No comments about Edith's Story: Courage, Love and Survival During WWII.

No comments about Adolf Hitler: A Study in Hate (Holocaust Biographies).

2 comments about Auschwitz: A Doctor's Eyewitness Account.

1. For Dr. Nyiszli to bear witness to the day-in and day-out horror of Auschwitz, and still be able to write about it, is quite unreal. Working as a pathologist for Dr. Mengele in the confines of the crematorium compound, we read of the horrors of the camp, and how both inmates & guards coped.



2. Reading this book has completely altered my perception on the human being, individually, and as a whole. The events that took place in Auschwitz were so horrific and yet they mustn't be forgotten. Any person claiming a reasonable level of education must read this book. It will literally change the reader forever.

5 comments about The Outrage.

1. It is difficult to convey the emotional fever that this book induces, but suffice it to say, that I read it for two days running, with few breaks and little sleep! Mischa Kopiec, the main character, is the living definition of a true hero--a brave-hearted warrior, but a compassionate and moral man. He is further endowed with a keen presence of mind, an innate ability to assess characters and situations, and a well-trained, but still, almost preternatural understanding of military strategy. I was exceedingly heartened to read this memoir about Mischa, one tough Jewish soldier,who,though tormented by the knowledge of the Nazis' perfidy, fought or eluded them in many treacherous situations,as the quintessential survivor.



2. I have been a student of the holocaust since graduating with a major in Judaic studies. I am also a relative of survivors of the horrors of nazi Germany. Mischa's experience was an incredibly unique perspective from an unusual human being. Most Holocaust experiences do not parallel this unique perspective. The lessons and sense of family that Mr. Kopiec brings to this story are uplifting. I hope that this book can find its way into the homes of not only the Jewish community but also those of any human being that has no tolerance for discrimination, or the atrocities of genocide. Further, I believe that there are important lessons embodied in this story, that are a contribution to the Jewish people.



3. Michael Kopiec's book "The Outrage" is a well-written book about a very special holocaust survivor - Misha Kopiec. Through Misha's eyes, the reader will feel the horror and reality of the Nazi occupation of Poland. Misha was an extraordinary person. In any other time and place, he would have been recognized for his keen mind, kind heart and extraordinary strength. But, this was Poland under Nazi domination and Misha was Jewish - that equated to being nothing and nobody. Michael Kopiec helps us to see what life and death was like for Jews in Eastern Europe during this time period. The events are unbelievable - but real. Man's inhumanity to man is detailed on the pages of this extraordinary book - a must read!



4. I won't be spoiling your read of this amazing, gut wrenching, action packed book, when I tell you that in the end the human spirit prevails. Author Michael Kopiec, son of the protagonist Misha, moves the reader out of their comfort zone of neutrality, and into the active role of a witness. You will find your emotions ebb and surge, along with Misha as he calculates his every move. His thought process is akin to the manner of consideration one might expect from a Master Chess Player. The significant difference here is that the stakes were life and death. This book is a wonderful read, and you will most assuredly be moved.



5. This book was amazing! It was almost impossible to put down and incredibly moving. Misha's strenth and the love for his family is inspiring. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about this important time in history or to anyone looking to read a story about a true survivor.

1 comments about Before Deportation: Letters from a Mother to Her Daughters, January 1939-December 1942 (Jewish Lives).

1. This book contains 57 letters written by a mother to her daughters. The mother is living in Berlin, the daughters join a boarding school in Switzerland. The letters were written in the time from the beginning of 1939 to the end of 1942. In the letters one can read about daily concerns of a normal mother and the typical concerns of teenagers. They do not always harmonize and have to go through to depth and highs of their first love. What makes these letters unique ? The mother, who is divorced, is jewish and lives in a slightly better situation compared with the other Jews because she was married with an "Aryan" German. But even for her, who was working as a teacher, life is getting more and more difficult and depressing. In her work for the jewish community she gets insights into the deportations. With these deportations more and more Jews are brought to the determination camps in the east - mainly to Auschwitz. Reading the letters one can imaging how the ring gets closer month by month - especially after beginning of world war II in 1941. Live is getting a hell on earth for the Jews. Fear of the censor makes Hertha Feiner choice a quite indirect form of expressions in the letters. Astonishing how Feiner bolsters herself and in a different sense her daughters too. It is difficult for her to make it transparent for her daughters how hard her life in Berlin is. In the beginning of 1943 Feiner was deported to Auschwitz... The letters were edited by Karl Heinz Jahnke... The introduction of Jahnke is quite useful especially for readers outsides Germany. Information about the family of Feiner and background information about the politics of the Nazis against the Jews are given in an exact and concise manner. The book was excellently translated by Margot Bettauer Dembo.

No comments about I Chose Life.

No comments about Letters from Prague, 1939-1941.

No comments about Adrift: Life in Transit.

5 comments about Born Into Turmoil.

