1 comments about To Paint Her Life: Charlotte Salomon in the Nazi Era.

1. You may have read many memoirs, and biographies about people affected by the Holocaust. However, do not think this is similar to other stories, or be put off by a topic that is upsetting. The journey through this book will be more than rewarding. Mary Felstiner has a deep, historical knowledge of Charlotte Salomon that she relays in a moving, and powerful style. You feel that you intimately know the people she writes about. Salomon's story is not one that is widely known, but it should be. She painted her life story during the Nazi years in the form of an operetta. Her paintings recently on display in the US tell a painful, vivid story of her, her parents, and her lover. This book is about what happened to Charlotte Salomon and her family during the Nazi years, but will also be of great interest to people interested in art, and in the human condition. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

No comments about Night, Dawn, the Accident: Three Tales.

1 comments about In Nazi Uniform.

1. Amazing story told by the man that lived it. I cannot remember what happened to me last month. Mr. Born gives us a very detailed account of his duties during the war. He was not a very good politician but managed to survive the hazards of war. A good read. I highly recommend it.
   
   Gordan Van Alstine

No comments about Adventure and Destiny.

1 comments about Man of Ashes (Texts and Contexts).

1. This is a book that must be read by anyone interested in the Holocaust and Jewish life. It is unlike any Holocaust autobiography in that it involves Jewish life in South America. Even after living through the tragedies of the Holocaust Salomon Encourages joy and happiness. As a College student, and as Salomon's grandson this book touched my life in a very special way.

1 comments about Till They Meet Again.

1. Great Read!!This novel is fast paced and riveting. I could not put it down. Ms. Elovic's character development is superb. The storyline is unique. I would highly recommend this novel.

1 comments about The River Of Angry Dogs: A Memoir.

1. As gripping and moving a book as you will ever read.
   A truly extraordinary and emotional work. I had to pinch myself when I finished reading the book to remind myself where I was.

2 comments about A Soldier Of Chance.

1. After reading "A Soldier of Chance" I realized that not only did I not know much about the Holocaust, I didn't really understand what it meant to have to live through this horrific time, and the trials and tribulations that many individuals had to go through not only to survive, but to keep their sanity as well.
   This book is written by the son of holocaust survivor, Alex Rosenfeld. Alex came from a family of extremely hard workers. He wasn't booksmart as some of his siblings were but preferred to learn a trade, something that may have had an integral part in his survival during the Nazi takeover.
   Alex certainly had luck on his side, as you will see repeatedly when you read this book. He is able to disguise his identity as a Polish Jew not once, but numerous times, and is able to convince the people in his life that he is a Frenchman who lost his family at birth and was adopted by a family with the last name Rosenfeld. Unfortunately, truth be told, he does end up losing his parents and sisters to the holocaust.
   Instead of being sentenced to a concentration camp he is called to the police station where he is served his working papers. Upon receiving these he volunteers to work in Germany in their factories (something he would have been eventually ordered to do anyway). He has not choice as he is almost out of ration cards and will starve if he doesn't leave. He ends up excelling at his work and even becomes friendly to some of the Germans including his bosses. They have nothing bad to say about him and even award him a plaque commending him on being an exemplary employee, something else that may have attributed to his survival at a later point.
   Working in Germany eventually takes its toll, so on one of his vacations he decides it is time to stay in France and "do the right thing" by joining the French Resistance. This also almost costs him his life numerous times, as the Germans continued to try and keep their reign of terror at an all time high, even though it appeared they were starting to weaken and lose their power.
   One of the things I liked most about this book is you felt like you were there walking along the path that Alex followed. Nathan adds wonderful historical documentation through photographs to help blend the historical aspects with his fathers personal experiences to truly give you an understanding of all this man went through to survive.
   This book is a true eye-opener and a refreshing view on how it is possible to overcome and survive anything as long as you don't give up and fight for what you believe in.
   For more information on the holocaust, please visit The Holocaust Cybrary - it is a fascinating site.



