Book Description

She was a young German Jew.

He was an ardent member of the Hitler Youth.

This is the story of their parallel journey through World War II.

Helen Waterford and Alfons Heck were born just a few miles from each other in the German Rhineland. But their lives took radically different courses: Helen's to the Auschwitz extermination camp; Alfons to a high rank in the Hitler Youth.

While Helen was hiding in Amsterdam, Alfons was a fanatic believer in Hitler's "master race." While she was crammed in a cattle car bound for the death camp Auschwitz, he was a teenage commander of frontline troops, ready to fight and die for the glory of Hitler and the Fatherland. This book tells both of their stories, side-by-side, in an overwhelming account of the nightmare that was WWII. The riveting stories of these two remarkable people must stand as a powerful lesson to us all. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Great for youth to read
This book is geared for youth, and I think it's okay for kids from age 10 on up. Older teenagers and adults should be sure to check out Heck's other two books, "Child of Hitler: Germany in the Days When God Wore a Swastika," and "The Burden of Hitler's Legacy." All three books contain good stuff that is left out of the other two books - for example, Parallel Journeys contains the Jewish perspective of Ms. Waterford, and is written for youthful readers; Child of Hitler focuses on the events prior to and during the war; and The Burden of Hitler's Legacy provides a lot more detail about the events leading up to the end of the war, and the events after the war. I strongly recommend all three books, and promise you that you will not come away with the feeling that you have read the same story three times.

Parallel Journeys
This book is about two people living in two very different worlds. One is a Jew who gets sent to a concentration camp and the other is a member of the Hitler Youth. One strong point was how the author put the book together, on a timeline of events. You get to see both sides of the story. It got me hooked because I was waiting to see what happened to them. I thought this was a very good book to read, especially if you want to teach kids about the Holocaust.

Unbelivable!
This is probably the best Holocasut book I have ever read, which is a real honor considering how many I have read. I cannot belive the truth of this book and how you are afraid to end it because you will loose a friend. I was impressed how each story told was backed up by facts and took you through the entire ordeal from childhood to present. In the book it tells the story of a woman who is a Holocaust survivor and a man who is in the Hitler Youth and becomes a pilot for the Nazis. It is the real-deal when it comes to Holocaust literature and I reccomend it it you are new to this area, and I reccomend it if you have been at it for years!

One of the best Holocaust books I've ever read!
I thought that Parallel Journeys was an amazing and informational books, and I thought that it was the best Holocaust book that I have ever read. (And that it is a lot of books) And why, people ask, do I like Parallel Journeys so much? It is because it gives both sides of the Holocaust: one of a Nazi and the other of a German Jew. It was amazing, and I learned quite a bit for it. And the way it was written: with one chapter of the Nazi's story and the next of the Jew and so on, was amazing. Both stories facinated me, and I will never forget the huge amount of information that I learned from it.

Parallel Journeys
This book was very enlightening because it shows the view of a woman (Jew) Helen Waterford and a man (Hitler Youth) Alfons Heck. ... Read more

Book Description

The first social history of American Jewish women over the last four centuries--the story of how this vital community forged new ways of being Jewish and profound ideas of what it means to be a woman.

From salons in Federal Philadelphia to Frontier homesteads to settlement houses in city slums to 1970s consciousness-raising sessions, American Jewish women have brought a distinctive sense of self and community to bear on the economic, social, and family life around them. Hasia R. Diner and Beryl Lieff Benderly draw upon long-neglected public records, private diaries, memoirs and letters to overturn the widespread notion that Jewish life began at Ellis Island and happened only in New York. They offer a complex portrait of flesh-and-blood characters such as Emma Lazarus, Mrs. Wyatt Earp, Ethel Rosenberg, Betty Friedan, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The result is a comprehensive account of how America transformed generations of Jewish women--and how these women transformed America. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A beautiful, fascinating, thrilling book
I loved this book! Every Jewish woman (and man) and everyone interested in Jewish life in America should read it. It gives a view of American and Jewish history I had never seen before, and it is beautifully written. It is full of moving stories of real women working to build America at every period of history. I had never understood how important women have been in creating the American Jewish community. Just wonderful! ... Read more

Book Description

In the bestselling tradition of Running with Scissors and A Girl Named Zippy, Jennifer Traig tells an unforgettable story of youthful obsession.

When her father found the washing machine crammed with everything from her sneakers to her barrettes, 12-year-old Jennifer Traig had a simple explanation: theyd been tainted by the pork fumes emanating from the kitchen and had to be cleansed. The same fumes compelled Jennifer to meticulously wash her hands for 30 minutes before dinner: All scrubbed in for your big casserolectomy, Dr. Traig? her mother asked. It wasnt long before her familys exasperation made Jennifer realize that her behavior had gone beyond fastidious--in her own eyes, shed gone from quirky girl to raving lunatic.

Jennifers childhood mania was the result of her undiagnosed Obsessive Compulsive Disorder joining forces with her Hebrew studies. While preparing for her bat mitzvah, she was introduced to an entire set of arcane laws and quickly made it her mission to follow them perfectly. Her parents nipped her religious obsession in the bud early on, but as her teen years went by, her natural tendency toward the extreme led her down different paths of adolescent agony and mortification.

Years later, Jennifer remembers these scenes with candor and humor. What emerges is a portrait of a well-meaning girl and her good-natured parents, and a very funny, very sharp look back at growing up.

Books like A Girl Named Zippy, Running with Scissors, and Why Im Like This prove that funny books about extraordinary childhoods can find massive audiences. ... Read more

Book Description

In 1939, Irenka Licht had just turned three when Germany invaded Poland. Her father, a respected local physician, tapped into a large network of friends who were willing to hide and protect his Jewish family. Irenka was sent to live separate from her family and spent six years hiding in cellars, attics, and a convent. She continually assumed false identities and was allowed to visit her family only occasionally-and under a heavy cloak of secrecy.

In 1946, when Irenka entered the United States, her name was changed to "Theresa." This is her memoir of those years. She recognizes, and pays tribute to, those who made sacrifices and ignored the danger of helping her and her family during those terror-filled years, especially Marysia Niemiec, who went to extreme lengths to assist young Irenka. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

A powerful account of WWII from a child's perspective
Most of us have read other stories of Jewish survivors of WWII; yet young Tereska's account stands out. The author has skillfully combined the small details of a child's life - as a child will mercifully still be a child, no matter how horrific the circumstances - with an account of the war's progression in Poland. Definitely worth reading.

