The Holocaust Books

Book SynopsisAn Honorary Citizen of the U.S.A., and designated as one of the Righteous among the Nations by Israel, Raoul Wallenberg's heroism in Budapest at the height of the Holocaust saved countless lives, and ultimately cost him his own.A series of unlikely coincidences led to the appointment of Wallenberg, by trade a poultry importer, as Sweden's Special Envoy to Budapest in 1944. With remarkable bravery, Wallenberg created a system of protective passports, and sheltered thousands of desperate Jews in buildings he claimed were Swedish libraries and research institutes.As the war drew to a close, his invaluable work almost complete, Wallenberg voluntarily went to meet with the Soviet troops who were relieving the city. Arrested as a spy, Wallenberg disappeared into the depths of the Soviet system, never to be seen again.For this seminal biography, Ingrid Carlberg has carried out unprecedented research into all elements of Wallenberg's life, narrating with vigour and insight the story of a heroic life, and navigating with wisdom and sensitivity the truth about his disappearance and death.Translated from the Swedish by Ebba SegerbergTrade ReviewA truly fascinating, subtle and revelatory portrait of this enigmatic character and perhaps the closest any historian has got to the real man and the truth of his fate -- Simon Sebag MontefioreIngrid Carlberg's superb biography will doubtless be regarded as the standard work on Wallenberg. Richly detailed and thoroughly researched ... an atmospheric read that brings to life an extraordinary story of resistance and bravery during Europe's darkest hours. -- Adam Lebor * Literary Review *Authoritative and comprehensive -- Max Hastings * Sunday Times *A fresh and forensic portrait of Raoul Wallenberg ... Carlberg has unearthed a staggering amount of detail -- Monica Porter * Jewish Chronicle *Absorbing, masterful ... a riveting biography of a remarkable man * Kirkus Review *Ingrid Carlberg has writtenwhat must be the definitive biography ofWallenberg -- Glyn Ford * Tribune *

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Book Synopsis**A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER**'He had the dream again last night... He taps the gloves of his unbeaten Polish opponent. There are rumours that the loser will be sent to the gas chamber.'In 1943, the Dutch champion boxer, Leen Sanders, was sent to Auschwitz. His wife and children were put to death while he was sent 'to the left' with the others who were fit enough for labour. Recognised by an SS officer, he was earmarked for a 'privileged' post in the kitchens in exchange for weekly boxing matches for the entertainment of the Nazi guards. From there, he enacted his resistance to their limitless cruelty.With great risk and danger to his own life, Leen stole, concealed and smuggled food and clothing from SS nursing units for years to alleviate the unbearable suffering of the prisoners in need. He also regularly supplied extra food to the Dutch women in Dr. Mengele's experiment, Block 10. To his fellow Jews in the camp, he acted as a rescuer, leader and role model, defending them even on their bitter death march to Dachau towards the end of the war.A story of astonishing resilience and compassion, The Fighter of Auschwitz is a testament to the endurance of humanity in the face of extraordinary evil.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“The degradations of the death camps, and the prospect of his own imminent end, propel Zalmen Gradowski to an act of witness that rises now and then to Biblical heights of eloquence. To read this tragically riven collaborator in the Holocaust is to be shaken to the bone.” * J. M. Coetzee *“Grad­ows­ki aston­ish­es with fresh insights that only a camp insid­er could pos­si­bly have. . . . [C]ogent, frank, and sen­si­tive—well worth a long pondering. In the book’s inci­sive after­word, Pro­fes­sor Arnold I. David­son con­cludes that Grad­ows­ki ​‘left us a writ­ten con­so­la­tion of courage, deter­mi­na­tion, and posthu­mous vic­to­ry. He was and remains a hero’. Indeed, until we learn from this Son­derkom­man­do mem­ber, none of us can think our­selves tru­ly knowl­edge­able about the Shoah.” * Arthur B. Shostak, Jewish Book Council *"Drop whatever you are doing right now and go order the first complete English translation of his manuscripts, newly published as The Last Consolation Vanished. You may never be able to read another Holocaust-related book again.” * Dara Horn, Jewish Review of Books *“These two historically precise and shattering Yiddish-language testimonies by Zalmen Gradowski rank among the most important documents of the twentieth century. An outstanding translation by Monet, and two fine essays accompanied by a superb critical apparatus by editors Davidson and Mesnard bring these documents of murder and resistance to life like no edition before. The outcome is a major achievement in Holocaust historiography.” * Robert Jan van Pelt, author of 'The Case for Auschwitz' *

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Book SynopsisThere isn't any triumph, there isn't any happy ending in the story of Sant'Anna di Stazzema, but there is a resolute affirmation of the continuing strength of the human spirit.At dawn on 12 August 1944, German SS troops arrived in the Tuscan mountain village of Sant'Anna di Stazzema. On arrival, they proceeded to murder up to 560 Italian civilians in the olive groves and chestnut woods of the small hamlet. The victims were women, the elderly and over eighty children. One was a baby barely three weeks old. It was the most high-profile massacre committed by the Nazis in Italy and yet, despite three separate war crimes investigations, the Sant'Anna killers escaped justice. Sixty years later, ten of the SS men who were at Sant'Anna were sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia by Italian courts, but they died free. Anatomy of a Massacre tells the full story of what happened at Sant'Anna di Stazzema from Tuscany to Rome and Germany and tries to answer the question: why were the survivors denied justice?

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Book SynopsisThe last great, untold story of WWII highly compelling' Daily MailFleeing Nazi persecution for America in the 1930s, the young German-born Jews who would come to be known as The Ritchie Boys were labelled enemy aliens' when war broke out. Although of the age to be inducted into the U.S. military, their German accents made them distrusted. Until one day in 1942, when the Pentagon woke up to the incredible asset they had in their ranks, and sent these young recruits to a secret military intelligence training centre at Camp Ritchie, Maryland.These men knew the language, culture and psychology of the enemy better than anyone, and had the greatest motivation to fight Hitler's anti-Semitic regime. And so they were trained and sent back into the belly of the beast, Jews returning to the frontlines of battlefields across Nazi-occupied Europe to defeat the enemy that persecuted them and their families. In an epic story of heroism, courage, and patriotism, bestselling author Bruce Henderson drawTrade Review‘The last great, untold story of WWII… highly compelling’ Daily Mail ‘Gripping. … A story of courage and determination, revenge and redemption. … Opens a window into a much-ignored aspect of the war. … A magnificent story, one crying out to be told, and one that is told very well’ Boston Globe ‘[A] highly readable, often thrilling narrative… A gripping addition to the literature of the period and an overdue tribute to these unique Americans’ Kirkus (Starred Review) ‘An inspiring story’ Library Journal ‘Henderson is a wonderful storyteller who has written a never-before-told chapter of the Second World War. The Ritchie Boys is a must-read’ Jewish Book Council ‘The Ritchie Boys tells the remarkable story of how 2,000 German-born Jews were able to get the crucial intelligence that saved American lives and helped win World War II. … The message of their courage and patriotism should not be lost in today’s war on terrorism’ Leon Panetta, Former Director of the CIA and Former Secretary of Defense

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Book SynopsisA riveting tale, brilliantly told'' Philippe SandsThe little-known story of Hitler's war on modern art and the mentally ill.In the first years of the Weimar Republic, the German psychiatrist Hans Prinzhorn gathered a remarkable collection of works byschizophrenic patients that would astonish and delight the world.The Prinzhorn collection, as it was called, inspired a new generation of artists, including Paul Klee, Max Ernst and Salvador Dali. What the doctor could not have known, however, was that these works would later be used to prepare the ground for mass-murder.Soon after his rise to power, Hitlera failed artist of the old schooldeclared war on modern art. The Nazis staged giant Degenerate Art' shows to ridicule the avant-garde, and seized and destroyed the cream of Germany''s modern art collections. This action was mere preparation, however, for the even more sinister campaign Hitler would later wage against so-called degenerate people, and Prinzhorn''s artists were caught upin bTrade Review‘A superbly told story of worlds colliding …There’s so much that’s wonderful about this book; it’s hard to know where to start heaping praise. It is by turns intriguing, tragic, horrifying and occasionally funny’The Times ‘English has written a terrific book, taut and thematic … As beautiful as it is bleak’Guardian ‘Engrossing …The work of these artists, much of which miraculously survived the war, lives on as testament to the variety of human experience, and of ways to communicate what it feels like to be alive’Economist ‘Compelling … The twin strands of Hitler’s thinking on art and racial purity draw remorselessly together … Memorable’Literary Review ‘A riveting tale, brilliantly told'Philippe Sands ‘A fascinating new book’Daily Mail ‘Fascinating … Journalist English unpacks Hitler’s mad campaign against mentally ill artists … English’s story feels strikingly relevant. While shedding new light on this piece of history, English also provides a cautionary tale for the future’Publishers Weekly ‘An extraordinary, deeply researched work which is a testament to the Prinzhorn artists’The Tablet ‘Perhaps only in 1920s Weimar Germany where expressionism and dadaism were exploring the dark sides of sex and fantasy could the art of the mentally ill first get its due. And perhaps only in Germany could the story Charlie English tells so well have ended in such horror. English takes us through uncharted artistic waters in a narrative of great humanity: a gripping journey into art, madness and modern history’Jonathan Jones, author of Sensations ‘Dazzling … This poignant narrative centres on the complicated psychiatrist Hans Prizhorn and the eccentric patient artists whose work helped usher in a new epoch of the modernist avant-garde only to become fodder for Hitler's hateful ideology of “degeneration”. Richly wrought, and deeply researched’Susannah Cahalan, author of Brain on Fire

