Title: Holocaust -
The Nazis' Wartime Jewish Atrocities
Author: Stephen Wynn
Publisher: Pen & Sword (Military)
Genre: Non-Fiction, History
Release Date: 12th Febrauary 2020
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The Holocaust is without doubt one of the most abhorrent and despicable events not only of the Second World War, but of the twentieth century. What makes it even more staggering is that it was not perpetrated by just one individual, but by thousands of men and women who had become part of the Nazi ideology and belief that Jews were responsible for all of their woes.
This book looks at the build up to the Second World War, from the time of Hitler's appointment as Chancellor of Germany in January 1933, as the Nazi Party rose to power in a country that was still struggling to recover politically, socially and financially from the aftermath of the First World War, whilst at the same time, through the enactment of a number of laws, making life extremely difficult for German Jews. Some saw the dangers ahead for Jews in Germany and did their best to get out, some managed to do so, but millions more did not.
The book then moves on to look at a wartime Nazi Germany and how the dislike of the Jews had gone from painting the star of David on shop windows, to their mass murder in the thousands of concentration camps that were scattered throughout Germany. As well as the camps, it looks at some of those who were culpable for the atrocities that were carried out in the name of Nazism. Not all those who were murdered lost their lives in concentration camps. Some were killed in massacres, some in ghettos and some by the feared and hated Einsatzgruppen.
This book looks at the build up to the Second World War, from the time of Hitler's appointment as Chancellor of Germany in January 1933, as the Nazi Party rose to power in a country that was still struggling to recover politically, socially and financially from the aftermath of the First World War, whilst at the same time, through the enactment of a number of laws, making life extremely difficult for German Jews. Some saw the dangers ahead for Jews in Germany and did their best to get out, some managed to do so, but millions more did not.
The book then moves on to look at a wartime Nazi Germany and how the dislike of the Jews had gone from painting the star of David on shop windows, to their mass murder in the thousands of concentration camps that were scattered throughout Germany. As well as the camps, it looks at some of those who were culpable for the atrocities that were carried out in the name of Nazism. Not all those who were murdered lost their lives in concentration camps. Some were killed in massacres, some in ghettos and some by the feared and hated Einsatzgruppen.
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REVIEW
It’s
going to be difficult to review this book as how can a book that covers such an
awful era in history be “good” and how do I explain why I wanted to read it
without it offending anyone? Well I am going to try my best, first of all, World
War 2 is an era I have always felt drawn to learn about that I find
interesting. I totally agree that the Holocaust was a horrific time in history,
but I am of the opinion it should never be forgotten. This is the sort of
history that should be taught in school. I don’t want to go down a political
route with my review but I believe this era and what happened should never be
forgotten. After the coverage of the Holocaust Memorial Day I have learnt there
are some people that seem to believe the Holocaust either didn’t happen or was
over exaggerated! I don’t understand how they can suggest it didn’t happen when
there are survivors that were there that went through and saw atrocities
happening around them.
I
guess I should get back to this specific book before I go on rambling. The
cover is striking and depicts the content of the book. The symbol of the Nazis
army and swastika feature on the book along with many prisoners in uniforms and
what looks like new arrivals to a camp in their travelling clothes or Sunday
best as they thought they were heading to a new life and wanted to impress
those they would be working with. I think the cover is all the more powerful
when you have read the book and the scene on the cover retold many times within
the book. The information in this book is historical and factual. It has been
collected from official data.
I’ll
be totally truthful I have watched many films based on true stories but I have
also read real survivors stories such as Eva Korr’s Surviving The Angel Of
Death, where she tells what happened to herself, her sister and others around
her that were selected for experiments being carried out by Dr Mengele. I also
recently watched the documentaries about the different concentration camps and
the Windermere children. I have also read even more fictional stories and
fictionalised stories that are based on the true events. So, I guess the point
I am trying to make is that I would have said that I knew quite a lot about
this era. That I knew about certain people of the time such as Hitler, Dr
Mengele, Eva Braun, as well as those with notorious nicknames the “the beast
of” “the bitch of” etc.
I
won’t lie, at times particularly at the beginning of the book I found it quite
hard going, and did occasionally wonder what and why I had committed myself to
reading this book of horrors. Then I thought about those survivors that had
been there and seen all this happening in person, who carried it all around
with them in their heads and hearts every day of their lives. I continued
reading as these people deserve to be heard, their stories must be told and
read. I almost feel I owe it to those who died to read and learn about what
happened to them.
The
book cover how Hitler rolled out his beliefs that the Jewish race were a
problem. Though I must add that Roma people, the ill and disabled were also
sent to concentration camps and into gas chambers. Hitler managed to encourage,
coerce, (whatever you want to call it), thousands of men, women and young
people that the a certain section of the community, the Jewish race were
responsible for everything that was wrong in Germany and the world. The book
explains how the Nazi party rose in strength and power in a country that was
still in the process of recovering from a previous war. Some Jewish people saw
the unrest and worse coming and managed to flee the country. But though some
fled many more could not flee or did not flee.
The
book explains how the Nazis began by painting the star of David on their shop
windows, it covers the night of glass, when shops and synagogues were smashed
up and/or set on fire. There’s the ghetto’s that came first before eventually
been sent onto one of the many concentration camps.
This
book has taught me a lot, though I may not remember or perhaps subconsciously
prefer not to remember the exact statistics of those that died in gas chambers,
were shot in front of mass graves or worked to the point they dropped dead. I
would say I have learnt a lot more than I already knew. I honestly didn’t
realise there were so many concentrations camps.
My
immediate thoughts upon finishing the book were that the book dealt with a very
difficult subject presented with fact, figures & statistics about a
horrendous time in history.
To
sum up, to say I “enjoyed” reading the book seems odd and wrong but it is a very
captivating, shocking, informative, educational and yes in places heart
breaking book. It is a book that enables to easily create imagery in your mind
of the vile acts committed and I will say I think this is a book that will stay
with me for a very long time. I went through a whole range of emotions whilst
reading, from sympathy with those being persecuted, to anger at those in charge
of the atrocities, to tears at all the lives lost. I think this book would be a
good tool for schools to use. I also think it would be a great aid to any one
writing a fictional book about the era.
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