2. Nathan Rosenfeld has written a book that chronicles his father's experiences in WWII. While the war had effected everyone, it especially was devastating to the Jewish people. Alex Rosenfeld and his family were Jewish. This was a time of hatred not only what nationality you were but what religion you worshipped. The Jewish people were stripped of their businesses, their dignity, their lives. Many went to concentration camps. So many millions died there.
   Alex goes to Paris to find education. As things got more critical, Alex creates a new persona not as a Jew, but a French Gentile. He avoids concentration camps, and works in factories.
   He finally joins the French Resistance and does his part to fight Hitler's forces.
   He marries and goes to Palestine, and then to America. There his children prosper.
   A Soldier of Chance is Nathan Rosenfeld's homage to his father. It is also a rare chance of seeing parts of the war through the eyes of Alex. Nathan includes photos and documents of his father's that add to the experience. It is a powerful book.
   What would we do in a similar situation? Jump in a fight a losing battle, or step back and see what can be done when the time arose to fight the enemy?
   Some of the prologue of the book would have been better placed at the ending of the book - it seems it would have flowed a little better at the end. But the message is powerful. That perserverance and determination succeed.
   What we do not remember we are doomed to repeat.
   I hope we never forget the atrocities Hitler started. Millions of innocent lives lost. Not only in concentration camps but in other countries too - And we of this generation can't get our minds to comprehend that massive an occurrance. But the reality is it happened. And it is up to us not to have another like it.

3 comments about Petit Claude: The Orphan of Auschwitz.

1. We always hear about all the terrible things that happened in World War II - how a whole nation ultimately colluded with a psychopath who managed to wreak havoc across the entire world and how millions of people suffered and died for no reason at all. It can lead to a very depressing conclusion about human nature and the world we live in.

   So with that in mind, its very refreshing to read a book like this which is about two unlikely lovers, a German and a Frenchwoman, who dared to stand against the fascist regimes of Nazi Germany and Vichy France, risking their lives to save that of a young Jewish boy whose family are, one by one, murdered by the Nazis. There is no more powerful way of understanding the real horror of what the Nazi's committed and also of what an impact one person's decision to do the right thing can have.

   The orphan's two rescuers are actually the author's own parents and one gets the sense that this book is as much a personal voyage to understand her parents as it is to relay a heroic tale. As such the intricacies and contradictions of their characters come across in a very compelling and intriguing way.

   Overall, I found "The Orphan of Auschwitz" both depressing and hopeful, tragic and heroic. It certainly gives an astonishing insight into the lives of real people living and fighting in that extraordinary period and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is at all interested in how the moral dilemmas of the war forced ordinary people into leading extraordinary lives.




2. This book is an honest and moving true account of an unusual situation: a French woman and a German man protecting a little Jewish boy during World War II. The resolve and nationalities of the couple add a new dimension to our understanding of the complexity of French and German resistance.



3. Recently I met Agnes Seugnet, author of a newly published book called, "Petit Claude The Orphan Of Auschwitz And His French Rescuers." This is a true story of the rescue of a little Jewish boy in France during the time of the Holocaust. The couple that sheltered and nurtured the child during the war was Mrs. Seugnet's parents. They were members of the French resistance. It is an emotional and very sincere book that can be enjoyed by both teenagers and adults.

   Mrs. Seugnet's book is very important. She is a direct link to the Holocaust experience and is willing to share it with others. By reading the book, teenagers can acquire a much deeper and more immediate understanding of the Holocaust. This experience led to my discussing the Holocaust with my own family. I urge other families to talk to their children about these events. To those families with survivors I urge the survivors to talk to their children and grandchildren for you are a link to the past. As Mrs. Seugnet puts it, it is your "duty to share the memory."

1 comments about The Waltz of the Shadows - Second Edition.

1. This book of poetry is just beautiful. It is the story of The Holocaust in poetry form. Everyone know what happened was horrible, but Magda's book put it in a way that lets you share her experience while listening to the music the poetry makes.