read and its a very good one.. another fine read by Mr Bascomb.[book:Hunting Eichmann: How a Band of Survivors and a Young Spy Agency Chased Down the World's Most Notorious Nazi|..."
Another good book by the sounds of it, keep us posted on your progress.
Doubledf99.99 wrote: "Just started this read and its a very good one.. another fine read by Mr Bascomb.[book:Hunting Eichmann: How a Band of Survivors and a Young Spy Agency Chased Down the World's Most Notorious Nazi|..."
Excellent, I have that one on the shelf unread.
Call me a hopless romantic, reading the bio's about the extraction squad, what they and their families went thru during the holocaust, and to plan on taking Eichmann alive versus shooting him on the spot, left me kinda misty eyed.. Bascomd does a remarkable job in weaving all the stories together on all the players involved. And it is pretty fast paced.
Doubledf99.99 wrote: "Call me a hopless romantic, reading the bio's about the extraction squad, what they and their families went thru during the holocaust, and to plan on taking Eichmann alive versus shooting him on th..."Just one more for my ever-growing TBR list!
Doubledf99.99 wrote: "Just started this read and its a very good one.. another fine read by Mr Bascomb.[book:Hunting Eichmann: How a Band of Survivors and a Young Spy Agency Chased Down the World's Most Notorious Nazi|..."
That is my all-time favorite book ever! I know you'll enjoy it. ;-)
I spent a nice weekend with Simon Wiesenthal once at his home in Vienna, and he told me the story of getting Eichmann and some of the others he spent his life tracking down. Great time for me.
A May 2015 release:
by Dan StoneDescription:
Seventy years have passed since the tortured inmates of Hitler's concentration and extermination camps were liberated. When the horror of the atrocities came fully to light, it was easy for others to imagine the joyful relief of freed prisoners. Yet for those who had survived the unimaginable, the experience of liberation was a slow, gruelling journey back to life.
In this unprecedented enquiry into the days, months and years following the arrival of Allied forces at the Nazi camps, a foremost historian of the Holocaust draws on archival sources and especially on eyewitness testimonies to reveal the complex challenges liberated victims faced, and the daunting tasks their liberators undertook to help them reclaim their shattered lives. Historian Dan Stone focuses on the survivors - their feelings of guilt, exhaustion, fear, shame for having survived, and devastating grief for lost family members; their immense medical problems; and their later demands to be released from Displaced Persons camps and resettled in countries of their own choosing. Stone also tracks the efforts of British, American and Russian liberators as they contended with survivors' immediate needs, then grappled with longer-term issues that shaped the postwar world and ushered in the first chill of the Cold War years ahead.
Colin wrote: "I spent a nice weekend with Simon Wiesenthal once at his home in Vienna, and he told me the story of getting Eichmann and some of the others he spent his life tracking down. Great time for me."Boy, that was been something..
He made me a lifetime member of the Simon Wiesenthal Society, and I have his signed pic he sent to me years ago.
That's pretty neat Colin!
That is neat, Colin!Alex Kershaw's book "The Envoy" about Wiesenthal is outstanding, if anyone is interested in reading more about this heroic individual.The Envoy
Sorry, that book is about Raoul Wallenberg. My bad, I confused the two men (who are still both great men, and the book is still excellent). :)Mea culpa!
I've recently finished reading Outcry - Holocaust memoirs by Manny Steinberg.Here is a link to my review.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The book was really in need of a good editor but the memoir itself is still worthy of reading and helping to remember.
Good review Bev, thanks for letting the group know about this book.
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Good review Bev, thanks for letting the group know about this book."Thanks Rick.
Currently free on Amazon.The Gold Train: The Destruction of the Jews and the Second World War's Most Terrible Robbery
In 1944, as the Soviet army closed in on Budapest, a train rolled out of the station.
On that train were carriage after carriage of loot – gold, diamonds, furs, wedding rings – plundered in one of the most shameful crimes of the century.
