1 comments about Creator of Nazi Death Camps: The Life of Odilo Globocnik.

1. Odilo Globocnik was of partial Slovenian ancestry. Like Hitler, he grew up with the belief that the Slavic and Jewish elements were corrupting and weakening the Germanic element of his native Austria. Globocnik set up the death camps of Belzec, Majdanek, Sobibor, and Treblinka. Settling in Lublin in German-occupied Poland, he was also responsible for the deportation (and frequent murder) of over 100,000 Poles of the Zamosc region and the terror-pacification of Polish guerilla resistance. Like Himmler, Globocnik carried cyanide in his mouth after Germany's defeat, and used it the moment that his cover had been blown.
   
   For all the emphasis nowadays upon Jews and Poles being unequal victims, the Nazi opinion of the two peoples wasn't all that different. Konrad Meyer, an agrarian economist who worked for Globocnik, assigned the following scores for "racial worth": Jews--zero percent, Poles and Lithuanians--15%, Latvians--50%, and Estonians-->50% (p. 105).
   
   The German-speaking peoples follow this north/south division: "Bavarians--and most Austrians also subscribe to this self-image--are thought of as soft-spoken, beer-swilling, sausage-eating Catholics of dark complexion, while Prussians are for the most part harsh and haughty, blond and blue-eyed Hanseatic Protestants. This division runs along the Main [Mainz?] River. The Prussians (or `fish heads') are considered to be power-hungry, stuffy, and morally rigid; Bavarians are sloppy, lazy, and inept. Hitler, who rose from the `Bavarian' camp to the position of Fuehrer by declaring the `Prussians' as an Aryan ideal, nevertheless preferred to surround himself with `Bavarians'..." (p. 88).
   
   Nazi official sometimes attempted to topple their rivals through accusations of partial Jewish ancestry. Henning von Winterfeld's wife had such ancestry, but it had been pardoned by the Fuehrer, hopefully making it a non-issue (pp. 68-69).
   
   In refutation of the Holocaust deniers, who had argued that diesel engines produce insufficient carbon monoxide for gassing, Rieger showed that Soviet tank engines actually used a combination of petrol and diesel (p. 204). Moreover, diesel engines, when run in near-throttle mode, produce more CO.
   
   Is the European Union a backdoor attempt by present-day Germany to do what she had failed in two world wars--rule over Europe? Dr. Karl Schnurer, a nonagenarian unrepentant Nazi and onetime acquaintance of Globocnik, obviously thinks so: "In his eyes, the German and Italian cultures were all that mattered with regard to civilization, and Slavic countries did not figure. Schnurer felt that the European Union's expansion of our day represented the finalization of the German `Lebensraum' programme for the east." (p. 18)

1 comments about Pack My Bag: A Self-Portrait.

1. A paraphrase of this memoir would give the sense that 'Henry Green' was a typical British writer of the 1930s: a superposh old Etonian who precociously published his first novel at Oxford, and was driven by class guilt to work as a foundryman. Or, in his words, 'as was said in those days I had a complex and in the end it drove me to go to work in a factory with my wet podgy hands'. The prose style is what makes this book an absolute one-off - chatty, cleverly idiomatic, bathetic, loveable and self-effacing. 'Pack my Bag' isn't a book you'd read for the plot (unless you're interested in the faux-hardships of wealthy, hypersensitive schoolboys?), but its account of the Great War is full of compelling anecdotes (like the shellshocked soldier who stayed at the country estate of Green's parents - 'no longer human when he came to us'). If you like these subtle-ish modernist writers like Katherine Mansfield and Elizabeth Bowen you might fall for Green, as sophisticated a stylist as any of the big modernist names (Woolf, Lawrence etc), but with an intimacy and sweetness that you don't necessarily associate with experimental writing. And he's funny, too. No wonder the people who love Henry Green really, really love Henry Green.

No comments about Pastor Andre Trocme: Spiritual Leader Le Chambon (Holocaust Biographies).

No comments about Escape through the Balkans: The Autobiography of Irene Grunbaum.

1 comments about Generation Exodus : The Fate of Young Jewish Refugees from Nazi Germany.