Converting Pain into Compassion
I most admire individuals who have gone through great struggles in their lives and convert their pain into compassion and selfless service to humanity.As a specialist in childhood regression I have learned that it is not what happened to us that determines our character -- it is what we do with those experiences.Having close relatives whose experiences in the war hauntingly parallel those of Dr. Cahn-Tober's, I have experienced firsthand how such a harrowing childhood can effect one's ability to cope as an adult.Teresa has made different choices.She deeply understands children and their emotional wounds and has devoted much of her professional life to the path of healing.I felt grateful and validated by her understanding the emotional baggage that comes with being the "child of survivors."This book was not only personally meaningful to me, it was also extremely well-written and an engrossing read.The author has a gift for storytelling and I hope that she will continue to write.

hide and seek...a great literary find!
This book begins with one of the best introductions I've seen in a long time. Here, in this short but beautifully written intro, Tober sets the tone for the retelling of her life story which resonates strength, humor, hope and love, all while giving the reader a personal inside view of living through the Holocaust. Educational without being dry or dark, hide and seek givesshining examples of love and humanity which cross over ethnic and religoius bounaries during a time of war and hate. During the book the reader is never burdened with an author's feelings of victimization, but instead inspired by the loving memories of a talented writer. Highly recommended for adults of every age, race or religion.

Hide and Seek:a wartime childhood
A compelling account of a child's experience in wartime Poland during World War II told convincingly from a child's pont of view.There is tension and adventure in her story of assuming multiple identities with a Catholic family who protects her as she and her own family hide from Nazis during a bewildering time of anti-semitism. I felt her confusion, her anxiety and her unfailing sense of humor and adventure on every page. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (22)

WWII as seen through the eyes of a child.
Though this story is told as Marion saw it as a young child, it nevertheless remains a powerful and moving documentary of the most devastating war our planet has ever known.

This book is also a very good WWII primer. It would be required reading for a class entitled "WWII 101".

Marion Blumenthal spent her early childhood in Hoya, Germany with her brother and parents. They were a happy, prosperous Jewish family who owned a successful shoe retail business. But Marion's safe, secure world was shattered by the rise of the Third Reich in Germany. The Nazis, the dominant political party of the Third Reich, implemented their radical racial attacks against Jews, Gypsies, Slavics, Homosexuals, Communists, and whomever else was seen as a threat to Aryan purity. This meant the end of life as Marion knew it. Each passing day was a struggle to stay alive and out of the Nazis' clutches.

Despite their best efforts, the Blumenthal family fell prey to the Nazis. They eventually landed in Westerbork, a camp from which the prisoners where shipped to their deaths in places such as Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. The Blumenthals were transferred to Belsen, and despite their bleak future, Marion clung tenaciously to the hope that better times would come for her and her family. To bolster her and their spirits, she set about collecting four perfectly-shaped pebbles from the grounds of the camp. This was her metaphor for her family which, hopefully, would remain as one till the end of the war.

As the war dwindled to a close and Germany suffered one defeat after another, camp prisoners were shuttled along the remains of the Germain railways as the Nazis tried to desperately conceal the evils they had commited in the abandoned camps. Just when it seemed the war would drag on forever, Marion, her family, and their fellow prisoners were intercepted and liberated by Russian troops.

A beautiful story of inspiration, courage, and keeping a positive attitude even in the most dire of circumstances.

Its a great story of a family's courage during the Holocaust
I am in 6th grade and 11 years old. I love holocaust stories better than anything and this is definitely a five star book! I have read this book and it is fabulous. Marion and her family show great courage as they fight the battle of antisemitism. I love this book and I want Marion Blumenthal to know that it has touched me very much. It was so stirring that I couldn't put it down. If you liked this book, you should read Never to be Forgotten by Beatrice Muchman. (You can order it here on Amazon.) Marion, her mother, brother and father are wonderful testimonies of strength and courage during WWII. Anyone else who has a story like this should tell it. There are to many people out there who love these stories alot, I'm one of them. Thankyou for sharing your story with us Mrs. Blumenthal!!! It is fantastic!

Moving story from a child's point of view
"Four Perfect Pebbles" by Lila Perl and Marion Blumenthal Lazan, tells the story of young Marion's life in Hoya Germany during the rise of the Nazis. The story goes from Holland to Bergan-Belsen where the Blumenthal family ends up. And then after the war in the United States.
While this is book for the younger reader, this is a book that can be enjoyed by anyone at any age. Truly this book should not be missed.

A Must-Read
FOUR PERFECT PEBBLES is just one of thousands of such stories that mandate telling and retelling. Simply and beautifully, Perl relates one little girl's mode of survival through one of history's most heinous periods. As the author of another Holocaust book, FAR ABOVE RUBIES by Cynthia Polansky, I read everything I can get my hands on pertaining to the Holocaust. This one is a gem that must not be overlooked.

Mary Cooke and Kate Robinson's review
Brief summary and Review:

Four Perfect Pebbles: A Holocaust Story is a wonderful book of how a family stays together through thick and thin. The story is about one Jewish family's struggle for survival during the Nazi occupation of Europe. The family includes Ruth Blumenthal, the mother, Walter Blumenthal, the father, Marion Blumenthal, the daughter, and Albert Blumenthal, the son. The Blumenthals lived in concentration camps for six years which included Westerbork in Holland and the notorious concentration camp of Bergen-Belson in Germany. Conditions in these camps were so terrible that nearly half the camps population died of disease, starvation, exposure, exhaustion, or brutal beatings. The book received its name from young Marion's search to find four perfect pebbles of almost the same size. If Marion could manage to find these four pebbles, she felt that it meant her family would remain whole and be strong enough to survive the Nazi reign. This game kept young Marion's mind on things other than dead bodies lying around, the rumbles of her starving tummy, and the want for her family and life to go back to normal. This is a great story about the importance of family and diversity. I would encourage everyone to take this book home with them today and experience the true account of one family's struggle through the Holocaust. ... Read more

Book Description

Spy, businessman, bon vivant, Nazi Party member, Righteous Gentile. This was Oskar Schindler, the controversial man who saved eleven hundred Jews during the Holocaust but struggled afterwards to rebuild his life and gain international recognition for his wartime deeds. David Crowe examines every phase of Schindler's life in this landmark biography, presenting a savior of mythic proportions who was also an opportunist and spy who helped Nazi Germany conquer Poland.

Schindler is best known for saving over a thousand Jews by putting them on the famed "Schindler's List" and then transferring them to his factory in today's Czech Republic. In reality, Schindler played only a minor role in the creation of the list through no fault of his own. Plagued by local efforts to stop the movement of Jewish workers from his factory in Krak--w to his new one in BrŸnnlitz, and his arrest by the SS who were investigating corruption charges against the infamous Amon Gšth, Schindler had little say or control over his famous "List." The tale of how the "List" was really prepared is one of the most intriguing parts of the Schindler story that Crowe tells here for the first time.

