5 comments about On Burning Ground: A Son's Memoir.

1. Michael Skakun's book, "On Burning Ground", makes for a unique memoir as it is the story of his father's experiences during WWII, and not his own experiences, or even his interactions with his father. Joseph Skakun led an extremely interesting, almost unbelievable life, as he did everything he could to evade detection as a Jew and survive the war. It is a story that will leave readers amazed, questioning how anyone had the strength to do what Joseph Skakun forced himself to do.
   
   Joseph's story begins in December 1941, when the Germans come to his town to liquidate it. He tries desperately to escape with his mother, but in the end, he is the only member of his family (as far as he knows) to survive a mass execution. Skakun escapes not once, but twice, from the ghetto, slowly making his way into Lithuania, and finally Germany, where he worked as a farm laborer. His command of several languages helped him along the way, as he gradually assumed the identity of a Muslim from the countryside, hoping that the similarities between Islam and Judaism would help him elude detection. Eventually, he realized that the only way he could guarantee his own safety from the growing suspicions of other laborers was to join the Waffen SS. As Joseph prepared to step fully into the machinery that has been responsible for the destruction of his people, he questioned his actions but knew there is no other way. If he ccould get close to the front, he could escape once and for all.
   
   "On Burning Ground" is a fascinating story, generally well-told, with details that bring Joseph's experiences to life. Joseph's survival is in part due to luck, but more greatly due to his resolve and his ability to forsake outwardly everything that he held dear. Michael Skakun does an admirable job telling his father's story, and examining what his father must have been going through emotionally and psychologically. I thought it an odd choice to narrate as did, refering to the main character as Father rather than taking a third or first person point of view. At times certain elements seem repetitive, but overall Skakun paints an incredible potrait of a remarkable man. It is an unique story of hope that comes from such sorrow. It is a story that needs to be told.



2. This was a nice story, but it was clouded by some very philosphical rantings by the son both early in the book and at the end. Also troubling was the son's writing of his father's story. He talkes about his father, then his grandfather and grandmother, and it is difficult to follow, especially early in the story. I wish he would have written it as his father's narrative as told to him.
   
   This is a very harrowing account on how one person survived the Holocaust. Skakun was blessed with blue eyes and blond hair, and it was fairly easy to pass himself off as an Aryan, with the exception of his circumcision. Both passing into Germany and his physical for the Waffen SS necesitated him taking a physical in the nude. I think his heightened awareness of how vulnerable he was resulted in a certain nervousness, which could have resulted in his uncovered secret identity.
   
   This is a nice easy read about a very lucky Polish Jew. His unconventional route and his luck led to him surviving the war. Skakun credits the good deeds of his mother in his survival of the war.



3. No one can doubt how much Michael Skakun loves his father and how proud he is of his fathers amazing story of survival. However. I would have toned down the flowery writing, after all, in a biography there really no way of knowing all the expressions of the faces in the room, the smells, the sounds, etc. I also would have included a postscript on whether the subject of the book is still alive, where he lives, or where he spent his last days. Too many loose ends for me, but a book that is very good and worth reading.



4. I have always had a deep interest in the Holocaust, I think it is because of the fact that it occured so recent in our history, it is so incredible that in our modern society, a country such as Germany was so willing to carry out such a morbid and shockingly sinister plan of brutality and murder. That ordinary citizens could be so callous and treacherous,...I am amazed!

   Joseph Skakun, a Jewish Holocaust survivor, takes us on a journey into his mind numbing past. Divine intervention, solid logic and humblness, play a major role in his reason for survival.

   Personally I think this story is very unique and wouldn't be surprised to see it become a movie.




5. Skakun's experiences are comparable to those of Yehuda Nir in "The Lost Childhood" and Moshe Perlman in "Europa, Europa". The crowning irony is Skakun's (almost) joining the Waffen SS in order to hide his Jewish identity, and to survive. However, there are just a few errors of background historical fact which mar "On Burning Ground". E.g., on page 203 Julius Streicher is named as the founder of the Nazi paper "Volkische Beobachter". This is wrong. Streicher founded "Der Sturmer". Volkische Beobachter was an outgrowth of "Munchener Beobachter", a paper purchased and re-founded by Dietrich Eckart. This is the sort of mistake that better editing might have caught. But "On Burning Ground" still stands as a riveting account of survival through quick thinking and a lot of luck.

No comments about Night.

No comments about Leap to Life: Triumph over Nazi Evil.

No comments about Buchenwald: A Survivor's Memories.

No comments about Music of Another World (Jewish Lives).

No comments about Survival.

5 comments about God is in Hell: Opening My Heart to the Holocaust.

1. This is a phenomenal book. The author's intricately woven words bring your heart close to the powerful topic. This is a highly recommended reading.



2. Though much has been written about the Holocaust, the truly neglected aspect ofthis overwhelming tragedy is the spiritual impact it has had on the "aftermath generation." In her book, God in Hell, Gemma Grott poignantly paints a rich life-sized portrait of the dual process of both her own spiritual maturation and its relationship to the Holocaust experience that she inherited on a cellular level of consciousness. The story is a unique journey into self-relaization adn spiritual development that encompasses both her personal search for self-understanding and an inner desire to work out the cluminating effects of centuries of her people's anguish. It is work of rare insight into the ramifications of persecution and darkness o the human soul. This is a heartfelt work that offers us hope, illustrating the ability of one generation to come to terms with and help heal the terrible wounds of the past. Itis a truly moving and inspiring offering, which provides the reader with a uique vantage point for examintg one of the central issues facing the human race; healing he effects of evil.