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Book SynopsisTerezín, as it was known in Czech, or Theresienstadt as it was known in German, was operated by the Nazis between November 1941 and May 1945 as a transit ghetto for Central and Western European Jews before their deportation for murder in the East. Terezín was the last ghetto to be liberated, one day after the end of World War II.The Last Ghetto is the first in-depth analytical history of a prison society during the Holocaust. Rather than depict the prison society which existed within the ghetto as an exceptional one, unique in kind and not understandable by normal analytical methods, Anna Hájková argues that such prison societies that developed during the Holocaust are best understood as simply other instances of the societies human beings create under normal circumstances. Challenging conventional claims of Holocaust exceptionalism, Hájková insists instead that we ought to view the Holocaust with the same analytical tools as other historical events. The prison society of Terezín produced its own social hierarchies under which seemingly small differences among prisoners (of age, ethnicity, or previous occupation) could determine whether one ultimately lived or died. During the three and a half years of the camp''s existence, prisoners created their own culture and habits, bonded, fell in love, and forged new families. Based on extensive archival research in nine languages and on empathetic reading of victim testimonies, The Last Ghetto is a transnational, cultural, social, gender, and organizational history of Terezín, revealing how human society works in extremis and highlighting the key issues of responsibility, agency and its boundaries, and belonging.Trade ReviewThis is a powerful contribution to our understanding of the ghetto and of how societies are constructed in general, revealing in complex detail the lived experiences of those who inhabited Theresienstadt. * Barnabas Balint, The Journal of the Social History Society *In this overwhelming book, Anna Hájková has assembled - in extraordinary gutwrenching detail - these stories of Terez ... It is the loss of life in all its mucky beauty, and the loss of living-breathing-evolving community on such a mass scale, after all, that contributes to the breathtaking horror of genocide. * JORDANA SILVERSTEIN, University of Melbourne, Gender & History *This is a powerful contribution to our understanding of the ghetto and of how societies are constructed in general, revealing in complex detail the lived experiences of those who inhabited Theresienstadt. * Barnabas Balint, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK, Journal of the Social History Society *Hájková has not simply written a book depicting the "transnational, cultural, social, gender, and organizational history" of the "well known, poorly understood ghetto", but she shows with great sensitivity, concisely and immense knowledge the everyday history of this limbo, the "last ghetto." * Thomas Krzenck, Zeitschrift für Geschichtswissenschaft *Anna Hájková's The Last Ghetto: An Everyday History of Theresienstadt is an essential addition to the literature about the camp, rivaled in scholarly insight only by H.G Adler... And since it is unlikely that many American readers will have the stamina to persevere through the more than 800 pages that examine the features of Adler's "coerced community," readers should feel no hesitation in turning to Hájková's thoughtful and thorough analysis. * Lawrence Langer, University of Wisconsin-Madison, George L. Mosse Program in History *Hájková's book The Last Ghetto is a well-researched, captivatingly written, and engaging scholarly work about the life of prisoners in Theresienstadt. Hájková's book is crucial reading and paradigm-shifting work for anyone who wants to understand a prisoners' society in extremis * Denisa Nešťáková, Herder Institute in Marburg, Marburg, GermanyComenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia, East Central Europe *This excellent study provides a critical investigation of the social, political, and even sexual relationships in the ghetto, their complex nature in a coerced setting and the developing power structures dominated by the young Czech elite. * Wolf Gruner, University of Southern California, AJS Review *Hájková brings solid research and a much-appreciated enrichment to readers' understanding of the Theresienstadt ghetto. The author worked for a decade with public and private archives in nine languages and offers readers a deeper understanding of what she calls "a forced community." * J. Kleiman, CHOICE *Hajkova's history of Terezin is a tour de force. Thanks to Hajkova's astonishing research and courageous reappraisal of victim society, aspects of this history that have been overlooked or marginalized are now before our eyes. A major contribution to the history of the Holocaust, The Last Ghetto also opens up new perspectives on class, nationalism, ethnicity, gender and sexuality in twentieth-century Europe. A deeply, wrenchingly human story that everyone ought to read. * Alexandra Garbarini, author of Numbered Days: Diaries and the Holocaust *This splendid and devastating, gorgeously written, paradigm-shifting book offers one transformative revelation after another. Exemplifying radical empathy without sentimentality, it represents the very best the new Holocaust history has to offer. * Dagmar Herzog, Graduate Center, City University of New York, author of Unlearning Eugenics: Sexuality, Reproduction, and Disability in Post-Nazi Europe *Theresienstadt has been shrouded in myths since Nazis first presented it as a 'model ghetto' to trick the world that Jewish prisoners were being treated humanely. Hájková's The Last Ghetto reveals the interior life of the ghetto and persuasively demonstrates that like the society that produced it, this society in extremis was riven by ethnic, gender, political, linguistic, and economic divisions that prevented a common sense of Jewishness from forming among the prisoners. * Barry Trachtenberg, Michael H. and Deborah K. Rubin Presidential Chair of Jewish History,Wake Forest University *The Last Ghetto is the most important book on Theresienstadt to appear in many years. With unparalleled knowledge of the sources and deep sensitivity, Anna Hájková has made a major contribution to the history of the Holocaust. With her focus on the everyday life of the ghetto's inhabitants, she also provides us with a model of social, cultural, and gender history. * Dan Stone, Professor of Modern History, Royal Holloway, University of London *This book provides the most thoroughly researched and conceptualised cultural and social history of everyday life in Terezín. As such, it should be essential reading for anyone interested in Theresienstadt and social relations in extremis. In addition, it provides so many interesting details amidst the larger historical points that readers will find it both fascinating and thought provoking. * Amy Simon, Michigan State University, USA, Journal of Contemporary History *An excellently written book that will help shape future historiography on the ghettos under Nazi rule for years to come. * Marc Buggeln, University of Flensburg, Modern European History *Table of ContentsIntroduction: The Well-Known, Poorly Understood Ghetto 1. "The Overorganized Ghetto" Administering Terezín 2. A Society Based on Inequality 3. The Age of Pearl Barley: Food and Hunger 4. Medicine and Illness 5. Cultural Life: Leisure Time Activities 6. Transports to the East Conclusion Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThe end of the Second World War in Europe gave way to a gigantic refugee crisis. Thoroughly prepared by Allied military planners, the swift repatriation of millions of former forced laborers, concentration camp inmates and prisoners of war nearly brought this dramatic episode top a close. Yet in September 1945, the number of displaced persons placed under the guardianship of Allied armies and relief agencies in occupied Germany amounted to 1.5 million. A costly burden for the occupying powers, the Jewish, Polish, Ukrainian, Yugoslav and Baltic DPs unwilling to return to their countries of origin presented a complex international problem. Massed in refugee camps stretched from Northern Germany to Sicily, the DPs had become long-term asylum seekers. Based on the records of the International Refugee Organization, this book describes how the European DP crisis impinged on the shape of the postwar order. The DP question directly affected the outbreak of the Cold War; the transformation of tTrade ReviewThe prime purpose of this excellent book is not to provide a more inclusive and integrative social history but to do something far more ambitious: namely, to write an international history that places the DP issue in the context of the emerging Cold War, and as a factor in international justice and political retribution, the emergence of the human rights movement, the rise of United Nations humanitarianism, the governance of international migration, and the advent of Jewish statehood .[It] makes clear is how important that period was in shaping contemporary views of refugees and their plight. * Bob Moore, American Historical Review *An insightful study of the European refugee problem created by WW II and then nurtured by the Cold War...Recommended. * CHOICE *<"In War's Wake brilliantly demonstrates…that refugee flows possess a logic of their own and are by their very nature complementary.>"- Holly Case, The NationAs Gerard Daniel Cohen persuasively argues, Allied recognition of the DPs' objections to returning, and the prevailing sense of a profound difference between the 'democratic' Allies and the Soviet bloc, were important factors in the development of the Cold War.>" - Sheila Fitzpatrick, London Review of BooksWritten in spare prose, and on the basis of extraordinary research, In War's Wake shows how fruitful it is to blend international and social history, by bringing back into view the forgotten crucible of mass statelessness in which crucial legacies were made for contemporary humanitarianism and human rights alike."-Samuel Moyn, Columbia University, author of The Last Utopia: Human Rights in HistoryIn War's Wake tells the story of the unprecedented humanitarian effort on behalf of millions of Europeans displaced by the Second World War. The postwar refugee crisis, Cohen demonstrates, gave rise to new conceptions of human rights, asylum and refugee policies, population policies, Cold War conflicts, and the emergence of the State of Israel. This provocative, well-written study is a landmark contribution to the history of human rights and to the political history of twentieth-century Europe."-Tara Zahra, author of The Lost Children: Reconstructing Europe's Families after World War II<"Based on thorough research in the archives of numerous institutions, Cohen's study of the millions of individuals left without a country after the Second World War shows how the European refugee problem was addressed by the leaders of the emerging free world, members of international organizations, legal scholars, and human rights activists. As Cohen demonstrates, the DP crisis facilitated a shift from minority rights to individual human rights and brought the issue of statelessness to the center of international politics. Enmeshed with the Cold War, this episode crucially secured the rights of individuals to a nationality and to a safe place of refuge, but also shaped new patterns of humanitarianism and international migration in the postwar era. In War's Wake is a masterpiece>"-Patrick Weil, Université de Paris 1<"On the basis of meticulous research, Daniel Cohen makes important connections between the policies that emerged to manage Europe's displaced persons in 'war's wake' and the development of international humanitarian aid and population control programs, the onset of the Cold War, and the origins of the state of Israel. In the process, he shows that the very category of 'DP' shifted in response to the practical and political dimensions of resettlement.>"-Mary D. Lewis, author of The Boundaries of the Republic: Migrant Rights and the Limits of Universalism in France, 1918-1940[A] detailed and challenging study of post-war displaced persons and the development of the human-rights era.>"-Susan Cohen, International History Review<"This well-crafted book demonstrates the far-reaching and lasting impact of the displaced persons on international affairs, humanitarianism, and human rights. It also provides a unique perspective on the attitudes and interests that led to the creation of a Jewish state. Although this is an international history with an interest in organizations, it does not lose sight of the individuals whose plight drew the attention of policymakers….Cohen is to be commended for his ability to balance a discussion of concepts and institutions with the dignity of the individual.>"-Margarete Myers Feinstein, H-Judaic<"The strength of Cohen's book lies in his nuanced analysis and the connections he draws among various political agents, their arguments, and the policies that eventually evolved. His careful research places the European refugee problem at the center of events, and shows how the DP experience exerted considerable influence on the development of international humanitarian aid, population management, and the origins of the modern state of Israel.>"-Lynn Rapaport, Holocaust and Genocide Studies<"In a now quite crowded field Cohen is a distinctive and signicant voice.> * Peter Gatrell, European Review of History *<"A model of the genre of international history: a thoroughly researched, transnationally focused, clearly presented study that amalgamates political, social and intellectual approaches into a convincing and far-ranging analysis that is relevant to many key aspects of the post-1945 period, in Europe and beyond....An excellent book that will undoubtedly become a standard work in the field.>"-Pertti Ahonen, German History<"In War's Wake is a cogent argument for the centrality of the 'refugee' in the legal, political, and moral construction of the postwar international order and its humanitarian mission….[It] engages and illuminates an impressive range of historiographies: on postwar reconstruction and the start of the Cold War, on migration and immigration, on international aid organizations and evolving modes of humanitarianism, on postwar American influence abroad, on the foundation of the state of Israel, and on legal conceptions of human rights. It deserves a wide readership.>"-Heidi Fehrenbach, Central European HistoryTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction: The Last Million Ch 1. The Battle of the Refugees: DPs and the Making of the Cold War West Ch 2. "Who is a Refugee?": From 'Victors' Justice' to Anticommunism Ch 3. Care and Maintenance: The New Face of International Humanitarianism Ch 4. Displaced Persons in the "Human Rights Revolution" Ch 5. Surplus Manpower, Surplus Population Ch 6. Extraterritorial Jews: Refugee Humanitarianism and the Advent of Jewish Statehood Epilogue: The Golden Age of European Refugees, 1945-1960 Notes Sources and Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisThe remarkable story of Mohammed Helmy, the Egyptian doctor who risked his life to save Jewish Berliners from the Nazis. One of the people he saved was a Jewish girl called Anna. This book tells their story.Trade ReviewThis meticulous account of the Arab doctor who sheltered a Jewish girl in 1930s Berlin is a remarkable story of subterfuge and courage. [...]Steinkes history sheds a light on what he argues is a deliberately forgotten world, the old Arabic Berlin of the Weimar period, which was open, progressive and far from antisemitic and which welcomed Jewish luminaries, including Albert Einstein and philosopher Martin Buber. * Tim Adams, Book of the Week, The Observer *Anna and Dr Helmy is the thrilling and, at times, heart-stopping account of a remarkable but largely unknown story of bravery and bluffing. * Robert Philpot, Times of Israel *Table of Contents1: Middle Eastern Berlin 2: The Home Visit 3: A Scent of Tea 4: 'Of Related Blood' 5: A Fool's License 6: A Step Too Far 7: Going Underground 8: A Daring Plan 9: Hidden in Plain Sight 10: In the Lion's Den 11: An Overnight Conversion 12: A Paper Marriage 13: The Gestapo Closes In 14: The Final Lie 15: Visit to Cairo Biographies Timeline Index