Forced into exile after the war, success continually eluded Schindler and he died in very poor health in 1974. He remained a controversial figure, even in death, particularly after Emilie Schindler, his wife of forty-six years, began to criticize her husband after the appearance of Steven Spielberg's film in 1993.

In Oskar Schindler, Crowe steps beyond the mythology that has grown up around the story of Oskar Schindler and looks at the life and work of this man whom one prominent Schindler Jew described as "an extraordinary man in extraordinary times." ... Read more

Book Description

Jewish teenagers David, Yitzhak, Moshe, Eva, and Anne all kept diaries and were all killed in Hitler's death camps. These are their stories, in their own words. Author Jacob Boas is a Holocaust survivor who was born in the same camp to which Anne Frank was sent. Includes a photo insert. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Good Source of Information on the Holocaust
Have you ever wondered what life for Jewish teens was like during the Holocaust? David, Yitzhak, Moshe, Eva, and Anne were five Jewish teens who lived and died during the Holocaust. Each of their lives and deaths are captured in this book, which uses factual information and chosen portions of their diary entries to compare their experiences. Boas efficiently chooses information to show what was happening at different times and places. His choice of entries, like Anne writing "...in spite of everything I still think people are really good at heart," supports the main theme that it is in the human nature to never give up hope. This book is very informational and eye opening, although it does not develop the five individual stories, which would make it more interesting and understandable. This book is good for anyone, but young adult readers will probably get the most out of it beacuse the main characters are young adults. This book made me want to learn more and gave me a greater understanding of the Holocaust.

we are witnesses
We are witnesses by Jacob Boas, is a GREAT book to read it gives you different views of teenagers that went through diffuculty during the holocaust. As you know, the person who was in charge of the holocaust was Hitler. All the teeangers talked about hope they always had the hope to live and to have their own family. They never talked about hate, they never said they hate hitler the only thing that they said was that he was responsible for what was happening. This was shocking to me because I would hate the person who had my family killed. Wouldn't you?

Ok I guess
This book was OK. I had to read it for school but I agree that it had way too many narrations in it and the only thing that captured the teens' feelings and thoughts were the scant entries from their diaries. This book didn't move me at all. If the author had put more of the kids' entries in it, it might be more effective.

Touching, sad, but moving and worth the read
Although many people think that reading such books as these, the accounts of teenagers who died while under the Nazi regime, is depressing...people should tell them, it should be. This book was very good, and I read it a few years ago during a class that I had to take. Everyone had read the Diary of Anne Frank, but although this includes excerpts of hers, I was interested to know what others thought. Whether or not they were as optimistic as she was. If you are looking for a read that will give you different perspectives on how teenagers thought about the Holocaust, this is the book for you.

We Are Witnesses
We Are Witnesses: Five Teenagers Who Died In The Holocaust is written by Jacob Boas. We are witnesses is a book of diaries of five jewish teenagers. The five diaries belong to David Rubinowicz, Yitzhak Rudashevski, Moshe Flinker, Eva Heyman, and Anne Frank. The book tells you what the teenagers thought and felt. The book takes you through the life of the teenagers during the Holocaust. All the teens were waiting for liberation from differnt country. Yitzhak was waiting for liberation from the Russian army and Anne was waiting for the D-Day team. Some of the teens had some one special who they cared about Moshe with his secret girl and Anne with Peter. Liberation never came for any of the teens. The liberation was only days after there death. The teens all died in a concetration camp, some were exterminated, others died of sickness or hunger. This book didn't really reach me like I thought that it would. I think there was to much narriation and not enough from the veiw of the teens. Over all it was a so so book. ... Read more

Book Description

Muller is a source-one of the few prisoners who saw the Jewish people die and lived to tell about it. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Holocaust Textbook
Filip Muller's Eyewitness Auschwitz serves as a textbook for those interested (and willing) to examine the mass murder of Jews, Gypsies and political prisoners under the Third Reich. Muller claims to have witnessed the process from it birth in Auschwitz to its death in Birkenau shortly before the camp's liberation; accordingly, he spells out the details in a disturbing, meticulous fashion. The reader finds him/herself escorted through the notorious Block 11, its courtyard, the crematoria and the open burning pits. Muller recounts everything from the logistics of the ovens to the subterfuge the SS employed to lure prisoners into the gas chambers. Instances of revolt and insight into the plans and psychology of the camp resistance are also tackled. Some readers might find the account harrowing in its attention to grisly detail and facts; at times the book reads like a news story. Hence Muller's testimony is, perhaps, best read as a companion to other accounts that delve more deeply into the survivor's mind (such as the works of Tadeusz Borowski or Primo Levi). Further, Muller writes almost exclusively as a member of the Sonderkommando--those charged with the upkeep of the crematoria. This focus comes at the expense of attention to other areas of the camp that a holocaust scholar should explore.

A Good first read on the Holocaust.
I first read this book in the spring of 1982 when I was 16. I was overwhelmed by the content and the author's description of the gas chambers at Auswitz, as well as the fine detail of the burning pits that were constructed to minimize fuel consumption as well as maximize the diposal of murdered persons. Later when I was 30 I read it again and wept for mr Muller and all those who did suffer so within the dark machinery of the SS. What I found fascinating was that the author became numb to the Horrors around him with the passage of time. This too happened to me while I read his words. He portrayed what he saw in a very vivid manner. I recommend this personal narrative very highly to those who wish to get a first hand look into the Holocaust.

A memoir is a memoir......
[...] This book is an essential eyewitness view of life as a sonderkommando, and how the Nazi establishment in Auschwitz killed three and & half million people, all in a historically unprecidented short period of time. Muller describes the "shower" facade, and the mechanics of destroying that many bodies.

David Irving, the notorious holocaust denier, contends that the Nazis could not have killed eleven million, simply because of the amount of coke/charcoal needed to burn that many bodies. How did that happen in Auschwitz? Muller describes how Master Sergeant Otto Moll (who was in charge of the gas chambers) had the prisoners build large pits to burn an anticipated influx of Hungarians. These pits included brick "channels," which funneled the melted body fat from the fire into large cauldrens. The melted fat was then dumped back on top of the bodies, to encourage the fire & save on coal, fuel oil, and fire wood.

There are dozens--if not hundreds--of books about Auschwitz. Many are better written than "Eyewitness." Just off the top of my head, Borowski's collection of short stories "This Way for the Gas, Ladies & Gentlemen," Wiesel's "Night," Levi's "Survival"--they have better writing. But none of those books grasp the enormity of the sonderkommando experience, because none of those three were in the sonderkommandos like Muller. Similarly, Steiner's "Treblinka" is a more complete picture of the origin and evolution of the gas chambers. But Muller writes what he saw--what he lived--in a way that is unbearably moving. If you want to get a picture of Auschwitz, read this book--and Sara Nomberg-Przuytyk's "Auschwitz: True Tales from a Grotesque Land."