3. With critical insight into the harrowing effects of the Holocaust, as well as the conditions for other peoples, Gemma Grott relates an amazing story. Her captivatiing style propels a remarkably challenging search for meaning in the mystery of life in each chapter of her book. Ms. Grott's account of her spiritual and political journey is an inspiring sign of hope to readers.
   -- by Sister Jane F. Garry, CSJ



4. Ms. Grott has managed to outline a most personal journey and process for recognizing and healing generational wounds - especially the devastating wounds still rocking our world from the Holocaust. Never have I read a book that so seamlessy traverses history, psychology, social justice, spirituality and metaphysics. The voices of Grott's characters reflect aspects of a fragmented whole, providing the reader with a way to own, rather than dismiss all aspects of our tragic history. The haunting question, "Where was God", which has spiritually and morally devastated humanity since the Holocaust is engaged with such heart and intelligence as to mend deep layers of suffering on a level much broader than Ms. Grott's own life. Bravo!



5. Gemma Grott has created a powerful gem: a healing memoir with universal application and deep meaning at many levels from the political to the spiritual. She tells her story with absolute honesty and frankness, enabling readers to personally relate to and understand how she opened her heart to hidden and historic pain in order to liberate her life. Such honesty can only be expressed when one experiences deep personal transformation. Sharing in Gemma's transformation was a rare privilege

   Grott's book is not only for Nazi Holocaust survivors, their children and grandchildren. This is a unique telling of the hof the human spirit for all mankind, for all time.

   I was so fascinated and engrossed with Gemma's story that I stayed up all night to complete her memoir in one sitting.

1 comments about Tales from Hungary.

1. This short book packs a strong punch -- particularly in the first half as the author relates her memories of being a young Jewish girl in Budapest between 1941 and 1945. As the situation becomes more oppressive after the German occupation in 1944, each incident becomes progressively more vivid. This portion of the book culminates in the end of the German occupation and the beginning of the Soviet period of influence.

   Unfortunately, the second half of the book slows down a bit as the author relates additional stories around her early professional career as a state-sponsored (by the Communist government) musician. The book feels oddly incomplete - ...

2 comments about Lucky to Be Here.

1. This, to me, is the author's most accessible and continuous novel, and like his other books, highlights the point at which the personal and universal meet. It is also an often-humorous "coming of age" story, but manages to avoid the sentimentality and overt nostalgia that sometimes mars works of this kind. If you are unfamiliar with Kaufman's work, this is a good place to start.



2. "My school-days! The silent gliding on my existence - the unseen, unfelt progress of my life - from childhood up to youth! Let me think, as I look back upon that flowing water, now a dry channel overgrown with leaves, whether there are any marks along its course, by which I can remember how it ran." (David Copperfield, Charles Dickens)
   
   Lucky To Be Here is an engaging autobiographical sketch of the author's experiences as a child growing up in Toledo, Ohio. Appropriately lighter in tone and content than some of his other works, Lucky will surely please Dr. Kaufman's many admirers. The winner of numerous awards, including the prestigious BBC Best Play from Europe Award in 1995 -- one might be tempted to describe Mr. Kaufman as a modern day Goethe. His accomplishments in the humanities stretch from positions as a professor of German language and literature at Queens College, professor of American Studies at Kiel University in Germany, professor of music history at Antwerp University, to violinist with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra and the Flemish Opera in Antwerp.
   
   Dr. Kaufman has the ability to transport the reader into the atmosphere of the subject at hand. This is virtually a hallmark of the author's creativity. Consider the following passage from Lucky describing a music recital of children in Toledo, Ohio: "In almost every other seat she could see the dangling feet of some younger brother or sister, bare legs and skinned knees, with long socks at half mast.... Here and there, the odd scarf or mitten had fallen to the floor. There was the hushed sound of a parent whispering in response to the loud outcry of a young uninhibited child. `Mommy, my foot itches.... Who's that little man on the piano?' The porcelain statuette of Beethoven stared unperturbed, ever scowling, as if in preparation for another inevitable rendition of his `Minuet in G.'"
   
   Lucky is much more profound, however, than a mere collection of the author's memories of American life as a new immigrant during the Second World War. It also serves as a social commentary on the prevailing attitudes of various classes of Americans. (The subject of the author's experience in actually escaping Nazi Germany is dealt with in his moving and profound play Last Supper.) Besides Lucky's obvious literary value, it serves as a valuable historical study of the lives of immigrants to the United States during WWII. It would in fact be a useful addition for classroom study as well, although a couple of passages, particularly the opening paragraphs, would probably be inappropriate for many students.
   
   Lucky To Be Here, destined to be recognized for its timeless quality, worthy to be ranked along such great autobiographical works as Down and Out in Paris and London, by George Orwell and perhaps even the semi-autobiographical masterpiece David Copperfield, is yet another literary triumph for its author, Dr. Herbert L. Kaufman.

1 comments about The Longest Road to America: Volume 3: Between Two Worlds.

1. Author takes you on a ride of her bare naked life, selfless on sharing her inner world, her personal weaknesses and sources of enormous strength to survive alone away from her old loved family in a big new world while desiring to start new family of her own choice. Hope volume 4 is coming soon.