Commanded by Árpád Toldi, a key organizer of the Hungarian Holocaust, and harbouring a desperate group of fascist ideologues, soldiers and thieves, the gold train was destined for a Nazi stronghold in the Alps.
It would never arrive.
Along its crazed journey the train’s contents were pilfered, fought over, hidden and scattered, until they became the stuff of legend, with legal claims unresolved even today.
What is the truth of this mythical cargo?
In ‘The Gold Train’ Ronald Zweig reveals the full story of one of the most terrible mysteries of the Second World War.
‘An amazing saga...this page-turner will leave you sorrier and wiser’ David Cesarani, Independent
‘An excellent account: calm, dispassionate and well written...strips away the myth and exposes the real story in all its brutality and confused, naïve cupidity’ Alan Judd, Daily Telegraph
‘Poignant...brilliantly told...makes compelling reading’ Geoffrey Alderman, Guardian
Similar to the mystery surrounding the Amber Room.
One of the books I read while on holiday was
by Craig A. LedbetterThis book would be particularly good for those who don't have a lot of background in the history of the Nazi rise to power as it gives a basic primer and lets the reader see a timeline of when certain events happened while telling the story of two young German brothers who although Jewish, managed to survive the war even though they lived in Berlin.
My review can be found here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This account is taken from The Third Reich at War and is in relation to the early use of 'gas vans' at Chelmno to liquidate Jewish prisoners from Lodz ghetto (the quote is in spoilers for a reason):(view spoiler)
by Richard J. Evans
I've just posted this comment in the music section of the group but figured it should also be placed in this thread.This is a song that is mentioned in The Third Reich at War written/sung by Ilse Weber:
Farewell, my friend, we have come to the end
Of the journey we took together.
They've found me a place on the Polish express,
And now I must leave you for ever.
You were loyal and true, you helped me get through,
You stood by my side in all weather,
Just feeling you near would quiet every fear,
We bore all our burdens together.
Farewell, it's the end; I'll miss you my friend,
And the hours we spent together.
I gave you my heart, stay strong when we part,
For this time our farewell's for ever.
According to the author; "The warm simplicity of her settings was never more moving than in her lullaby 'Viegala', which she reportedly sang to children from the camp, including her son Tommy, as she accompanied them voluntarily into the gas chamber at Auschwitz on 6 October 1944 ... "
Listen to the song Viegala:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAN5q...
More information on Ilse Weber:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilse_Weber
This song and her voice are incredible. I hadn't read her story. Are the above lyrics the English translation to Viegala or is it something different? If different, I wonder if anyone has an English translation or English subtitles. My God, how moving.
Goosebumps. So very, very moving.On two separate occasions I have unexpectedly met survivors. In each case we affirmed our humanity through a firm handshake and a brief, warm, union of our eyes. There was nothing that could be said.
Thank you Rick. I shall transpose your contribution into my Commonplace Book. To remember.
^
Hi all I have read a lot of books on the Holocaust and the Nazi Concentration Camps an have just finished
by Nikolaus Wachsmann. I have to say this is one of the best overviews I have read to date.
Michael wrote: "Hi all I have read a lot of books on the Holocaust and the Nazi Concentration Camps an have just finished by [author:Nikolaus Wach..."I don't know whether I could stomach this book so soon after reading yet another Holocaust memoir. But I just put it on my TBR-list.
The Holocaust memoir I just finished reading, namely "A Lucky Child", by Thomas Buergenthal is also highly recommendable read. Here is the link to my review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces
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Michael wrote: "Hi all I have read a lot of books on the Holocaust and the Nazi Concentration Camps an have just finished by [author:Nikolaus Wach..."Thanks Michael. I bought this but have yet to tackle it. Good to know you rated it.
I'm the same as Geevee :)
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...
We have too many violent racist bigots, religious fanatics, and neo-Nazis too. The frightening aspect is, unlike Europe, ours are well armed. Sensible people would be afraid.