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Book SynopsisHow the International Committee of the Red Cross emerged triumphant from the dark days of World War II, escaping its ambiguous wartime record to re-affirm its leadership in world humanitarian affairs and help rewrite the rules of war in the Geneva Conventions.Trade ReviewHumanitarians at War presents a compelling picture of how the policy of sovereign states and those of a private organization exerted a reciprocal influence on life-and-death decisions about humanitarian aid provision and international law. * Kimberley A. Lowe, H-Net Reviews *Mr. Steinacher... is an excellent historian with a good nose for archives... [He] excels at toppling individuals from undeserved moral pedestals. * Samuel Moyn, Wall Street Journal Europe *Riveting ... An important book that, for the first time, greatly details how the ICRC operated, especially during and after World War II. * Library Journal *The author has produced an important and fascinating work ... Steinacher has laid before us an impressive portrayal of the activities of the Red Cross during the first half of the twentieth century. The discussion is not merely descriptive in nature; it raises serious questions about the organization's modes of operation, espeically those of its leadership. It is a welcome addition to the literature on this topic. I am convinced that students, scholars, and other readers will find it compelling. * Zohar Segev, Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs *Table of ContentsIntrodution 1: The Birth of an Idea 2: The Silence on the Holocaust 3: Intervention and Opportunism 4: The Red Cross in Crisis 5: Between Geneva and Nuremberg 6: The ICRC and Aid Politics in Ruins 7: The Humanitarians and the Nazis 8: A Window of Opportunity 9: Towards the Geneva Conventions Conclusion Bibliography Notes Index

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Book SynopsisThis book surveys the history of concentration camps from their beginnings in colonial warfare to the present, but it questions facile assumptions about their origins.

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Book SynopsisThe first integrative history of Nazi mass killing—showing how policies of mass murder were crucial to the regime’s strategy to win the warTrade Review“In this meticulous, vivid, and grim accounting of the deliberate murder of civilians by Nazi Germany, Kay manages to keep a balance between careful analysis of the evidence and reminders of the horrors of the events he is describing, including individuals’ harrowing recollections of surviving by hiding among dead bodies—often those of their own relatives.”—Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs“The book’s great contribution is that it coherently brings together a range of findings, offering a single point of reference for innovative research from the past two decades and beyond. . . . A must-read for anyone teaching classes on the history of World War II, the Nazi period, or twentieth-century Germany more broadly, as well as graduate students studying the Holocaust, Germany, the USSR, or war in twentieth-century Europe.”—Maris Rowe-McCulloch, German History“The book hits the mark due to the fact that it is not individual acts of murder but the entirety of the extermination of civilians by Germans and Austrians in the Second World War that is presented and analysed in an academically rigorous manner. Anyone who wants to understand German and Austrian history— and, beyond that, anyone who wants to understand the human condition—should read the book.”—Hans-Heinrich Nolte, Zeitschrift für Weltgeschichte (Journal of World History)“Kay has produced a truly exceptional book that will be of great interest to general readers and students as well as academics. He presents us with a compendium of Nazi mass killing that both illuminates understudied areas and places them in dialog.”—Waitman Wade Beorn, History: The Journal of the Historical Assocation“This thought-provoking integrative history of Nazi mass killing sets up a new standard for books on Germany’s darkest period.”—Sönke Neitzel, coauthor of Soldaten: On Fighting, Killing and Dying“Alex Kay performs a great service by juxtaposing the fates of the different population groups who fell victim to Nazi persecution in a way that clarifies the Nazis’ uncompromising drive to domination. The monstrous brutality and vast scale of Nazi mass murder is laid bare here unequivocally, clearly, and unflinchingly.”—Dan Stone, author of The Liberation of the Camps“Building on his earlier insightful work about Nazi policies of destruction, Alex Kay now offers a powerful and empirically convincing account of German war crimes that, for the first time, brings together the history of the Holocaust and genocidal policies against other population groups in a single analytical frame. Lucid and innovative, Empire of Destruction is a major milestone.”—Robert Gerwarth, author of Hitler’s Hangman“A lucid, informative and chronologically well-organized account of Nazi violence, admirable in its effort to integrate the full range of victims of mass killings.”—Mark Roseman, author of Lives Reclaimed: A Story of Rescue and Resistance in Nazi Germany

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Book SynopsisThe Holocaust/Genocide Template in Eastern Europe discusses the âœmemory warsâ in the course of the post-Communist re-narration of history since 1989 and the current authoritarian backlash.The book focuses specifically on how âœmnemonic warriorsâ employ the âœHolocaust templateâ and the concept of genocide in tendentious ways to justify radical policies and externalize the culpability for their international isolation and worsening social and economic circumstances domestically. The chapters analyze three dimensions: 1) the competing narratives of the âœuniversalization of the Holocaustâ as the negative icon of our era, on the one hand, and the âœdouble genocideâ paradigm, on the other, which focuses on âœour ownâ national suffering under â allegedly âœequallyâ evil â Nazism and Communism; 2) the juxtaposition of post-Communist Eastern Europe and Russia, reflected primarily in the struggle of the Baltic states and Ukraine to challenge Russian propaganda, a struggle that runs the risk of employing similarly distorting and propagandistic tropes; and 3) the post-Yugoslav rhetoric portraying oneâs own group as âœthe new Jewsâ and oneâs opponents in the wars of the 1990s as (akin to) âœNazisâ. Surveying major battle sites in this âœmemory warâ: memorial museums, monuments, film and the war over definitions and terminology in relevant public discourse, The Holocaust/Genocide Template in Eastern Europe will be of great interest to scholars of genocide, the Holocaust, historical memory and revisionism, and Eastern European Politics.This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Genocide Research.Table of ContentsIntroduction: The Holocaust/Genocide Template in Eastern Europe Ljiljana Radonić 1. Limits of Universalization: The European Memory Sites of Genocide Éva Kovács 2. From “Double Genocide” to “the New Jews”: Holocaust, Genocide and Mass Violence in Post-Communist Memorial Museums Ljiljana Radonić 3. A Baltic Struggle for a “European Memory”: The Militant Mnemopolitics of The Soviet Story Maria Mälksoo 4. Genocide, Holodomor and Holocaust Discourse as Echo of Historical Injury and as Rhetorical Radicalization in the Russian-Ukrainian Conflict of 2013–18 Nicolas Dreyer 5. Talking Past Each Other: Language and Post-World War II Killings in Slovenia Gregor Kranjc 6. Defending the “Good Name” of the Polish Nation: Politics of History as a Battlefield in Poland, 2015–18 Jörg Hackmann 7. Liberty Square, Budapest: How Hungary Won the Second World War István Rév

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Book SynopsisA bold exploration of the Holocaust by a pre-eminent scholar in the field.Trade Review"... this clear, well-written... book has much of importance to tell us in an age of sudden fear, propaganda and fake news, in which the Third Reich and its crimes reappear often as a "touchstone"." -- Times Higher Education