1. I WAS BORN IN BERLIN,. GERMANY, AND CAME TO THE US VIA CUBA IN 1941. THE WEALTH OF MATERIALS WAS ASTONISHING-THE AUTHOR COVERED ALMOST MORE TOPICS THAN WERE NEEDED. HE CAREFULLY POINTED OUT THE PROBLEMS OF IMMIGRATION TO VARIOUS COUNTRIES AND MADE IT QUITE CLEAR WHY IMMMIGRATION TO THE US (A COUNTRY OF IMMIGRANTS) MADE IT EASIER FOR US TO BE ACCEPTED THAN IN OTHER CULTURES. I KNOW THAT LAQUEUR IS AN ACADEMIC, BUT FEEL THAT HE OVEREMPHASIZED THE NUMBER OF NOBEL PRICE WINNERS IN THIS GENERATION. MOST INTERESTING, TO ME, WAS THE ACCOUNT OF WHY SOME GERMAN JEWS RETURNED TO GERMANY.

1 comments about From Berlin/jerusalem.

1. Gershom Scholem was one of those rare scholars who open a whole new world of study. He is the first to really explore the great mystical tradition of Judaism. In this memoir he tells the story of his Berlin childhood and youth, his discovery against his German patriotic father's opposition of his Jewish religious roots, his discovery of his vocation, his immigration to what would become his home, Jerusalem , his friendships with many distinguished people , including his great friend Walter Benjamin, his helping to establish the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, his Zionism, and his understanding of the Jewish people's return to history.
   This works contains worlds in its pages. A small but powerful book about a great scholar's life.

No comments about Portrait of Jacques Derrida as a Young Jewish Saint (European Perspectives: A Series in Social Thought and Cultural Criticism).

5 comments about The Martians of Science: Five Physicists Who Changed the Twentieth Century.

1. This is a very interesting and informative book that I heartily recommend. I was inspired to buy it after reading a review of it in Nature magazine where the reviewer ended on the following helpful note: "This is an important story that needs to be told, and Hargittai tells it well", an assessment with which I concur.
   
   The book is about the lives of five Hungarian Jewish scientists whose work changed the world, not just the world of science, but the world of politics as well due to the circumstances and period in which they lived and thrived.
   
   The author does a very thorough job tracing the history of these important men. We are shown the uniqueness and diversity of the five Martians (Theodore von Karman, John von Neumann, Leo Szilard, Edward Teller and Eugene Wigner) in addition to considering what bound them together. It is interesting to follow their parallel lives throughout exciting periods of the 20th century. Hargittai conveys the flavor of turn-of-the-century Budapest that yielded not only important scientists but also famous and important contributors to other realms of life (e.g. composers such as Bartok).
   
   The author does a very good job of communicating how circumstances and situations evolved. For example, we see a change from the peaceful coexistence and cooperation of Jews and the rest of Hungary's population to a horribly anti-Semitic society. We are also told about transitions such as how the Martians turned from dedicated students into top players in world science; how the initially Ivory-tower scientists became the most practical contributors to the American military might; how esoteric physics became a source of lethal weaponry within a mere few years; and how quiet immigrants became esteemed citizens with a strong political voice.
   
   In addition to telling us about events that happened, an intriguing feature of the book is that Hargittai tries to imagine what might have become of the Martians had they stayed in Hungary or had they lived in the Soviet Union rather than in the United States.
   
   Overall, this is an extremely engaging and informative read. I agree with the Nature reviewer's assessment that this book needed to be written and Hargittai did an excellent job doing so. You will both enjoy this reading and learn a lot from it.



2. What a great gem for those of us interested in 20th century history and the history of science.
   
   The Jewish-Hungarian Martians represented a well-defined group from turn-of-the-century Budapest who became top scientists in Germany of the 1920s, and made decisive contributions to the defense of the Free World from the menace of totalitarian powers during World War II and the Cold War. The book succeeds admirably in presenting their complex characters and their single-minded determination to achieve their stated goals on the background of the turbulent twentieth century.
   
   This is a book that was hard to put down. I have also returned to it from time to time.



3. As the daughter of the book's author, I bring an unusual perspective to this piece, one that will give you some background on how this book came about and why you will be in for a treat when reading it.
   