All that said--let me get down from my high horse. Simply because a book is a holocaust memoir does not automatically make the book worth reading. For example, I found Frister's "The Cap: The Price of a Life" to be completely unreadable. I enjoyed it, but many people will also not care for Glazar's "Trap with a Green Fence: Survival in Treblinka." In fact (taking a deep breath & cringing a little) aside from "Night," I am not wild about Wiesel. I think for historical analysis, Simon Wiesenthal is more informative, and from a moral philosophy perspective, nothing Wiesel wrote can touch Primo Levi's "The Drowned & the Saved."

This is a long way of my saying that while this book is not Shakespeare in its language, it is very readable--and very moving. This book is an important part of the history of the 20th century, and not one that can be replaced....even by a book as good as "Survival in Auschwitz."

Read a better written memoir...
While Muller's account is an emotional portrayal of the horrors of Auschwitz, his excessive use of adjectives and repetitive narration makes his account somewhat difficult to get through. He talks us through many of the horrid details of the selections and gassings, but his redundancy ends up slightly immuning you to the plight of the victims. I liken this immunity to that which much of the world has acquired toward violence. The one excellent aspect of this book is the inside look into the actions of the Sonderkammando squad and the events of the uprising that led to the burning of crematiorium 4.

A much better written memoir is Primo Levi's "Survival in Auschwitz," a truly chilling account of the Auschwitz experience. Every word carries a weight that drives home the inhumanity of the concentration/death camps without overdoing it.

There's One Born Every Minute . . .
First, print out the previous comment by the reviewer from Berlin and buy the book. When you receive the book, read the review and then read the first chapter, then read the review again and read the second chapter, etc. What a chilling contrast. ... Read more

Book Description

From Johannesburg to Jerusalem: A moving memoir and a controversial examination of a nation's conscience.

Hirsh Goodman's childhood in South Africa was white-and Jewish-in ways he did not initially appreciate. While the local culture brutally suppressed the black population, Hirsh and his friends marched off to Zionist Socialist meetings, full of rhetoric about equality, justice, and democracy-all within the context of Israel. By his mid-teens, Goodman could no longer ignore South Africa's anti-Semitism and racism. He soon left for Israel, never expecting that the promised land of his dreams would also prove to be riven by ethnic and religious conflict. It was after marching victoriously through the Sinai as a paratrooper in the Six-Day War that Goodman heard David Ben-Gurion on the radio warning that Israel must rid itself of its Arab territories lest it "become an Apartheid state," a warning that had a very specific meaning to the young soldier. Then, as a journalist, Goodman witnessed first-hand all of Israel's subsequent troubles, from frontlines, to occupied zones, to the summits that attempted to find even a temporary peace.Let Me Create a Paradise is a wise, warm, and wry memoir. It is one man's life story and the story of two divided nations in two different eras; the tragedies in their histories, and the hope that still exists for both of them. ... Read more

Reviews (27)

New insights into the Nazi hierarchy
In his biography of Joseph Goebbels David Irving has provided some masterful and provocative insights into the inner workings of the Nazi hierarchy. However, the book is sometimes confusingly organized and Irving's use of the present tense when describing past events can be irritating and seem a bit amaturish in so seasoned a writer.

With these caveats in mind, this is still an important book and necessary reading for any student of World War II. Mr. Irving is neither a Holocaust denier nor a proponent of the Nazis or their ideology; he simply has a different point of view. It's amazing how vociferous and censorious the academic history establishment can become when their 'established' truths are challenged; and in this book, Mr. Irving has done just that.

A Refreshing Look At European Turmoil Around WWII
This is fascinating treatise! It is the first book by David Irving I have read, but there will certainly be others. Although the dust jacket pays the obligatory homage to Goebbels' "evil genius" and the "holocaust," the book itself is a highly refreshing and readable account. Irving is the first to actually use Goebbels' personal diaries, and what emerges is a picture of a quite understandable, albeit rather sad individual. Of far more interest to me personally, is the study of others in the Third Reich such as Hitler, Strasser, Streicher, and others as seen THROUGH GOEBBELS' EYES! Irving is a true objective historian who writes a well-researched and documented book without feeling he must dish up the sort of pap usually provided by the dominant media to those interested in this period of history in Europe.

Europe's Machiavelli
It's amusing in the extreme to see so many people froth at the mouth over David Irving. If he is "so discredited," why is he thrown such a fit about? The fact of the matter is that history should never be written about until fifty years after the occurences in question.

Remember, Watergate was first derided as lunatic conspiracy theory, and one that eventually toppled Richard M. Nixon...

Here, Irving neither "apologizes" for Nazi Germany or its architects, nor does he simply goose-step in unison with the current gospel according to the cereal box. What he has done was to obtain 1,200 plates of glass upon which were written heretofore unavailable Goebbels diaries entries, that were "missing" when Louis Lochner released his work of Goebbels' diaries circa 1943-1945, and utilize them to take the reader into the mind of the man who was Hitler's "false prophet."

A brilliant portrait of a perverse, twisted and sad soul that impacted the world in an (ultimately) destructive fashion.

I suggest you read, and judge for yourself.

I suggest you read, and decide for yourself.

its fiction, not history
Unfortunately, this interesting bit of history relies on fictional details to support its larger claims. There is documentation about the falsities in this volume that came to light at David Irvings libel trial in London that removes any value to this book other than the interesting and fascinating way that Mr. Irving is able to weave his stories. If you like other WWII fiction you might enjoy this. If you are looking for REAL history then you are better off reading Goebbels diary entries in their original German than relying on David Irvings misguided attempt to channel the Third Reichs thinkers in this book.

Covering Up For Hitler
David Irving's "biography" of Goebbels is a cover up which is full of distortions. Some of the more serious distortions were the subject of the civil trial in London where Irving attempted to have Deborah Lipstadt's book, "Denying the Holocaust", banned in England. Professor Richard Evans, a real historian of the Third Reich, was able to show as an expert witness for Lipstadt's defense that Irving had distorted a number of crucial points in this "biography" of Goebbels.

Two of the crucial distortions Evans showed were (1) Irving's claim that in 1932 31,000 Jews were guilty of insurance fraud in Germany when the total number of all such frauds, Jewish and non - Jewish, was 74 and (2) Irving's citing a document which he claimed proved that the German authorities attempted to prevent Kristallnacht when the actual document shows the exact opposite - i.e. the authorities were encouraging the destruction. The reader of "Goebbels" is seriously encouraged to read Richard Evans' "Lying About Hitler."