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Book SynopsisA ground-breaking exploration of the chilling history behind an increasingly common diagnosis.Trade Review"...Asperger’s Children is not just the record of one individual’s weak-willed acquiescence in evil. It’s also a chilling indictment of an entire system. ‘The mission to eliminate undesirable children,’ Sheffer writes, ‘mirrored the Reich’s ambition to eliminate undesirable populations’. Her book is a terrifying expose of how doctors and psychiatrists cruelly abused the powers they had over troubled children." -- Nick Rennison - The Daily Mail"With insightful, meticulous historical research Sheffer uncovers how, under Hitler’s regime, the profession of psychiatry became the eyes and ears of the Third Reich. This important book should be read by anyone interested in psychology, psychiatry or medicine, so that we learn from history and do not repeat its terrifying mistakes." -- Simon Baron-Cohen, Director of the Autism Research Centre, Cambridge University; author of Zero Degrees of Empathy: A New Theory of Human Cruelty"... historian Edith Sheffer’s remarkable book Asperger’s Children builds on Czech’s study with her own original scholarship. She makes a compelling case that the foundational ideas of autism emerged in a society that strove for the opposite of neurodiversity." -- Simon Baron-Cohen - Nature"... impeccable research... searing, wonderfully written book…" -- Dominic Lawson - The Sunday Times"... a superbly researched account... It’s hard to believe that anyone will want to identify with Asperger syndrome after reading Sheffer’s extremely disturbing but very lucid book…" -- Saskia Baron - The Observer"Edith Sheffer’s Asperger’s Children: The Origins of Autism in Nazi Vienna is a deeply disturbing, thoroughly researched account that exposes the complicity of Hans Asperger in the murder of children suffering from what he called autistic psychopathy. The recovered voices of some of the children and their desperate parents are particularly chilling." -- Andrew Scull, Books of the Year 2018 - Times Literary Supplement"... a searing investigation of the Nazi links of the paediatrician Hans Asperger." -- Must Reads - The Sunday Times"Although at times an almost unbearably grim read, this superbly researched book is an important contribution to our understanding of attitudes to autism, and to our knowledge of one of the very darkest episodes in recent human history." -- The Telegraph"... searing new book... [Edith Sheffer's] meticulously researched yet readable account shines a dispassionate light on Asperger as a man actively complicit with Nazi eugenicists carrying out Hitler's child "euthanasia" program." -- Science"... historian Edith Sheffer has produced a stunning work of scholarship, revealing Asperger's relationship to National Socialism and his role in the extermination of disabled children. In this unputdownable tome, Sheffer reminds us chillingly of the way in which even the best-intentioned professionals fall prey to the political climate in which we practice." -- Therapy Today"Edith Sheffer's meticulously researched book draws on case notes, interviews with perpetrators and victims, and scholarly papers. It illuminates not only the life of one of the most horrifying of Nazi sympathisers, but also the dark cavern of medical murder and cruelty, one of the monstrous aspects of Nazi social policy... Sheffer's book is unique..." -- The Tablet"Sheffer's book is excellent on the background to Viennese social and medical attitudes..." -- The Catholic Herald

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Book SynopsisAn engaging range of period texts and theme books for AS and A Level history.Table of Contents1. Historic anti-semitism in Europe; 2. The roots of anti-semitism in Germany; 3. Anti-semitism and the mind of Adolf Hitler; 4. Anti-semitism as part of the Nazi party programme; 5. The coming of the Holocaust 1938-41; 6. The killing machine 1942-45; 7. The Jewish resistance divisions in Jewish society between resisters and accommodators; 8. The response of the democracies to persecution of the Jews and the Holocaust. 9. Holocaust denial; 10. The legacy of the Holocaust in the modern world.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"One of Foreign Affairs Best of Books 2017 – Economic, Social, and Environment / Finance"

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Book SynopsisBarbara Cherish's upbringing in Nazi-occupied Poland was one of relative wealth and comfort. But her father's senior position in the Nazi Party meant that she and her brothers and sisters lived on a knife edge. In 1943 he became commandant of perhaps the most infamous of all the concentration camps: Auschwitz. The author tells her father's story with clarity and without judgement, detailing his relationship with his family and his unceasing love for his mistress, as well as the very separate life he led as a senior officer of the SS. Captured by the US Army at the end of the war, he was held at Dachau and Nuremberg before being extradited to Poland. He was tried in the Auschwitz Trial' at Krakow, found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity and executed in January 1948. A unique insider's view of the dark heart of the Third Reich, it is also a heartbreaking tale of a family torn apart that will open the eyes of even the most well-read historian.

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Book SynopsisKeren Blankfeld is a long-form journalist with a special interest in investigative narrative nonfiction. A former staff writer for Forbes Magazine, her stories have appeared in the New York Times, Forbes, Reuters, The Toronto Star, and others. She teaches reporting and writing at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism and has also taught at the New York University's Graduate School. She has been a guest on CNN, BBC World News, and E! Entertainment. In 2013, Keren served as a creative executive at New Regency Productions, where she worked with screenwriters and playwrights to develop material for movies and TV shows. She holds a B.A. in International Relations and English from Tufts University and an M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University. She now lives in New York with her husband and two sons.Trade ReviewLovers in Auschwitz adds to the history of resistance during the Holocaust, and is an example of a rare story of joy during an incredibly dark time. * TIME Magazine *Haunting and powerfully resonant: an extraordinary story of human light and love shining even in the foulest darkness. Written with magnetic sensitivity, this is a story not just of remarkable individuals, but also a tribute to the wider indomitability of the human spirit at the darkest moment in European history. * Sinclair McKay, Sunday Times bestselling author of Dresden, The Secret Life of Bletchley Park and Berlin *A love story like no other, this profoundly moving book teaches us how the human spirit can never be entirely extinguished - even in the hell of Auschwitz. * Julia Boyd, Sunday Times bestselling author of Travellers in the Third Reich: The Rise of Fascism through the Eyes of Everyday People and A Village in the Third Reich: How Ordinary Lives were Transformed by the Rise of Fascism *Zippi and David are both lovingly rendered. And in focusing on them, the book does implicitly honor the full humanity of two survivors — recapturing the texture of their origins, their hopes and dreams, and their complex lives, rather than merely their presence at one of history’s most unfathomable, tragic episodes. * The Washington Post *A complicated, important story, told with great care. * The Los Angeles Times *A story of instant love and poignant loss…[Lovers in Auschwitz] captures the miracle of love in a place of horror and reminds us that, at the very moment the world is tearing us apart, certain forces might bring us back together. * Jewish Book Council *Moving and tragic … A true tale of love amid unimaginable suffering. * Kirkus Reviews *A story of hope in one of humanity’s most hopeless places, Lovers in Auschwitz honors those who were lost while producing fresh insights into the nature of survival, the resilience of memory, the unseen debts we all owe one another, and, yes, the transformative power of love. * Robert Kolker, New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Valley Road and Lost Girls *At its heart, Lovers in Auschwitz is a story of resistance—for what could be a greater act of defiance than two young, Jewish inmates finding love in a Nazi concentration camp? Brutal and moving, Zippi and David's accounts of survival bring to light a great deal more than their connection to each other. With skill and painstaking research, Blankfeld introduces her readers to the extraordinary women and men interned at Auschwitz who, in the face of endless degradation and death, worked to undermine the Nazis, risking what little hope of life they had left to help save each other. Anyone meeting these individuals on Blankfeld's pages will not forget them. * Rebecca Frankel, New York Times bestselling author of Into the Forest *In Lovers in Auschwitz, Keren Blankfeld offers a vivid portrait of the brutality of daily life at Auschwitz, alongside formidable tales of people who risked their lives to save others—even strangers—through sabotage, sympathy, and love. Mesmerizing and inspirational. * Judy Batalion, New York Times bestselling author of The Light of Days *

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Book SynopsisA magisterial history of the Jews in Nazi Germany and the regime's policies towards them in the years prior to World War II and the Holocaust. Written by arguably the world's leading scholar on the subject.

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Book SynopsisLucie Aubrac, of Catholic and peasant background, was teaching history in a Lyon girls' school and newly married to Raymond, a Jewish engineer, when World War II broke out and divided France. The couple, living in the Vichy zone, soon joined the Resistance movement in opposition to the Nazis and their collaborators.Trade Review"A breathtaking account that feeds the soul as much as it satisfies the appetite for vicarious danger."--Kirkus Reviews "This book is riveting. Adventure, terror, horror, and excitement are all here; it is a feminist class as well ... full of interesting information about wartime food, clothes, schooling and manners. It is also a sturdy tale of married love, sustained and requited. The translation is so good that it reads as if it had been written in English."--Times Literary Supplement "Lively and absorbing... [Aubrac's] book interweaves the everyday experience of incredibly hard times...with Resistance activities."--London Review of Books "There is a relish for the idiosyncratic ramifications of human character that reveal themselves in crisis... As the record of a female resistante's exploits, Aubrac's account is doubly valuable. [There is] a compelling sense of immediacy as events unfold."--Washington Post Book World "An excellent historical introduction on the Resistance movement ... and an appropriately taut translation ... enhance the impact of this stirring tale of heroism, which concerns not only Resistance members but ordinary citizens, notably women."--Publishers Weekly

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewAn outstanding and impressive work of scholarship, one that provides us with an essential window into the history of this singular "hell for women." - The Jewish Daily Forward

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Book SynopsisHolocaust survivor Iby Knill picks up from where she left off in the best-selling 'Woman without a Number' arriving in England in 1947. Building nine separate lives, she also has to come to terms with her past. Poignant, moving and searingly honest, this account reconfirms the very best of human nature and is a truly uplifting sequel.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisThe Second World War in Eastern Europe is far from a neglected topic, especially since social, cultural, and diplomatic historians have entered a field previously dominated by operational histories and produced a cornucopia of new scholarship offering a more nuanced picture from both sides of the front. However, until now, the story has still been disjointed and specialized, whereby military, social, economic, and diplomatic histories continue to give their own separate accounts. This collection of essays attempts to bring these themes into a more cohesive whole that tells a complex, multi-faceted story of war on the Eastern Front as it truly was.This is one of the few critical examinations of the war on the Second World War's Eastern Front that includes both perspectives and looks at the war as a multifaceted effort. It also reveals how myths are created around military conflicts and has direct relevance to current developments in Europe, linking them to a broader discussion

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Book Synopsis“To me, hard times are like hide-and-seek: where is the solution, where is the hope? We can never give up looking for these things because they are just waiting to be found.” Gidon Lev, an 89-year-old Holocaust survivor, has lived an extraordinary life. At the age of six, he was imprisoned in the concentration camp of Theresienstadt. Liberated when he was ten, he lost at least 26 members of his family, including his father and grandfather.But Gidon’s life is extraordinary not only because he is one of the few living survivors remaining but because of his lessons learned over nearly a century. His enduring message is of hope and opportunity – to make things better. By sharing his timeless simple belief and truths, Gidon reminds us that we have the power to incrementally improve what is in front of us and leave something better behind us.His life is a lesson of how to do it, even in the face of astonishing adversity, and Let&rs