   My father knew two of the five Martians discussed in this volume (Wigner and Teller) and had expressed a great interest in the work and lives of all five (Szilard, von Neumann, von Karman in addition to the above two) throughout his life. Curiously, however, despite having written numerous books about scientists, he never intended to write a book about these five until Oxford University Press approached him about it. When he finally took up this project, he threw himself into it with zest. When the book was near completion, he met with almost all of the surviving children of the Martians, not to change anything but to get an additional impression of their personalities. A byproduct of the book was a play he wrote about Teller, which surprised even me despite being used to his occasional unusual ideas.
   
   Looking back, the Martians were always on my father's mind, and he cherished his long-lasting personal acquaintance with Eugene P. Wigner. (Even as a child, I remember seeing the picture of the two of them taken upon their encounter at the University of Texas at Austin in 1969.) The family legend had it that we might be distant relatives, but there was never any hard evidence for that. My father started correspondence with Wigner when he was still a student, well before I was born. Actually, Wigner wrote him first after my father had published an article in a Hungarian literary magazine soon after Wigner's Nobel Prize. My father's acquaintance with Teller came much later, when he and my mother visited the Tellers in their home in Stanford in 1996.
   
   Having read The Martians of Science, I feel as if I had become personally acquainted with all five of the people discussed in the volume. It is fascinating to see that such incredible people emerge from just one country to contribute so much to science and to the defense of the United States. It is sad that they were forced out of Hungary, where even today - while their achievements are being recognized - the reasons of their departures are often covered up. This book puts these things into proper perspective.
   
   For an engaging, detailed, and passionate account of the lives of five incredibly important figures (regarding both science and history), I highly recommend this book.



4. The above for me was the trust of the book with the historical perspective of early 1900 thru early 1980. As we start, we see what a great education can do as the five (5) did receive early intensive training in their outstanding "gymnasiums" of Hungary. Even though the education was so very good and produced many great students, these five still stood out to the point as if they were from Mars as the title depicts. As their academic reputations started to grow and the difficulties of the 1st war, they all had some experience of working or immigrating away from Hungary. As the 2nd war approached, all could see the writing on the wall and it was easier to immigrate a second time of which the US was the lucky recipient.
   
   Upon arrival to the US, it did not take too long as they started to display their political influence since they saw or knew what was going on in Europe and that war was coming and felt that the US needed to wake up and be prepared. This persistance took time but paid off as all were involved in some way with the development of the 1st atomic bomb both technically and politically. This continued on for some time for all of their collective careers, as after WWII, the cold war commenced and new problems were present with the atomic age upon us.
   
   The interactions between each of the Martians and between the people they met makes for some interesting side points which makes for some very good historical and political persectives if your interested in any of the above.



5. "The Martians of Science: Five Physicists Who Changed the Twentieth Century", by Istavan Hargittai, Oxford Univ. Press, NY 2006. ISBN 13 978-0-19-517845-6. HC 314/240 pages includes Preface, Contents, Intro., Appendix 12 pgs., Notes 36 pgs., Biblio. 6 pgs., Chronologies 7 pgs., & Index 12 pgs. 9.5" x 6.5"
   
   A cleverly devised treatise details five of the Worlds' most notable theoretical physicists - all began as Jewish Hungarian citizens of Budapest who, in time, migrated to the U.S., toiled collectively and separately to develop strategic defense systems including the atomic & hydrogen bombs, computers, modernized Airforce, and establishing or working at the AEC, NASA, JPL, Manhattan Project, Livermore, Los Alamos, Oak Ridge, etc.
   
   Convenient attribute of this writing is its apportionment into six chapters to reveal their progressive transition from early childhood into figures of greatness and thence onto their waning years. It reflects their family influences, societal environs, politico-economic conditions, scholastic opportunities, and acceptance into American cultural institutions as Princeton, Harvard, Berkeley, Caltech and the U.S. military.
   
   The plethora of B & W photographs contributes enormously to the book's value as does appendix of "Sampler of Quotable Martians". Perhaps most importantly are descriptors of personal interactions amongst the Martians themselves. This book embraces exciting history, racism, psychological ploys of embattled nations & bureaucracies, and the search for peace amidst glorious and sometimes inglorious purlieus. That the author is an acclaimed writer, recognized scientist, Professor of chemistry, authored several dozen books and is personally acquainted with and interviewed several of the 'Martians' is a plus. Its a good read and the price is right.

No comments about Surviving the Holocaust: The Kovno Ghetto Diary.

No comments about One Who Came Back: The Diary of a Jewish Survivor.