Also, John C. Zimmerman's book "Holocaust Denial: Demographics, Testimonies and Ideologies" has a lengthy chapter on Irving's dishonest methodology which shows the way Irivng manipulates and distorts information. Zimmerman also demonstrates that Irving has distorted key incriminating entries from Goebbels' diary and has deliberately ignored other key entries which prove the existence of the Holocaust. ... Read more

Book Description

On August 2, 1940, as on every other morning for weeks before, a long line of Jewish refugees waited outside the Japanese consulate in Kaunas, Lithuania. Many had already witnessed Nazi atrocities in Poland and other Axis-occupied lands, and they were desperate to escape. To leave Europe they needed foreign transit visas. And at the window, the smiling Japanese consul was issuing them. Before his government closed down the consulate and reassigned him to Berlin, he would issue thousands of such visas.

This is the story of Chiune Sugihara, a diplomat and spy who saved as many as 10,000 Jews from deportation to concentration camps and almost certain death, Because of his extreme modesty, Sugihara's tremendous act of moral courage is only now beginning to become widely known.

Unlike Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat whose government sent him to Hungary with the express purpose of saving Jews, and Oskar Schindler, the German industrialist who at least initially had a vested economic interest in protecting the lives of "his Jews," Sugihara had no apparent reason to perform his acts of rescue. Indeed, he acted in direct violation of official Japanese policy, which directed all government and military personnel to cooperate with the murderous policies of their Nazi allies. Examining Sugihara's education and background -- a background shared with the colonial administrators and military men who committed "the rape of Nanjing" -- author Hillel Levine finds nothing that explains his extraordinary behavior.

Levine's search has taken him from the old Japanese consul building in Kaunas (now Kovno), Lithuania, to the Australian outback; across Japan from the rice fields of Sugihara's native town to the boardrooms of conglomerates where his younger schoolmates still hold power. But the more Levine sought answers to Sugihara's puzzling behavior, the more he encountered questions. Remarkably, Chiune Sugihara was not the only Japanese official to save Jews. Yet none was ever punished for insubordination. Was there a secret Japanese plan to save Jews from Nazi genocide?

Much Holocaust scholarship focuses on the perpetrators of evil, trying to illuminate what drove ordinary men and women to commit horrifying and murderous acts. But perhaps as difficult to understand is the phenomenon of rescue: what inspired courageous individuals to swim against the tide of cruelty and indifference. This sensitive and nuanced biography concludes that there is no link between a person's background and his moral inclinations. Mercy remains a divine mystery despite our human craving to reduce it to behavioristic formulas.

This book does not attempt to explain "man's humanity to man." Instead Levine has woven a fascinating narrative of one man's heroic efforts to save lives, in the midst of so many seeking to destroy them. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

I loved this book
It's a very good bookclub book.

BEST BOOK EVER!
I had heard Joel tell stories before, and when I got this book as a gift, I knew I would love it. I started one night at eleven, thinking I would read a bit and then go to sleep. I finished the book at five a.m. I have read books that I couldn't put down before, but this one practically paralyzed me. I just had to keep going. It is beautifully crafted and well-told. If there is ever a rough spot in your life, this book will get you through it. Heartwrenching and wondefully funny, it is a book I will treasure forever.

A delightful experience
This unassuming little book is packed with bits of wisdom. I loved quotes like: "The Talmud asks, 'Who is rich?' and answers, 'The man who can appreciate what he has'" and "Sometimes you must follow your dreams very far to find that which is closest to your heart."

The story is also funny and heartwrenching and uplifting. Ben Izzy's profound experience is told in a very real, personal way, and as he struggled to understand the loss of everything he valued, I struggled with him.

Do not miss this book...it is a treasure.

Extraordinary Book
EXTRAORDINARY, A ONE-IN-A-MILLION EXCEPTIONAL BOOK, A MUST READ, PACKED WITH WISDOM. You will not want to put this book down. Joel Ben Izzy is a professional storyteller who, because of a mindboggling twist of fate, loses his voice and is no longer able to perform. Months and months pass and there is no sign that his voice will return. How does a person let go and redefine one's hopes and dreams? Ben Izzy utilizes the tales he was once able to tell and applies their lessons to his own life. But perhaps the greatest benefactors of his experience are the readers who take to heart what he learned about the "secret of happiness."

Thoughtful and elegantly crafted
THE BEGGAR KING AND THE SECRET OF HAPPINESS was by far one of the best books I have read in the last five years. Always on the search for that perfect novel that takes the reader through a wide range of real emotions and teaches something wise and profound with out being 'preachy,' Joel ben Izzy's book fit that criteria and so much more. I laughed, cried, sniffled, giggled and smiled my way from opening to final sentence. This would be an excellent gift book this holiday season and a welcome addition to your own personal bookshelf. I know you'll love it. ... Read more

Book Description

In the summer of 1998, Daniel Gordis and his family moved to Israel from Los Angeles. They planned to be there for a year, during which time Daniel would be a Fellow at the Mandel Institute in Jerusalem. This was a euphoric time in Israel. The economy was booming, and peace seemed virtually guaranteed. A few months into their stay, Gordis and his wife decided to remain in Israel permanently, confident that their children would be among the first generation of Israelis to grow up in peace.

Immediately after arriving in Israel, Daniel had started sending out e-mails about his and his family’s life to friends and family abroad. These missives—passionate, thoughtful, beautifully written, and informative—began reaching a much broader readership than he’d ever envisioned, eventually being excerpted in The New York Times Magazine to much acclaim. An edited and finely crafted collection of his original e-mails, If a Place Can Make You Cry is a first-person, immediate account of Israel’s post-Oslo meltdown that
cuts through the rhetoric and stridency of most dispatches from that country or from the international media.

Above all, Gordis tells the story of a family that must cope with the sudden realization that they took their children from a serene and secure neighborhood in Los Angeles to an Israel not at peace but mired in war. This is the chronicle of a loss of innocence—the innocence of Daniel and his wife, and of their children. Ultimately, through Gordis’s eyes, Israel, with all its beauty, madness, violence, and history, comes to life in a way we’ve never quite seen before.

Daniel Gordis captures as no one has the years leading up to what every Israeli dreaded: on April 1, 2002, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared that Israel was at war. After an almost endless cycle of suicide bombings and harsh retaliation, any remaining chance for peace had seemingly died.