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Book SynopsisThe second edition of this book frames the Holocaust as a catastrophe emerging from varied international responses to the Jewish question during an age of global crisis and war.The chapters are arranged chronologically, thematically, and geographically, reflecting how persecution, responses, and experience varied over time and place, conveying a sense of the Holocaust's complexity. Fully updated, this edition incorporates the past decade's scholarship concerning perpetrators, victims, and bystanders from political, national, and gendered perspectives. It also frames the Holocaust within the broader genocide perspective and within current debates on memory politics and causation.Global in approach and supported by images, maps, diverse voices, and suggestions for further reading, this is the ideal textbook for students of this catastrophic period in world history.Trade Review"A sophisticated and comprehensive history that expertly details the European-wide origins, events, and legacies of antisemitism and Nazi genocide. A first-rate work that skillfully interweaves institutional dynamics with the personal experiences of those persecuted during Hitler's Reich." Edward B. Westermann, Texas A&M University - San Antonio, USA"With The Holocaust: Europe, the World, and the Jews, 1918-1945, Norman Goda has written a work comparable to the finest works on the subject. Goda's prose is clear and powerfully understated. His mastery of the massive published scholarship in English, German and French, his sensitive use of diaries and memories, astute grasp of high-level government policies, the intersection of national and international politics, and attention to the history of the Holocaust in Germany, Poland, France, Hungary, the Soviet Union, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, Denmark, Serbia, Czechoslovakia, the Netherlands, North Africa and the Middle East offers the reader an unparalleled synthesis of the scholarship of the past seventy years. In so doing, The Holocaust is fully comparable in quality to other impressive syntheses of recent decades about Nazi Germany and the Holocaust offered by Doris Bergen, David Cesarani, Richard Evans, Saul Friedlander, Ian Kershaw, Peter Longerich, and Leni Yahil. Its 400 pages are full of trenchant insights into famous debates, judicious selections of powerful anecdotes, illustrative images and maps, as well as fresh archival findings. This extraordinary work should appear on syllabi of college courses, both undergraduate and graduate that address not only the Holocaust, but also on the history of antisemitism, Nazi Germany, World War II, and genocide. It is a book his fellow scholars will appreciate. Multi-volume works are in progress but for a single volume of substantial size, this work is ideal for course adoptions and a general audience. With generosity and clarity, Goda presents the results of specialists to a general audience. Hopefully, major newspaper book review editors will bring this remarkable work to the attention of their readers. Goda's The Holocaust is simultaneously a brilliant work of historical synthesis, stunning originality, scholarly responsibility, and moral clarity."Jeffrey Herf, University of Maryland, USA"Norman Goda brings his extensive knowledge, the newest research, and historical debates to bear in this indispensable volume. Offering a broad overview of the Holocaust, he provides specifics that bring us closer to perpetrators and enablers as well as to the Jewish victims who suffered the atrocities of these years. A wide spectrum of readers will surely benefit from the clarity of argument and detail in this volume."Marion Kaplan, New York University, USATable of Contents1. The Jewish Question to Modern Times 2. A People Apart: World War I and Its Aftermath 3. Nazism and the Racial State 4. Nazi Germany and the Jews, 1933–1939 5. No Safe Haven: The World and the Jewish Question, 1933–1939 6. The Assault on Poland’s Jews, 1939–1941 7. Western Europe, the War, and the Jews, 1939–1941 8. Transitions to Systematic Killing, 1940–1941 9. “War of Extermination”: The Campaign in the USSR, 1941 10. The Holocaust in the USSR: The Jewish Response, 1941–1944 11. The Destruction of Poland’s Jews, 1942–1943 12. Auschwitz and The Terrible Secret, 1941–1943 13. The Final Solution in Western Europe, 1942–1944 14. Rescue: The Final Solution Interrupted, 1942–1943 15. Hitler’s Southeastern Allies and the Hungarian Jewish Catastrophe, 1942–1944 16. The Reich’s Destruction and the Jews, 1944–1945 17. Legacies: 1945 to the Present

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Book SynopsisUnder the Swastika in Nazi Germany begins in flames in 1933 with Adolf Hitler taking power and ends in the ashes of total defeat in 1945. Kristin Semmens tells that story from five different perspectives over five chronologically distinct phases in the Third Reich's lifespan. The book offers a much-needed integrated history of insiders and outsiders Nazis, accomplices, supporters, racial and social outsiders and resisters that captures the complexity of Germans' lives under Hitler. Incorporating recent research and the voices of those who often remain silent in histories of this period, Under the Swastika in Nazi Germany delivers an up to date, engaging and accessible introduction. Its narrative is further supported by well-chosen images, some familiar and others rarely seen. By revealing the potent combination of coercion and consent at work during the dictatorship, the book allows a deeper understanding of Nazi Germany and provides a vital platform for further inquiryTrade ReviewWide-ranging, clearly written, well structured and conceptually innovative, Kristin Semmens' survey of life and death in Nazi Germany is a masterpiece of compression, comprehensive in its coverage and taking in the most recent research. I can think of no better introduction to the subject. * Sir Richard J Evans, Regius Professor Emeritus of History, University of Cambridge, UK *Kristin Semmens deepens our understanding of the remarkably varied German responses to Nazi violence and expansionism. * Shelley Baranowski, Distinguished Professor of History Emerita, University of Akron, USA *Table of ContentsList of Figures List of Maps Series Editors’ Preface Preface Acknowledgements Glossary of Abbreviations and Terms Introduction: The Nazi Rise to Power 1 Beginnings (1933–1935) 2 The ‘Good Old Days’ (1936–1937) 3 Victory and Persecution (1938–1940) 4 Descent (1941–1943) 5 The End (1944–1945) Conclusion: Coming to Terms with Nazi Germany Notes Selected Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisAs we approach the end of the era of the witness', given the passing on of the generation of Holocaust survivors, Claude Lanzmann's archive of 220 hours of footage excluded from his ground-breaking documentary Shoah (1985) offers a remarkable opportunity to encounter previously unseen interviews with survivors and other witnesses, recorded in the late 1970s. Although the archive is all available freely to view online and includes extra footage of those who appear in Shoah, this book focuses on the interviews from which no extracts appear in the finished film or in any subsequent release. The material analysed features interviews with such significant figures as the former partisan Abba Kovner, wartime activist Hansi Brand, Kovno Ghetto leader Leib Garfunkel, rescuer Tadeusz Pankiewicz and members of Roosevelt's War Refugee Board, and focuses throughout on the efforts at rescue and resistance by those within and outside occupied Europe. Sue Vice contends that watching and Trade ReviewClaude Lanzmann’s Shoah is notorious not only for its length but for the huge quantity of its outtakes. Vice’s book not only demonstrates that the daunting outtake material demands to be viewed, but also provides a model of how to read it. -- Dominic Williams, Northumbria University, UKTable of ContentsIntroduction: Reacting to Genocide 1. Abba Kovner: ‘Like Sheep to the Slaughter’ 2. Hansi Brand: ‘Selling One’s Soul’ 3. Indirect Testimony: Rabbi Michael Weissmandl 4. Ghetto Rescue and Resistance: Tadeusz Pankiewicz, Hersh Smolar and Leib Garfunkel 5. Communal Testimony and the War Refugee Board: Peter Bergson, Roswell McClelland, John Pehle and Robert Reams 6. Leadership, Responsibility and Resistance: Yehuda Bauer, Richard Rubenstein, Ya’akov Arnon 7. Allied Responses: Henry Feingold in New York, Shmuel Zygielboim in London Conclusion Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisNew in paperback - The story of the British officer who was first to arrive at Bergen-Belsen, and the life of one of the many he saved from near-death.Trade Review‘Focusing on the traumatization of the liberator as well as the survivor, Lerner tells two fascinating stories that are original in both form and content. Her writing is clear, straightforward, and compelling. A powerful and engaging book.’ -- Michael A. Grodin, MD, Boston University School of Public Health, coauthor of The Nazi Doctors and the Nuremberg Code: Human Rights in Human Experimentation‘By describing the fate of one Jewish girl destined to die under the most gruesome manner and the horror experienced by a British doctor and officer upon stepping into a Nazi concentration camp, Lerner humanizes an event that is often described only from one perspective: either that of the liberators, for whom the survivors were often dehumanized “living skeletons” because of their deplorable living conditions, or that of the survivors, for whom the liberators were angels of mercy descended from heaven after months and years of utter dehumanization by their tormentors. A valuable and highly readable book.’ -- Omer Bartov, Brown University, author of Anatomy of a Genocide: The Life and Death of a Town Called Buczacz‘A towering achievement, Lerner’s narrative at once brings us into hell along with its central characters and then lifts us out on the strength of their respective forms of courage and generosity. This meticulously researched story is nourishment for the soul.’ -- Robert G. Kegan, Harvard University, author of In Over Our Heads: The Mental Demands of Modern Life

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Book SynopsisNew paperback edition - A dazzling multi-generational examination exploring Jewishness in Europe, the Holocaust and the dark spectres of anti-Semitism and populism.

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisA Jewish memoir that goes beyond the Holocaust and ask what happened after Soviet liberation'.

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Book SynopsisA groundbreaking account that examines the various ways Jews were betrayed by their fellow countrymen during the Holocaust.Trade Review‘One of those books which will complete your knowledge of not only the Holocaust but also the history of World War II.’ -- Washington Book Review

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Book SynopsisThis book provides a sophisticated investigation into the experience of being exterminated, as felt by victims of the Holocaust, and compares and contrasts this analysis with the experiences of people who have been colonized or enslaved. Using numerous victim accounts and a wide range of primary sources, the book moves away from the ''continuity thesis'', with its insistence on colonial intent as the reason for victimization in relation to other historical examples of mass political violence, to look at the victim experience on its own terms. By affording each constituent case study its own distinctive aspects, The Victims of Slavery, Colonization and the Holocaust allows for a more enriching comparison of victim experience to be made that respects each group of victims in their uniqueness. It is an important, innovative volume for all students of the Holocaust, genocide and the history of mass political violence.Trade Review[An] ambitious and complex book … Significant for graduate collections. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Graduate students, faculty. * CHOICE *Kitty Millet’s study sounds the subjectivity of persecution by looking at victims’ lived experiences of colonial occupation, physical confinement, and large-scale violence. I was moved as much as informed by her evocation of “what was lost”: the sense of absence, the being with death, a feeling “outside the world,” “a people without the memory of autonomy.” A thorough and creative inquiry into the shared sense of experience. * Dennis B. Klein, Professor of History and Director of Jewish Studies Program, Kean University, USA *With The Victims of Slavery, Colonialism, and the Holocaust, Kitty Millet has delivered an extraordinarily compelling interpretation of three historical spheres that are rarely examined comparatively. Drawing primarily on victim and perpetrator narratives, Millet’s brilliant analysis focuses on the victims’ self-imagination, including their minds and physical bodies, toward the goal of surviving persecution. * Michael Berkowitz, Professor of Modern Jewish History, University College London, UK *Kitty Millet's comparative study offers a thought-provoking exploration of the imagined communities of victims and perpetrators of mass atrocities. In lucid prose, she draws from individual narratives to consider the subjectivity of victimization. A valuable addition to Genocide Studies. * Kjell Anderson, Lecturer/Researcher and Coordinator of Master in Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies (NIOD), The Netherlands *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Introduction: Comparative Histories of Persecution Part I: Slavery 1. A World of Slaves 2. The Formula and 'the Being of Slavery' Part II: Colonialism 3. A World of Colonies and the Evolving Colonial Consciousness 4. The Empirical Colony in German Southwest Africa and a Formula of Colonization 5. From a Formula for Colonization to a Formula of Extermination and Victims' 'Shared Sense' Part III: The Holocaust 6. An Aryan World and the 'Worldlessness' of Jews 7. 'Being' Exterminated and the Formulas of Extermination Conclusion: Observations on the Future Store, the Future Map and the Future Notes Bibliography Name Index Subject Index

