Please recommend Holocaust books - 1st person accounts only

Batsheva1

Fri, Apr 29 2022, 4:07 pm

#BestBubby wrote:

I read "Night" but not for frum kids.

The author became an atheist after witnessing the atrocities.

When a child was executed by public hanging, Wiesel said "G-d is there - Dead" or something like that.

I must correct you. You couldn't be more wrong about Elie Weisel being an atheist. He most certainly was not! He struggled with G-d and to understand (who wouldn't after experiencing that? In addition that is what Jewish people do, hence the name of the Jewish People -Yisrael)
He put on tefillin till his last day on earth kept mitzvot, and learned Torah. I wouldn't hesitate to say he was way more religious than you or I could ever hope to be.

amother

Lightgreen

Fri, Apr 29 2022, 4:57 pm

#BestBubby wrote:

It is scary how much USA today resembles Nazi Germany in the 1930s - BEFORE the Holocaust started.

(I am NOT comparing USA to the Holocaust but to the events BEFORE the Holocaust started).

I would like to respectfully disagree.
Do some reading about the Germany in the 1930's to see how wrong you are.
There are still survivors alive who can set you straight but unfortunately there are fewer and fewer of them every day.
You may not approve of the USA today, and you can be thankful there are many alternatives available to you if you actually live there and are feeling uncomfortable with that.
There are in reality few commonalities between the two governments and time periods you mentioned.

amother

Moccasin

Fri, Apr 29 2022, 5:13 pm

amother [ Cyan ] wrote:

Just as a side note, I don't think Hasidic Tales of the Holocaust is true.

As far as I know these are true stories based on Yaffa Eliach's interviews with survivors.

#BestBubby

Sat, Apr 30 2022, 11:02 pm

Batsheva1 wrote:

Thank you.

I did not know that. From reading his book I assumed he was not religious.

Not judging anybody who went through the Holocaust - may we never be tested that way!

amother

Mocha

Sat, Apr 30 2022, 11:58 pm

amother [ Cyan ] wrote:

Just as a side note, I don't think Hasidic Tales of the Holocaust is true.

I personally knew one of people from one of her stories. His name and the story were real

amother

Broom

Sun, May 01 2022, 12:13 am

metacognizant wrote:

It doesn't matter to me who wrote the book - Frum, not frum, not Jewish. Heck it could be a book by a perpetrator. The thing that I'm looking for is *1st person perspectives* of people who were there.

You don't care anything about the background/hashkafa/values in the book? You're just looking for history? Why??

Reality

Sun, May 01 2022, 1:54 am

metacognizant wrote:

Ok. Yes, The Nazi Officer's Wife is a true story written by the woman herself.

Reality

Sun, May 01 2022, 2:05 am

amother [ Broom ] wrote:

You don't care anything about the background/hashkafa/values in the book? You're just looking for history? Why??

Why not? She's a grownup. Many of us read secular books.

Any book published by a frum publisher is going to gloss over any s-xual misdeeds, whether it was rape or people being promiscuous. The same goes for the experiments the Nazis did and so many other gruesome aspects of the holocaust.

The question is why? Is it because the frum authors think it's inappropriate to write about such things? It could be some feel like that. Most certainly the publishers censor topics they think are not for a frum reader. Well some people want to know the details. Not everyone reads and wants hashkafa lessons on every page.

metacognizant

Sun, May 01 2022, 3:32 pm

amother [ Broom ] wrote:

You don't care anything about the background/hashkafa/values in the book? You're just looking for history? Why??

YES. I am looking to learn the history from the people who were there, who saw it with their own eyes. This will involve reading accounts from different perspectives and sets of values. Do you find this strange?

amother

DarkCyan

Sun, May 01 2022, 3:50 pm

gr82no wrote:

Tatteh said run by Eli korbluth I think

Tatteh said RUN! by Pinchos Yeshaya Kornbluh

Not the best book I’ve read but one of the very few that were originally written and published in Yiddish. Most memorably for me was it’s raw description of the death march which which for many survivors was the worst part of the holocaust.

Last edited by amother on Mon, May 09 2022, 9:11 pm; edited 1 time in total

amother

Bellflower

Mon, May 02 2022, 5:40 am

Mans search for meaning Viktor Frankel.

Is on every top book list of the well read.

Reading it makes you understand how psychologically the effects happened, how they survived, how they moved on and why the next gens have all the residual trauma.

I didnt understand my inlaws at all until I read that. It certainly gave me more empathy and patience for when they were acting very trying.

doctorima

Mon, May 02 2022, 10:36 am

I know it was mentioned already, but another vote for The Youngest Partisan by Romi Cohen - first person and only gets more powerful and gripping on every page.

metacognizant

Mon, May 02 2022, 10:57 am

Thank you, everyone. I've written down every title recommended here. For better or worse, when I pick up a Holocaust book I usually read the whole thing in one sitting. So I'll go to sleep early, wake up at 1am, read until 5am, and then go to sleep until 6:30 or 6:45. Kind of like taking a bitter pill -- better to just get it down than to savor it. My point is that even though now I have a long list I might actually get through it within a few months.

FreshGrandma

Sun, Jul 24 2022, 12:07 am

amother [ Chestnut ] wrote:

For Those I've Loved by Martin Gray

It is an absolutely incredible story.

That's a very good read, but I think at least part this story turned out to be untrue.

amother

Mustard

Sun, Jul 24 2022, 12:43 am

I just read Lily’s Promise by Lily Ebert and her great-grandson. I liked how it connected her past and present and also talked about her experiences before, during, and after the war.