If a Place Can Make You Cry is the story of a time in which peace gave way to war, when childhood innocence evaporated in the heat of hatred, when it became difficult even to hope. Like countless other Israeli parents, Gordis and his wife struggled to make their children’s lives manageable and meaningful, despite it all. This is a book about what their children gained, what they lost, and how, in the midst of everything, a whole family learned time and again what really matters. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

For Those Who Have All the Answers
This is a MUST READ for anyone who thinks they have a solution to the problems in the Middle East. Rabbi Gordis doesn't present ideology -- rather, he gives us a dose of reality; of what he and his family face every day, along with constantly questioning the decision they made to remain in Israel. I've read a lot of negative comments regarding "putting his children in harm's way," but he is teaching his children what's to be valued, cherished and fought for -- not land, per se, as some have intimated but, rather, the ideal of one place on this earth that Jews can live -- one day, God willing, in peace. Israel serves its purpose not only as the one place Jews in peril can immigrate to, but as a place of inspiration and dedication. While Israeli and American parents both want the same thing for their children -- they should only be happy, have a successful career, a loving spouse, healthy children and NOT have to face going to war. Israeli parents, however, know there is something more -- that achieving these personal goals should not come at the expense or peril of the country's goals.

In the past, I have had opinions as to what Israel should or shoould not do to make peace, but this book highlights better than anything else what the daunting reality is vis-a-vis a solution. While we may all "pray for the peace in Jerusalem," the reality is that more than prayer is needed, and there may not be A single solution or long-term peace -- at least not without other Arab countries stepping in.

This is an extremely well-written, highly enlightening book, and the next time I hear anyone stating a firm opinion as to what Israel should do, I'm going to recommend they read this before the spout off again!

Profoundly Sad
I started "If A Place Can Make You Cry" expecting what the dust jacket promises -- the story of a family's move from California to Israel, from safety to war, why they did it and how it affected them (particularly the children). What I got instead was something very different, worth reading for the many questions it raises, but profoundly sad and dispiriting -- one man's journey from a religion and culture based on moral values to one based on land and security. As Gordis puts it toward the end of the book, "when you finally understand what is important to you, you have to be willing to fight for it." (266) The land of Israel itself becomes that important to Gordis, important enough that he is willing to stand aside and tolerate the suffering of innocent Palestinians (of which he admits there are many) in order to secure his family's safety. (See pages 186-87 for an explicit admission that he is sacrificing his values for security.) Maybe I would do no better in his place, but it still sad to watch.

Gordis will make you think about other interesting questions -- what does it mean to have a home? Can one live a meaningful Jewish life outside Israel? How does one justify where one lives (or doesn't live)? Gordis is of two minds on many of these questions -- for example, he states several times that he's not suggesting all Jews are morally obligated to move to Israel, but at the same time, he does in fact suggest that meaningful Jewish life is possible only if it is at risk (see, e.g., page 259). Gordis seems to be utterly befuddled by the idea of secular Israelis or secular Jews (for example, at pages 66-67, where he asks "what is the point?" of having this country if it's not religious) -- apparently ignoring the fact that there would be no State of Israel without the secular Zionists. (For an interesting look at combining secular values with the religious and cultural heritage of Judaism, read "From Jerusalem to the Edge of Heaven," by Ari Elon.)

It is not surprising that Gordis fails to offer any solutions to what are obviously very complicated problems. Where it seems to me that the book really fails is in the limited range of viewpoints it presents. Perhaps because the book originated in personal emails to family and friends, it consists almost entirely of Gordis' personal observations and angst, his own questioning of himself, his values and his actions. His wife and children are present only as foils, for Gordis to react to something they've said, done or experienced. I did not come away with any sense of who they are or what any of them really think. Secular, Orthodox and Palestinian viewpoints are barely mentioned (of these, the best represented are the Palestinians, interestingly enough, although mostly to illustrate Israeli failures). At the end, it's hard to say whether you've learned much about the state of Israel today or if you've just learned something about one man's viewpoint. And although that viewpoint develops somewhat over time, the constant hammering away at the same issues becomes tiring by the end by the book (again, if you read one email/chapter every few weeks, it probably wouldn't be nearly so bad).

Despite these significant qualifications, the book is generally well written, a quick read, and I am giving it extra credit for presenting a point of view we seldom get to see and for making me think about the questions he raises.

A Moving, Personal Memoir
This is a moving, compelling and readable book that draws you in from the first page. Gordis is a gifted and sensitive observer whose account of his family's life in Israel is so personal and honest that the reader feels an emotional bond. On every page, you feel his passion, his struggles and his deep knowledge of Israel's history and meaning. More than a book about politics, it is a family story -- about parents and children and how they cope with life in a place that is full of pain and hope, a place where the author finds inspiring, transcendent surprises around every corner.

Gradual dimming of idealism
Old joke, often seen on bumper stickers: "Definition of a conservative? A liberal who's been mugged. " Daniel Gordis would probably still not describe himself as a conservative, but the liberal views he and his family took to Israel when they moved there four years ago have taken a severe beating.

When Rabbi Gordis was offered a year-long fellowship in Jerusalem, the Oslo peace process was offering a vision of peace and prosperity for a country that had seen neither for some time. Inspired by what they saw, the Gordis family cancelled their plans to return to Los Angeles and moved permanently to Israel; a move known to Jews as "making aliyah," or in English, "rising up." Daniel Gordis began to write occasional email essays to family & friends updating them on this new life, and the emails were forwarded to a wide circle. Eventually they were extracted in the New York Times, and now they've been collected (with some new writings as connective tissue) in this remarkable book.

What shines through this book is the gradual dimming of the idealism with which the Gordis family saw their new country. As the peace process collapsed, replaced by a constant undercurrent of shootings, bombings and rocket attacks, Israeli attitudes and opinions moved firmly towards an uncompromising crackdown on Arab terrorism. Former liberals and peace activists found themselves grasping for a framework that could support their principles; but this time partners were hard to find.

The most disturbing part of the book is hearing the effect that it has had on the Gordis children. They went to a country that offered them safety and security, a place where they could walk safely in the streets late at night, but ended up living in a war zone. A comment by his son, quoted on the back cover, illustrates the heartbreaking transition the family has made:

"You know what I think?," he suddenly added. "I think that when grown-ups really love Israel, they're even ready for their children to get killed for it. That's what I think."

Despite the hardship of life in Israel now, the overall tone of the book is positive. The Gordis parents continue the struggle to make life for their children meaningful and nurturing, secure in the belief that the choices they've made for their lives are the correct ones, despite the challenges. ... Read more

Book Description

Edith Hahn was an outspoken young woman in Vienna when the Gestapo forced her into a ghetto and then into a labor camp. When she returned home months later, she knew she would become a hunted woman and went underground. With the help of a Christian friend, she emerged in Munich as Grete Denner. There she met Werner Vetter, a Nazi Party member who fell in love with her. Despite Edith's protests and even her eventual confession that she was Jewish, he married her and kept her identity a secret.