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisIn 1938 and 1939, some 10,000 children and young people fled to the UK to escape Nazi persecution. Known as the ‘Kindertransport’, this effort has long been hailed as a wartime success story – but there are uncomfortable truths at its heart. The Kindertransport was a complex visa waiver scheme, and its organizers did not necessarily act with altruism. The British government required a guarantee to indemnify itself against any expenses, and refused to admit the child refugees’ parents. The selection criteria prioritized those who were likely to make the best contribution to society, rather than the most urgent cases. And some children and young people were placed in unsuitable homes, where many arrangements irrevocably broke down. Written with striking empathy and insight, Andrea Hammel’s expert analysis casts new light on what really happened during the Kindertransport. Revelatory and impassioned, this book will be essential reading for anyone interested in the history of migration and refugees, and offers thought-provoking lessons for how we might make life easier for children fleeing conflict today.Trade Review‘Andrea Hammel’s overview of the Kindertransport is a remarkable achievement. With compassion and sensitivity, the author has managed to convey the full complexities of the scheme and has put at the forefront the experiences of these Jewish refugee children which ranged from love and understanding to economic and sexual abuse.’Tony Kushner, Parkes Institute, University of Southampton‘An impressively well researched account that is at once fascinating and deeply moving. Hammel skilfully balances compassion and insight to lay bare the detail of the Kindertransport in a remarkably detailed and nuanced way. It is sure to become a definitive text on the subject.’James Bulgin, Head of Public History, Imperial War Museums‘The Kindertransport…has always been regarded as a symbol of British generosity towards those in peril and seeking asylum. But it was all rather more complicated, as Andrea Hammel sets out to show.’The Spectator‘Andrea Hammel aims to dig deeper and remind the world that the story does not quite sparkle as brightly as some, particularly successive British governments, have wished to portray.’The Irish Times‘a model for good history writing... Hammel takes nothing for granted but examines all aspects with relentless precision. She gives us a welcome guide to critical thinking along with a compelling story.’New York Journal of BooksTable of Contents1. Myth 2. Persecution 3. Escape 4. Organisation 5. Placements 6. War 7. Death 8. Together/Apart 9. Life 10. Memory

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Book Synopsis‘Taylor has done us a great service in making the personal stories of what it was actually like to live through the most crucial year of the twentieth century vivid, compelling and salutary.’ - Roland Philipps, author of A Spy Named Orphan: The Enigma of Donald MacleanIn the autumn of 1938, Europe believed in the promise of peace. Still reeling from the ravages of the Great War, its people were desperate to rebuild their lives in a newly safe and stable era. But only a year later, the fateful decisions of just a few men had again led Europe to war, a war that would have a profound and lasting impact on millions.Bestselling historian Frederick Taylor focuses on the day-to-day experiences of British and German people trapped in this disastrous chain of events and not, as is so often the case, the elite. Drawn from original sources, their voices, concerns and experiences reveal a marked disconnect between government and people; few ordinary citizens in either country wanted war.1939: A People’s History is not only a vivid account of that turbulent year but also an interrogation of our capacity to go to war again. In many ways it serves as a warning; an opportunity for us to learn from our history and a reminder that we must never take peace for granted.Trade ReviewA fascinating and well-written book about how two nations embraced the prospect of war. By examining a turbulent year from the ground up, Taylor has inadvertently exposed crucial differences in national characteristics. -- Gerard De Groot * The Times *Taylor has done us a great service in making the personal stories of what it was actually like to live through the most crucial year of the twentieth century vivid, compelling and salutary -- Roland PhilippsWell-researched and intriguing -- Tim Bouverie * Daily Telegraph *A sinister and thrilling picture of how the year 1939 developed into war * Who Do You Think You Are Magazine *Taylor . . . does an excellent job of telling the story of the Coventry raid . . . Taylor's thorough, authoritative account elegantly explains the horrors of that night, as well as the wider story of the raid's significance in the air war's collective descent into barbarism. -- Review of Coventry * Financial Times *Riveting . . . vivid . . . Taylor's account of flame and ruin in the Midlands in November 1940, superbly researched, shows how terror could come to anyone, anywhere, any time. It still can. -- Review of Coventry * Spectator *Taylor weaves a chilling narrative from eyewitness accounts and documentary research . . . His account of the air operation . . . is quite superb. -- Review of Dresden * The Times *This scholarly, objective, sane and well-written book . . . a tremendously powerful work, profoundly moving in the accounts of the ordinary German families who met their deaths that dreadful night. -- Review of Dresden * Evening Standard *Table of ContentsSection - i: List of Illustrations Section - ii: Maps Introduction - iii: Introduction Chapter - 1: September 1938: ‘So, No War!’ Chapter - 2: October 1938: ‘More Popular than Hitler’ Chapter - 3: November 1938: ‘We Are Being Hunted Like Hares’ Chapter - 4: Winter 1938/1939: ‘Does Conscription Mean That the Men Will Have to Go Away?’ Chapter - 5: Spring 1939: ‘It’s Hitler Again: But Don’t Worry!’ Chapter - 6: April/May 1939: ‘We All Love Him Very, Very Much’ Chapter - 7: June/July 1939: ‘Fine, Fine, Fine. Blue and Sunshine Everywhere’ Chapter - 8: 1–22 August 1939: ‘To Die for Danzig?’ Chapter - 9: 23–31 August 1939: ‘Grandmother is Dead’ Chapter - 10: 1–3 September 1939: ‘So the Madness Unfolds’ Acknowledgements - iv: Acknowledgements Section - v: Notes Section - vi: Sources Index - vii: Index

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Book SynopsisA SPECTATOR, NEW STATESMAN AND THE TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR ‘The best biography I have read in years' Philippe Sands ‘Spectacular’ Observer ‘A remarkable portrait’ Guardian W. G. Sebald was one of the most extraordinary and influential writers of the twentieth century. Through books including The Emigrants, Austerlitz and The Rings of Saturn, he pursued an original literary vision that combined fiction, history, autobiography and photography and addressed some of the most profound themes of contemporary literature: the burden of the Holocaust, memory, loss and exile. The first biography to explore his life and work, Speak, Silence pursues the true Sebald through the memories of those who knew him and through the work he left behind. This quest takes Carole Angier from Sebald’s birth as a second-generation German at the end of the Second World War, through his rejection of the poisoned inheritance of the Third Reich, to his emigration to England, exploring the choice of isolation and exile that drove his work. It digs deep into a creative mind on the edge, finding profound empathy and paradoxical ruthlessness, saving humour, and an elusive mix of fact and fiction in his life as well as work. The result is a unique, ferociously original portrait.Trade ReviewA remarkable biography . . . The first major study of revered author and academic WG Sebald reveals an obsessive and brilliant mind . . . In her long and scholarly book, a testament to the powers of research and detailed dissection, Angier has presented a remarkable portrait of a writer consumed by work * Guardian *Meticulously researched … The brilliance of [this] biography, a spectacularly agile work of criticism as well as a feat of doggedly meticulous research, lies in Angier’s ability to look her subject straight in the eye while holding on to the sense of adoration that made her want to write it in the first place * Observer *The product of years of sleuthing … Angier’s openness about the difficulties she has encountered in trying to untangle [Sebald’s] enigma if anything adds to her portrait … The portrait which ultimately emerges convinces: of a tormented man, an isolated misfit, riven by self-doubt, who wrote to stave off depressive breakdowns and even madness and suicidal impulses * Spectator *It is a considerable achievement to unpick, so convincingly, mysteries Sebald has taken care to contrive. And to do it with such respect, and indeed generosity, that the great originals are burnished -- Iain SinclairSpeak, Silence is an extraordinary achievement. Carole Angier has been able to capture the genius of Sebald without trapping him in facile definitions, allowing his portrait the many hues and changing angles that those who knew him will recognize as profoundly true -- Alberto ManguelSebald once wrote to me that he would just like to be “a guardian of the lesser domains”. His work is enough, but this enticing and thorough book on his life and art proves that he was, in spite of his tragic and early death, an absolute master of the highest domains of literature -- Javier MaríasCarole Angier extends the scope of biography by turning her intense admiration for Sebald’s work into a personal quest for this enigmatic and disturbing writer -- Hilary SpurlingA biographer of great sympathy -- Michael HolroydEnthralling . . . I was exhilarated from start to finish, by subject, style and substance. It is the best biography I have read in years -- Philippe SandsA suitably unorthodox life of this singular writer . . . Angier’s strategy pays off: this is an insightful, compulsively readable book * Atlantic *W.G. Sebald so deliberately and cunningly blurs the boundaries between fact and fiction in his books that every reader longs for a clear-eyed guide to what is invented and what is ‘real’, while at the same time dreading the damage this might do to the delicate webs he weaves. Carole Angier’s tireless detective work has cleared up many of the mysteries, both in his life and in his work, while her critical acumen and manifest admiration for the latter ensures that it emerges enhanced rather than diminished from her labours. A riveting book -- Gabriel JosipoviciRemarkable, the definitive biography . . . Deeply researched, subtle, sympathetic * Claire Tomalin on 'Jean Rhys' *An acute literary intelligence . . . The reader comes to trust instinctively Angier’s assessments * New York Times on 'Jean Rhys' *Allows us to see Levi’s life in its full historical meaning * Financial Times on 'The Double Bond: Primo Levi' *Marvellous and visionary . . . Remarkable in all senses of the word * New York Times on 'The Double Bond: Primo Levi' *Angier writes with brio and occasional brilliance . . . By the end, I felt convinced that she had got to the heart of Levi * Guardian on 'The Double Bond: Primo Levi' *