1. I just finished reading Bruno Lange's book, Born Into Turmoil.
   The book is universally appealing in its portrayal of young boys in search of adventure in a world of chaos and/or peace.
   Reading it reminded me of the many stunts pulled by Tom Sawyer as written by Mark Twain.
   Bruno gives a refreshing, yet solemn biography of what it was like to grow up as an indoctrinated, Nazi youth. His father was drafted into the German Army as a medic in Poland while Bruno, himself, was drafted into the Hitler Youth movement. Hiding Jews and helping Poles were only a few examples in the book of the kindness of his parents.

   Bruno gives examples from a Nazi propaganda book, The Poisoned Mushrooms, in which Jews are depicted as animals and thieves and slaughterers of innocent animals...not to be trusted. One can only imagine the effects it had on the minds of young German youth at the time.
   Luckily, with the advance of the Allies into Germany, Bruno's family is captured and re-indoctrinated...able to let go of the hate that was sown into a country so full of beauty and promise.

   As a German teacher, I will make it a must read for my students. I feel it is a story they would be able to relate to on a personal level.
   Bruno tells of having lied about having appendicitis in order to skip school, and ends up with his appendics actually being removed! He finds a bazooka in the woods and fires it into a tree...knocking him and the tree to the ground and setting the surrounding grass on fire. He is starving for food and invents ingenious ways to feed his family, including making himself potato pancakes. Lacking lard or butter to fry them in, he resorts to using Singer sewing machine oil...only to discover that it turned out quite delicious.

   From leaping onto a moving Allied train to steal coal to keep his family warm or bicycling with a buddy across Europe on $3.85, he keeps the reader intrigued and squealing in delightful laughter the whole way through. It took me six hours to read and I recommend it to anyone who wants to see war from the German side.
   This is a MUST READ for those who would believe that HATE is the only way to resolve conflict.




2. Bruno Lange's story of a child caught up in the ravages of WWII and his struggle to survive the deadly bombings and the war's aftermath, will touch your heart and lift your spirits. The account of this young boy's wartime experiences will make you laugh, smile and cry, but is never boring. And like a bird fluttering against the wind, young Bruno's struggle moved him upward and onward. With the strong will and determination of a Rhinelander, Bruno emerges from his wartime experiences a whole person; a person who leaves the normal scares of hatred and resentment behind. Bruno Lange's book, "Born Into Turmoil" will inspire and strengthen all who read it.



3. I have always been fascinated by the events of WW II. No other incident in modern history has left us with such a dreadful, and far reaching legacy.
   "Born into Turmoil" will offer the English speaking reader something different and fresh. Mr. Lange chronicles his experiences as a child growing up in Germany during the Second World War. Together with Mr. Lange you will experience the dreadful bombing raids, and the daily struggle to survive during an unbearable hardship. The theme which keeps surfacing throughout his book is his families love, and how this love managed to preserve the family through the war.
   When the war ends we witness the resourcefulness of Mr. Lange and his family as they try to survive while being threatened with starvation, and roaming hoards of "liberated" criminals. As time progresses we are given an insight into what things were like in post war Germany through Lange's eyes.
   No serious student of these times should be without their copy of "Born into Turmoil", It will give the reader a better understanding of the "other sides" story, and a more complete picture of a larger whole.



4. Bruno Lange's book 'Born Into Turmoil' gives us a growing German boy's account on how his family endured their hardships during WWII and in the Postwar years. How the family helped each other out during these unthinkably harsh years of the war. Bruno Lange has meticulously written this book to show both sides of the war. He introduces his story by showing us what led to Hitler's Germany and why so many Germans supported him. He pointed out the Treaty of Versailles and it's Points against Germany, which created a blue print for the coming of WWII. I enjoyed reading 'Born Into Turmoil' immensely and would like to see a sequel to it written. Bruno Lange is a well versed author with a sense of humour, who manages to write a story taken from hard times but yet the reader feels comfortable reading it. He adds his warmth and personal touch to many of the Chapters. His pointing out the morals of the time shows us how much change we have gone through in such a short span of time. I found this book to be written compassionately but yet factual and historically precise. Unlike many of Hollywood's movies, which are constantly being altered and made more Politically correct to appease the public and profit from it, Bruno has not altered any of the events that he wrote about in 'Born Into Turmoil' at all. He writes actual historical and documented facts as they occurred during those years. Bruno Lange's 'Born into Turmoil' gets a five star review from me and I hope that more books like it will be written by many more Germans that lived during those years and have kept silent until now. The new generation needs to know what really happened to so many innocent German civilians during WWII



5. What a tremendous book this author has written,- one that takes you right to the heart of the German family before, during, and after the war. Amazingly,- all youngsters have their own ways of dealing with situations forced upon them. Bruno Lange dealt with his in wildly funny ways. The family love is such an inspiration to the reader. This book tells so much of what many have never learned in school,- a must for every library!

No comments about Self Portrait: An Artist's Memories.