In wrenching detail, Edith recalls a life of constant, almost paralyzing fear. She tells of German officials who casually questioned the lineage of her parents; of how, when giving birth to her daughter, she refused all painkillers, afraid that in an altered state of mind she might reveal something of her past; and of how, after her husband was captured by the Soviet army, she was bombed out of her house and had to hide while drunken Russian soldiers raped women on the street.

Yet despite the risk it posed to her life, Edith created a remarkable record of survival. She saved every document and set of papers issued to her, as well as photographs she managed to take inside labor camps. Now part of the permanent collection at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., these hundreds of documents, several of which are included in this volume, form the fabric of a gripping new chapter in the history of the Holocaust -- complex, troubling, and ultimately triumphant.

Reviews (43)

A STORY OF SURVIVAL DESPITE THE NAZIS...
This is an interesting work of non-fiction that, at times, reads as if it were a novel. Based upon the recollection of a secular Austrian Jew, a young woman named Edith Hahn, the book tells the reader her intriguing story. During the Holocaust, she married a member of the Nazi party whom she had told she was Jewish. He married her and kept her secret. In the waning days of the war, her husband was drafted into the German army and ended up a prisoner of war for a time. Upon his return, he found a crumbling German infra-structure, the Nazis out of favor, and his Jewish wife asserting herself as she really was, a well-educated, independent woman.

This is essentially a book about Ms. Hahn's life just before, during, and just after World War II. It tells the reader about her life in Austria before the Nazis took over. She was a well-educated woman studying to be a lawyer, when the Gestapo put an end to her professional aspirations. She was sent to work at a labor camp and while doing so, her mother was deported to a concentration camp, before they could be re-united. Seeing that the writing was on the wall for the Jews of Austria, she went underground with the help of a Christian friend and fled to Germany. It was while she lived an underground life in Germany under an assumed name, that she met Werner Vetter, a Nazi party member who fell in love with her. Notwithstanding her confession that she was Jewish, he married her and never betrayed her.

She tells a tale of sublimation of self in order to survive the rigors of the policies of Nazi Germany that were imposed upon Austria, her country and a land where anti-Semitism was rife. She tells a tale of sublimation of self in order to survive her marriage to a person whose views were so opposite her own. Her fears of discovery were so acute that during childbirth, she refused to take any pain medication or anesthesia for fear of betraying her own self while under sedation. Her only child, a daughter, Angelika, is believed to be the only child born of a Jewish mother in a Reich hospital in 1944. Though Edith loved her husband, she never felt free to be herself until the war was over. Hers is a story of immobilizing fear and survival.

This is an intriguing perspective on the Holocaust from the voice of one who who was in a singular position during the latter half of the war, as she was a Jew in Germany.

Edith Hahn Beer: War Hero
Throughout time, different cultures and groups of people have had varied ideas on what makes a hero. In Edith Hahn Beer's autobiography, The Nazi Officer's Wife, she tells what it was like to be the wife of a Nazi officer-and a Jewish woman with false identity papers at the same time. Some people have criticized Hahn for the manner in which she survived the Holocaust, by being married to the enemy while other Jews were dying in the Nazi concentration camps. Her inspiring autobiography, definitely worth reading, makes the reader admire in stead of criticize her. It tells the story of a young, afraid, hunted Jew living in Nazi Austria who overcomes adversity to become strong willed and brave, helpful to others, and hard working. These qualities are those of heroes, and are reasons why Edith Hahn Beer should be considered a hero or heroine.
One heroic quality that Edith demonstrates is that of her bravery and strong will. She remained cool when Nazi officers questioned her parent's lineage during her marriage ceremony. This is important because when she filed for her marriage to Werner Vetter, her papers had her registered as Grete Denner, a Christian. If the government had found out about this, the lives of both Edith and Christl Denner (the original owner of the papers) would be in jeopardy. Another brave thing that Edith does is listen to the BBC, and other foreign radio stations. This is a brave thing to do, because "Anybody who [listens to foreign radio stations] will go to Dachau or Buchenwald or Orianenburg or God only knows where." Finally, one major thing Edith does to demonstrate her amazing self control and bravery is to give birth to her daughter without any anesthetic. After working as Reich nurse, she had discovered that people giving birth had said all kinds of things that could get them in trouble with the government. "I began to remember all the patients I had seen who had come out of surgery or had been sedated during childbirth, and who said things that could incriminate them and their loved ones." After she is done, she goes on to say that in all of World War II, giving birth to her daughter was the only part in the war where she wanted to die. Going through this much pain to protect the people you love is quite heroic.
Throughout the course of the book, Edith proves herself to be very concerned about other people. She helps others even when it is potentially dangerous to her own self. In the beginning of the book, she becomes a nanny and tutor to a young woman named Christl Denner. As time goes by, Denner becomes like a little sister to Edith. Edith's mother goes on to say "When [Mr. Denner's] girls needed a substitute mother, someone to listen to them with a caring heart, you were there." The fact that Edith befriends Denner as a youth is crucial. Years later, Denner saves Edith's life. Christian Christl let Edith use her original identity papers, and reapplied for a set for herself. With these Christian papers, Edith could then function as an Aryan woman in Nazi Austria. Edith even helps complete strangers. A Nazi officer knocks on her door and says "... We have reason to believe there is a deserter hiding out in the vacant apartment.... Right above you. He would have been here last night. Did you hear any noise?" Even though she had heard footsteps, shuffling, and a creaking bed among other noises, she lied and said "No, Nothing." This act saved a complete stranger. If the government had found out that she lied about this, her whole cover as an Aryan housewife could have been blown. Finally, post war, Edith works shortly as a judge. People come to her requesting emigration papers, with custody battles, and with cases involving impoverished Russian children. She takes all these cases saying "Finally it was my turn to save someone's life." At the end of World War II, non-Aryan judges with proper credentials were in high demand. These people that Edith Hahn was among helped to restore order to the chaos that post-war Europe had become.
Finally, one last heroic quality found to be true to Edith Hahn Beer is that of her hard work and determination. Throughout the course of the war, she is forced to work in at least 2 places: an asparagus plantation in Osterburg, and a factory in Aschersleben. At the asparagus plantation, her fingers "ached as though they were broken" and her back "would not straighten," yet she was still considered one of the plantation's best working. Her hard work was important here, because it showed her inner drive. Even though this was something she wasn't exactly thrilled to be doing, she was still doing her best at it. Life was similar at the factory in Aschersleben. There, she helped cut boxes. Her planning and pacing resulted in having her quota raised twice. A good friend, Mina, went on to say "You are clearly one of 'Bestehorn's best'!" Hard work was important here for the same reasons that it was in Osterburg. As long as Edith was working for the government, she and her family were safe and in the Reich. Edith lastly proves her inner drive and hard work by crepe making. With the end of the war, Bradenburg (the city in which she lived) fell to the Russians. She evacuated with her young, measles stricken daughter, to a nearby city. There, she lived briefly with a farming family and soldiers, all going hungry. She told everyone to go to nearby farmers and bring back milk, eggs, jam, bread, and flour for Crepes. "All day long, as the men streamed into the little house, I made hundreds of delicate Viennese crepes for the Wehrmacht [German for armed forces] and the woman and her daughter served them." This gesture not only represented her willingness to help others, but her hard work helped to feed these starving German soldiers. Since this occurred post-war, this also represents her making amends with the German armed forces, once considered enemies. At the end of the war, she saw that many of them were just tired, beaten down, hungry men and this gesture of her hard work shows that.
There are many different kinds of heroes. There are political heroes, battle heroes, heroes who are innovators. Edith Hahn was none of the above. What made Edith Hahn Beer a hero was not one single deed, or necessarily one big achievement. Her persona, willingness to help others, bravery in hard times and her hard work left footprints in the hearts of those around her, and continues to touch those who read her autobiography. That is what makes Edith Hahn Beer a hero.