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Book Synopsis'A beautiful work that is in turn haunting, touching and redemptive' SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE ‘A profoundly emotional book, and a brave one’ THE NEW YORKER 'Generous in spirit, devoid of self-pity, and an authentic literary achievement' ANDREW SOLOMON When Luiz Schwarcz was a child, he knew very little about his grandfather Láios, a Hungarian Jew. Only later would he learn that Láios had ordered his son, Luiz’s father, to leap from a train taking them to a Nazi death camp, while Láios himself was carried on to his death. What Luiz did know was that his father’s melancholia haunted the house he grew up in. Compassionate and tender, The Absent Moon interrogates a personal story of inherited trauma through a family history of murder, silence and the long echo of the Holocaust across generations. 'Brave, honest, devastating, and hopeful ... Schwarcz is a masterful storyteller’ ARIANA NEUMANN 'A lyrical and intimate portrait of the author’s lifelong, harrowing battle with depression' ABRAHAM VERGHESETrade ReviewFascinating, elegiac, heartbreaking and inspiring, this book is both a chronicle of the killing of the Holocaust, a memoir of unbearable suffering witnessed and felt for decades after; and an analysis of psychological trauma and memory – a beautiful work that is in turn haunting, touching and redemptive -- Simon Sebag MontefioreBrave, honest, devastating, and hopeful – a beautiful exploration of a man trying to understand his father, of how Holocaust trauma is passed down the generations and how we are all shaped by words and silences. Schwarcz is a masterful storyteller -- Ariana Neumann, author of WHEN TIME STOPPEDThis tender and lovely memoir of a child growing up in Brazil in a household whose characters were scarred by the Holocaust is unlike anything I can think of. It is also a lyrical and intimate portrait of the author’s lifelong, harrowing battle with depression -- Abraham Verghese, author of CUTTING FOR STONEIn this intimate and profound description of a life often marked by depression, Luiz Schwarcz touches on the insidious power of intergenerational trauma; on the terrible challenges of functioning despite a crippling disease; and on the burden of carrying a disability in relative silence. His is ultimately a book about identity, about how the author has managed, both despite and because of his depression, to inhabit a good marriage, an excellent career, a lovely family, and, perhaps most crucially, a coherent sense of self. It is generous in spirit, devoid of self-pity, and an authentic literary achievement -- Andrew SolomonA profoundly emotional book, and a brave one * The New Yorker *In The Absent Moon, Luiz Schwarcz, a legendary Brazilian publisher and global tastemaker, shares little of the glamorous life, focusing instead on the lifelong pain of clinical depression * New York Times *

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Book SynopsisThe powerful, heart-breaking memoir of Dita Kraus, the real-life Librarian of AuschwitzBorn in Prague to a Jewish family in 1929, Dita Kraus has lived through the most turbulent decades of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Here, Dita writes with startling clarity on the horrors and joys of a life delayed by the Holocaust. From her earliest memories and childhood friendships in Prague before the war, to the Nazi-occupation that saw her and her family sent to the Jewish ghetto at Terezín, to the unimaginable fear and bravery of her imprisonment in Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen, and life after liberation. Dita writes unflinchingly about the harsh conditions of the camps and her role as librarian of the precious books that her fellow prisoners managed to smuggle past the guards. But she also looks beyond the Holocaust – to the life she rebuilt after the war: her marriage to fellow survivor Otto B Kraus, a new life in Israel and the happiness and heartbreaks of motherhood. Part of Dita's story was told in fictional form in the Sunday Times bestseller The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe. Her memoir tells the full story in her own words.Trade ReviewKnowing Dita Kraus is one of the most important things that has happened in my life * ANTONIO ITURBE, bestselling author of THE LIBRARIAN OF AUSCHWITZ *Her resilience makes A Delayed Life an inspiriting book, despite its horrors. It is unforgettable. A must read... * The Sunday Times *Gripping * Mail Online *

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Book SynopsisIn March 2010, twenty-seven Britons who took matters into their own hands to protect Jews from the Nazis during one of the darkest times in human history were formally recognised as 'Heroes of the Holocaust' by the British Government. The silver medal, inscribed with the words 'In the Service of Humanity', was created to acknowledge those 'whose selfless actions preserved life in the face of persecution'. Gordon Brown described the medal's recipients, who risked their lives to save those of Jewish friends, or complete strangers, as, 'true British heroes and a source of national pride for all of us. They were shining beacons of hope in the midst of terrible evil because they were prepared to take a stand against prejudice, hatred and intolerance.' Some, like Frank Foley, a British spy whose cover was working at the British embassy in Berlin, took huge risks issuing forged visas to enable around 10,000 Jews to escape Germany before the outbreak of World War 2. Others, like the ten British POWs who hid and cared for Hannah Sarah Rigler as she escaped from a death march, showed great humanity in the face of horrendous cruelty and suffering. All the recipients of the award were ordinary people, acting on no one's authority but their own, who found they could not stand idly by in the face of this great evil.Heroes of the Holocaust collects for the first time the remarkable stories of the recipients of the medal. Written by acclaimed Holocaust historian Lyn Smith, it is a moving testament to the bravery of those whose inspiring actions stand out in stark relief at a time of such horror.

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Book Synopsis'Books such as this are essential: they remind modern readers of events that should never be forgotten' - Caroline MooreheadOn March 25, 1942, nearly a thousand young, unmarried Jewish women boarded a train in Poprad, Slovakia. Filled with a sense of adventure and national pride, they left their parents' homes wearing their best clothes and confidently waving good-bye. Believing they were going to work in a factory for a few months, they were eager to report for government service. Instead, the young women-many of them teenagers-were sent to Auschwitz. Their government paid 500 Reichsmarks (about £160) apiece for the Nazis to take them as slave labour. Of those 999 innocent deportees, only a few would survive.The facts of the first official Jewish transport to Auschwitz are little known, yet profoundly relevant today. These were not resistance fighters or prisoners of war. There were no men among them. Sent to almost certain death, the young women were powerless and insignificant not only because they were Jewish-but also because they were female. Now, acclaimed author Heather Dune Macadam reveals their poignant stories, drawing on extensive interviews with survivors, and consulting with historians, witnesses, and relatives of those first deportees to create an important addition to Holocaust literature and women's history.Trade ReviewAn important addition to Holocaust literature and women's history. * Daily Express *Heather Dune Macadam does the formidable work of piecing together their journey... the history of the girls from the first transport is riveting. * TLS *

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Book Synopsis'Rigorously researched, The Lost Café Schindler successfully weaves together a compelling and at times deeply moving memoir and family history that also chronicles the wider story of the Jews of the Austro-Hungarian Empire... It distinguishes itself through its combination of mystery and reconciliation.' -- The Times T2'In tilling the past Meriel has uncovered the most fascinating - and devastating - family history. The Lost Cafe Schindler is not just a genealogical exploration, though; it sets out the wider experiences of the Jewish population of the Austro-Hungarian empire, weaving in the story of how antisemitism took root' -- Sunday Times'An impressively researched account of Jewish life in the Tyrol up to and during the Second World War' -- Evening Standard'An extraordinary story - so cadenced and so moving.' -- Edmund de Waal, author of The Hare with Amber Eyes'An extraordinary and compelling book of reckonings - a journey across a long, complex and deeply painful arc of history, grippingly told - a wonderful melding of the personal and the political, the family and the historical.' -- Philippe Sands, author of East West Street 'Lingering tastes and luscious aromas permeate Meriel Schindler's affecting 'The Lost Café Schindler'' -- Wall Street Journal'A significant benefit for family historians is that her reading, sources and resources offer guidance that others might follow and use in their own research.' Who Do You Think You Are?'A well-researched account.' -- The ObserverBy reconstructing - through letters, photos and archival documents - the specific experiences of her family, Meriel articulates a revealing, often heart-breaking insider's perspective that illuminates the broader narrative.' -- Irish Examiner'The scale of the crimes committed during these years can never be fully comprehended, but through tales like these they become relatable and the sense of loss, shared.' -- Press Association'Compelling and beautifully written... a remarkable and inspiring story that attests to the strength and compassion of the human spirit in overcoming the tragedy of persecution... Fascinating family history.' - Daily Express'Schindler builds her story patiently, tracking her own journey in unravelling it' - i***Kurt Schindler was an impossible man. His daughter Meriel spent her adult life trying to keep him at bay. Kurt had made extravagant claims about their family history. Were they really related to Franz Kafka and Oscar Schindler, of Schindler's List fame? Or Hitler's Jewish doctor - Dr Bloch? What really happened on Kristallnacht, the night that Nazis beat Kurt's father half to death and ransacked the family home? When Kurt died in 2017, Meriel felt compelled to resolve her mixed feelings about him, and to solve the mysteries he had left behind. Starting with photos and papers found in Kurt's isolated cottage, Meriel embarked on a journey of discovery taking her to Austria, Italy and the USA. She reconnected family members scattered by feuding and war. She pieced together an extraordinary story taking in two centuries, two world wars and a family business: the famous Café Schindler. Launched in 1922 as an antidote to the horrors of the First World War, this grand café became the whirling social centre of Innsbruck. And then the Nazis arrived. Through the story of the Café Schindler and the threads that spool out from it, this moving book weaves together memoir, family history and an untold story of the Jews of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It explores the restorative power of writing, and offers readers a profound reflection on memory, truth, trauma and the importance of cake.Trade ReviewAn extraordinary and compelling book of reckonings - a journey across a long, complex and deeply painful arc of history, grippingly told - a wonderful melding of the personal and the political, the family and the historical. -- Philippe SandsAn extraordinary, cadenced and moving story. I felt gripped by Meriel Schindler's uncovering of her father's story and by her tenacity and courage in telling it so openly. -- Edmund de Waal, author of The Hare with Amber Eyes'Enthralling memoir... ideal for anyone who loved The Hare with Amber Eyes.' * The Bookseller *'An absorbing memoir... told with forensic detail.' * Jewish Chronicle *

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Book Synopsis'Trust me, this is a great true story' - Ken Follett 'This is an unbelievable story that is all completely true. The life described is astonishing. John Carr has done an extraordinary and riveting job uncovering the real father behind the dad he thought he knew.' - Lord Tony Hall 'Utterly compelling. It is an extraordinary tale, brilliantly written' - Alastair Stewart 'Extraordinary. An adventure story in the most terrible circumstances, a kid facing the most desperate dangers but taking fantastic risks with great boldness' - Fiona MacTaggart 'The remarkable story of a Jewish boy who killed a Nazi guard and escaped the Holocaust aged 13' - The Times ~~~~~In early 1940 Chaim Herzsman was locked in to the Lódz Ghetto in Poland. Hungry, fearless and determined, he goes on scavenging missions outside the wire limits, until he is forced to kill a Nazi guard. That moment changes the course of his life, and sets him on an unbelievable adventure across enemy lines.Escape from the Ghetto is about a normal boy who faced extermination by the Nazis in the ghetto or a Nazi deathcamp, and the extraordinary life he led in avoiding that fate. It's a bittersweet story about epic hope, beauty amidst horror, and the triumph of the human spirit. John Carr is Henry Carr's eldest son, and in Escape From the Ghetto he has recreated his father's incredible adventure, through recordings and transcribed conversations in later life. For fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, The Saboteur of Auschwitz and The Volunteer, this is the incredible true story of escape from the Nazis during World War II.Trade ReviewTrust me, this is a great true story * Ken Follett *This is an unbelievable story that is all completely true. The life described is astonishing. John Carr has done an extraordinary and riveting job uncovering the real father behind the dad he thought he knew * Lord Tony Hall *Utterly Compelling. It is an extraordinary tale, brilliantly written * Alastair Stewart *Extraordinary. An adventure story in the most terrible circumstances, a kid facing the most desperate dangers but taking fantastic risks with great boldness * Fiona MacTaggart *The remarkable story of a Jewish boy who killed a Nazi guard and escaped the Holocaust aged 13 * The Times *Unputdownable. A gripping, life affirming story of survival against seemingly impossible odds -- Deborah Cadbury, author of Princes at WarThis is a book you cannot put down. A quite extraordinary story of courage and cunning, dissembling and dishonesty, help from unlikely quarters and hindrance from cousins, and a fierce desire for survival, at whatever cost. John Carr's telling of his father's story is done sensitively and with pride, and leads to a form of familial reconciliation that is beyond moving. Passionate and spellbinding, and an absolute must read.An eloquent tribute to courage and resourcefulness, Escape from the Ghetto, is a gripping page turner. * Esther Safran Foer *John Carr deserves our gratitude for rescuing this World War Two story, among the most dramatic and vivid I've read. He has created it from conversations with his father, and the voice sounds truly authentic; it really does take us back to that period, when so many ordinary people lived extraordinary lives. It is a great adventure story, but it also prompts deeper questions about identity and truth. * Edward Stourton, author of Cruel Crossing *Deserves to be ranked among the great survival stories of the Second World War. * The Jewish Chronicle *

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Book SynopsisINSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER*A Today Show #ReadWithJenna Book Club Pick* *An Indie Next Great Read*'[A] vivid depiction of a family's heartbreak, its rending and rebuilding.' - Clare Lombardo, New York Times Book Review 'Spanning generations and continents, from pre-WWII Germany to current day midwestern America, Send For Me is a richly imagined testament to the ties that bind.' Whitney ScharerGermany 1930s. Annelise is a dreamer: imagining her future while working at her parents' popular bakery in Feldenheim, Germany, anticipating all the delicious possibilities yet to come. There are rumours that anti-Jewish sentiment is on the rise, but Annelise and her parents can't quite believe that it will affect them; they're hardly religious at all. But as Annelise falls in love, marries, and gives birth to her daughter Ruthie, the dangers grow closer: a brick thrown through her window; a childhood friend who cuts ties with her; customers refusing to patronise the bakery. Luckily Annelise and her husband are given the chance to leave for America, but they must go without her parents, whose future and safety are uncertain.Two generations later, in a small Midwestern city, Ruthie's daughter and Annelise's granddaughter, Clare, is a young woman newly in love. But when she stumbles upon her grandmother's letters from Germany, she sees the history of her family's sacrifices in a new light, and suddenly she's faced with an impossible choice: the past, or her future. A novel of dazzling emotional richness that is based on letters from Lauren Fox's own family, Send for Me is an epic and intimate exploration of mothers and daughters, duty and obligation, hope and forgiveness.Trade ReviewAn anthropological excavation... It is haunted throughout by the endlessly fascinating question of inheritance. How much of our stories - and which parts - truly belong to us?... The book is a real achievement - beautifully written, deeply felt, tender and thoughtful... The storytelling is patient, generous... The major accomplishment of Send for Me [is] its vivid depiction of a family's heartbreak, its rending and rebuilding. * Clare Lombardo, New York Times Book Review *A sense of foreboding shadows this bittersweet intergenerational tale of love and trauma... Subtle, striking, and punctuated by snippets of family letters.. Fox has imbued this deeply personal, ultimately hopeful novel, which she explains in an author's note is based on her own family's story, with emotion, empathy, and an essential understanding of the complicated bonds between generations and the importance of reckoning with the past in order to embrace the future. An intimate, insightful, intricately rendered story of intergenerational trauma and love. * Kirkus, starred *Fox deftly moves between generations as she illuminates the ways that choices echo through the lives of those who came after. This thoughtful, character-driven exploration of the unbreakable bonds of motherhood will appeal to fans of Alice Hoffman and Elizabeth Berg. * Booklist *A beautifully told story of intergenerational loves and sorrows. * Jennifer Rosner, author of The Yellow Bird Sings *Imbued with lyrical prose, Send For Me is a beautiful tale of heartbreak and renewal, and of the love and loss we carry with us, generation after generation. * Georgia Hunter, author of We Were The Lucky Ones *A rare and beautiful novel in luminous prose with great economy and precision... Fox seems to say, life is threaded with hope and joy and human connection... I loved this book. * Christina Baker Kline, author of Orphan Train *Spanning generations and continents, from pre-WWII Germany to current day midwestern America, Send For Me is a richly imagined testament to the ties that bind... Lauren Fox's first historical novel is moving, heartfelt and filled with love. * Whitney Scharer, author of Age of Light *Fox satisfyingly brings this story of love and desire full circle, as Clare and Ruth reflect on what it means to be both a mother and a child in the darkest of times. This tender and deeply inspired story will move readers. * Publishers Weekly *

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Book SynopsisThe harrowing, moving and poignant account of one of the youngest survivors of Auschwitz: a girl who was only five years old when she was sent to an extermination camp, and was one of the few people who entered a gas chamber and lived to tell her story.'I am a survivor. That comes with a survivor's obligation to represent one and half million Jewish children murdered by the Nazis. They cannot speak. So I must speak on their behalf.'With a special foreword by Sir Ben Kingsley.'Every so often a book arrives that demands to be read' John Humphrys'An unforgettable and deeply moving story' Jeremy BowenAN INCREDIBLE STORY OF COURAGE, RESILIENCE AND SURVIVAL Tova Friedman was one of the youngest people to emerge from Auschwitz. After surviving the liquidation of the Jewish ghetto in Central Poland where she lived as a toddler, Tova was five when she and her parents were sent to a Nazi labour camp, and almost six when she and her mother were forced into a packed cattle truck and sent to Auschwitz II, also known as the Birkenau extermination camp, while her father was transported to Dachau. During six months of incarceration in Birkenau, Tova witnessed atrocities that she could never forget, and experienced numerous escapes from death. She is one of a handful of Jews to have entered a gas chamber and lived to tell the tale. As Nazi killing squads roamed Birkenau before abandoning the camp in January 1945, Tova and her mother hid among corpses. After being liberated by the Russians they made their way back to their hometown in Poland. Eventually Tova's father tracked them down and the family was reunited.In The Daughter of Auschwitz, Tova immortalizes what she saw, to keep the story of the Holocaust alive, at a time when it is in danger of fading from memory. She has used those memories that have shaped her life to honour the victims. Written with award-winning former war reporter Malcolm Brabant, this is an extremely important book. Brabant's thorough research has helped Tova recall her experiences in searing detail. Together they have painstakingly recreated Tova's extraordinary story about one of the worst ever crimes against humanity.'I read this book with gratitude and urgency' Fergal Keane'[A] vividly written and compelling story' Lindsey Hilsum'A truly remarkable book' Christine Lampard, LorraineTrade ReviewEvery so often a book arrives that demands to be read. This is such a book. It should be compulsory reading for those who know little of one of humanity's greatest crimes and the awe-inspiring bravery of those like Tova Friedman who survived to tell their story. But also for those who think of the Holocaust as ancient history. It is not. It is an eternal reminder that evil needs only ignorance to flourish. That is the true value of this remarkable book * John Humphrys *Tova Friedman's vividly written and compelling story serves as proof that after suffering unimaginable cruelty and trauma, it is still possible to forge a life. This unforgettable book not only ensures we remember the horrors of the Holocaust, but can see the dangers of anti-semitism and other forms of racism today * Lindsey Hilsum *An unforgettable and deeply moving story. Malcolm Brabant brilliantly evokes the world of the ghetto and of Auschwitz through the eyes of Tova Friedman, a small child who survived the brutality of the Holocaust * Jeremy Bowen *I read this book with gratitude and urgency. Gratitude for the courage Tova Friedman has shown in deciding to share her story. We are all the beneficiaries of such powerful witness. The urgency comes from the knowledge that as time marches on such vivid voices are becoming increasingly rare. Read this book, cherish the lessons. It is a book rooted in the terrible events of another time, but the truths it reveals are eternal * Fergal Keane *Tova Friedman is telling her story for a reason, and that's clear in every page. It is a surprising and moving book which makes you furious, and I suspect that's what she wants -- Krishnan Guru-Murthy * Channel 4 News *[A] harrowing and lyrical memoir * Sunday Independent *An absolutely riveting book - please read it -- Judy Woodruff * PBS Newshour *A truly remarkable book -- Christine Lampard * Lorraine *Heart-breaking and powerful reading * History Revealed *In this vivid account, [Tova's] harrowing memories are brought to life with meticulous research from war reporter Malcolm Brabant. This result is a poignant, extraordinarily powerful book * Woman's Own *The combination [of authors] ... has turned into gold, as Brabant unerringly provides accurate research to support Friedman's callow memories. This is the real thing, the horrors of the Holocaust brought shudderingly to life, and all from the point of view of a small child who could barely read or recognise numbers. * Jewish Chronicle *Friedman is unflinching in choosing to reveal the trauma of her childhood and enlist the reader in her struggle to ensure that it can never be forgotten, and in the hope that it will never happen again. * Church Times *

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