Remarkable! Historcal! Informative!
How amazing, and refreshing to read about someone who had this unmistakable courage to lived among her enemies. We can only imagine how very scary her life must have been and yet she lived to tell us her story. I'm so proud of Edith, and I'm proud to have read about her story of survival!
I have to disagree with:
DULL Self-absorbed Tale, October 10, 2003
Reviewer: Sharyn Gantt from Accokeek, MD USA
Seems more fiction than fact to me; at most this reads like an embellished version of something resembling the truth.

Seems to me we shouldn't be so quick to pass judgement on a life we never lived, true I too was not there but who am I to not trust this woman's experience. People like the above re-viewer have no place in my life.

Amazing True Story!
This book is an amazing, true story about a courageous lady! I couldn't put the book down once I started reading!

DULL Self-absorbed Tale
Seems more fiction than fact to me; at most this reads like an embellished version of something resembling the truth. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Loved it.
I really enjoyed this book! It is an intriguing story and vivid depiction of a place that no longer exists except in memory.

Overall it was highly readable, with a minor exception being that too many anecdotes took place in footnotes, which perhaps could have been included in the body of the text. There is a small amount of repetition; this is much more than made up for by the wealth of interesting details and insights about life in that town, how it changed over time, and then when invaded.

I think this book would be highly interesting to the general public and especially those who want to know more about: life in towns that were later destroyed by the Nazi's; life in provincial Polish towns/or Galicia before WWII; issues of rememberance and WWII; relations between peasants, Jews, Othodox, ultra-Orthodox, Zionists, and Christians/Catholics, Poles, Germans.

If you have any relatives that lived in or near Kolbuszowa, than it is an absolute, must-buy. I found it particularly intriguing and a valuable resource regarding family history and issues of memory of WWII, because I had relatives who died in that town and some who were able to leave before its occupation. Feel free to email me if you have questions. ... Read more

Book Description

"HANNELORE, YOUR PAPA IS DEAD."

In the spring of 1942 Hannelore received a letter from Mama at her school in Berlin, Germany--Papa had been arrested and taken to a concentration camp. Six weeks later he was sent home; ashes in an urn.

Soon another letter arrived. "The Gestapo has notified your brothers and me that we are to be deported to the East--whatever that means." Hannelore knew: labor camps, starvation, beatings...How could Mama and her two younger brothers bear that? She made a decision: She would go home and be deported with her family. Despite the horrors she faced in eight labor and concentration camps, Hannelore met and fell in love with a Polish POW named Dick Hillman.

Oskar Schindler was their one hope to survive. Schindler had a plan to take eleven hundred Jews to the safety of his new factory in Czechoslovakia. Incredibly both she and Dick were added to his list. But survival was not that simple. Weeks later Hannelore found herself, alone, outside the gates of Auschwitz, pushed toward the smoking crematoria.

I Will Plant You a Lilac Tree is the remarkable true story of one young woman's nightmarish coming-of-age. But it is also a story about the surprising possibilities for hope and love in one of history's most brutal times.

... Read more

Book Description

The classic, inspiring memoir of a political dissident-a man whose fierce spirit and drive for freedom triumphed over imprisonment, solitary confinement, the Soviet Union, and Communism itself. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

ONE MAN AGAINST THE KGB
This book lends incredible insight into the life of a Russian Refusenik under the oppressive Soviet system. Sharansky's mental tricks that sustained him during his years of horrific incarceration as well as his genius and amazing memory impressed the hell out of me.

Learning how one man could take on the KGB and outsmart, outwill, and outlast them is a truly uplifting experience.

Spirit Triumphant
Sharansky's autobiography is one of the most compelling works of literature that I have read. This is literature - it made me pause to think and reflect on what he said frequently, and my copy is well-thumbed. The story is of a spiritual journey, as the young Sharansky's awareness of his Jewishness de-Sovietizes him and leads him into the Gulag - willingly, as he forknew the risks of protesting Soviet emmigration policy. His voluntary civil disobedience seperated him from his bride, Avital, physically for a decade, but the growing intensity of the spiritual forces working within and through him bonded them ever more securely. The moral courage demonstrated by one of the most celebrated of the Refusniks is evident on nearly every page. The spiritual uplift that Sharansky found came from his faith, and from reading the classics, one of the few liberties permitted him in the Gulag. (Looted libraries and personal collections left the prison system well-stocked for this purpose.) The comments on how he was encouraged by his encounter with Aristophanes, when he understood the connection between himself and a character in a 2,500 play through a joke that he finally 'got,'are among the most uplifting in the book. Sharansky recounts how that joke opened a floodgate in his mind, through which came pouring the voices of Rabelais, Cerevantes and other great classics, reminding him of his humanity and the ways of man. The climatic chapter, "The Interconnection of Souls," should be re-read many times. -Lloyd A. Conway

Great inspiration and a great lesson.
It's hard to believe that one person could morally and intellectually defeat the KGB all by himself, to preserve his identity and his integrity despite all odds. There are many lessons for our everyday life that one can learn from this book. I recommend it very highly.

A increadible tale of one man's bravery in Soviet prison
An inspiring book in which Natan Sharansky tells of his struggle against the KGB and the power of the Soviet police state. I found myself amazed at the courage that this young, physically small man exhibited when faced with the full fury of the KGB. His intellectual battles with his interogators and his remarkable stamina during hunger strikes in support of fellow prisoners are memorable. The whole book helped me to put the small struggles of life in perspective, emphasizing the importance of following ones principles, yet having in mind the small magnitude of ones problems compared to the historic ones faced by refuseniks like Mr. Sharansky. -Michael Good ... Read more