3 comments about The Choice: Poland, 1939-1945.

1. I was captivated by the author's courage as she tries to recreate with honesty, the events happening around her during the war. Although she can sometimes see only colors or shapes, she doesn't fill in what might have happened, only what she can remember. It was a joy to read of her family's reunion in a honest way, without celebratory prose. What a view she creates of the real-life drama in sometimes a matter-of-fact way. She neither paints herself as heroic or courageous, just as a girl trying to live against terrible odds.



2. Ms. Eber is able to take you right into the horrors she faced, both as a child and as an adult. She's unflinching in her own self-examination as well as in recounting the events she witnessed. As a writer who struggles with capturing painful emotions and memories on paper, I have the utmost respect for this author's courage, not only for living, but for putting it all into words. She has a gift and we are fortunate that she's shared it with us.
   Namaste.



3. I was impressed with the author's descriptions of the lives led by Jews in Poland prior to and during WW II.In that respect the book is well written,however there is a big missing piece.What is missing is the story of the escape from the German work camp and the ensuing two years in hiding.The auther took us up to this point and then gave us no detail about the years in hiding or how she found the farm family that allowed her to hide in their chicken coop.
   The book had a tendency to be a bit long on philosophical observations with added poetry and short on narrative story.
   Much was left out as she skipped around from 1939 to present.

No comments about Living On: Portraits of Tennessee Survivors and Liberators.

5 comments about Light One Candle: A Survivor's Tale from Lithuania to Jerusalem.

1. Solly Ganor has told us a powerful story of his life as a child and youth during the Holocaust. His details and honesty reveal a family that loved and cared for each other, worked hard, and took chances to survive. His autobiography with its details helps remove many misconceptions about Jews in the Holocaust that people create from the more common short and simplified accounts of the period. This is not an easy book to read, but it will greatly help you to redefine your understanding and respect for people caught in difficult situations as well as other genocide situations.



2. Most accounts of the Holocaust I've read, especially memoirs tend to be by Jewish survivors from Germany, Poland & Hungary. This memoir is by Solly Ganor, a Lithuanian Jew who describes the horrors of the Holocaust as experienced by him, his family, and other Jews...his tale is one of hope, courage & faith in the most horrific times...and is told with amazing clarity. His descriptions of life in the Kaunas ghetto is told with vivid detail, the hunger, suffering, and the ever present threat of 'actions' are all described with a level of intensity that often reduced me to tears. It is an emotional account, and the images evoked will not soon fade from one's memory.



3. Light One Candle: A Survivor's Tale From Lithuania To Jerusalem is the autobiographical story of Solly Ganor, a man who survived the unspeakable holocaust of the Second World War when he was 13 years old through the intervention and rescue of a Japanese American soldier in 1945 (who himself had been releases from a U.S. internment camp for Japanese Americans just a few months earlier. Light One Candle is a powerful and vividly told memoir of struggle, starvation, and the brutal tolls of concentration and extermination camps. Light One Candle is a welcome eye-witness testimony and a very highly recommended addition to personal reading lists as well as academic and community library Holocaust Studies reference collections.



4. i have read well over two hundred memoirs. This is worth crying over (not that other ones aren't also) and listening to very carefully. without sentimentality - without profession of feelings that may or may not have been felt but remembered...solly ganor brings the reader inside his mind and heart.



5. In LIGHT ONE CANDLE, Solly Ganor takes the reader into that nightmare world of the Holocaust--I could practically feel the harsh elements, the constant danger of the camps. This book isn't anther rote recitation of death counts. There's so much heart and compassion for all those sweptup in these horrors. The insights into camp life include the primal nature of life stripped to itsbasics--such as the "storyteller" who keeps the outside world and traditions alive. Particularly poignant is Cooky, Ganor's childhood friend whose account of the slaughter at the Ninth Fort is more compelling than Dante's own descent into Hell. Ipersonally feel Ganor's book is deserving of some national/international award. Actually, reading the book I wonder how Ganor got it all done. It must have been so painful to revisit these terrible, incomprehensible, sublime, poignant memories. To me it's the best book on the Holocaust, personal or otherwise--certainly it should be a companion to any serious study of this subject. To me it hits at the heart, gets into the soul. It's the humanity of the account,particularly those heart-rending final glimpses of the condemned trying to smile as they wave good-bye.

2 comments about The Grandees: America's Sephardic Elite.

1. In 1971 when Birmingham (who is not Jewish himself) released this book, the Foundation For The Advancement of Sephardic Studies and Culture in New York City put out four formal reviews on Stephen Birmingham's book. The reviews were by people from the academic community WITHIN the very community he wrote about.

   The Foundation For The Advancement of Sephardic Studies and Culture wrote: "...Mr. Birmingham addressed a gathering on October 10th, 1968 at Shearith Israel [the very congregation he writes about in his book], Mr. Louis N. Levy, the president of the Foundation, asked Mr. Birmingham whether he proposed to write on the Balkan Sephardim. For some reason the audience burst into laughter and the answer was not heard."

   One of the reviews was the Rabbi of the very congregation the book is based on "Marc Angel". He wrote: "Birmingham is so eager to show that the "Grandees" are aloof and snobby, that he ignores reality. He interprets things as he wants them to be, not as they are." Rabbi Angel also wrote: "His book is plagued with factual inaccuracies and poor historical perspectives. Unfortunately, many Jews and non-Jews are reading the book and are having their opinions molded by it because they know little or nothing about Sephardim."

   The well-respected Sephardic scholar David N. Barocas wrote of the Grandees: "To rely on hearsay information, or to select at random passages from books and then try to weave them into the fabric of one's text or report constitutes in the final analysis a combination of misstatements, incomplete truths and factual omissions tending to present a perverted opinion of an innocent people."

   There are many good books out there which are acurate, unfortunatly this is not one of them. It was written by an outsider of the community. It is biased, and does give a good example of the Sephardic community.




2. This book does what good histories should do, open up doors to inaccessible places. Well written and incisive, it tracks a part of our history not well known. Especially fascinating were the accounts of how the first 44 came to America, and the story of the Civil War admiral. I'll read more of his books.

3 comments about Smoke over Birkenau (Jewish Lives).

1. Gripping and beautifully written. Another powerful holocaust story of survival in the most extreme and terrifying conditions. Liana is to be praised for her courage and deep inner strength. Her story is one of tragedy and hope.



2. Set down in the middle of Birkenau, an infamous concentration camp, Lili (Liana) tells readers her story of pain, hope, and dispair. Time is lost, and that loss causes many amazing things to happen. Truthful tales of death, life, and living death wrench the reader in every direction manageable. Easily read by any person in their teenage years or older.



3. i guess i'm confused. i am sitting here with a copy of "smoke over birkenau" by seweryna szmaglewska, translated from the polish by jadwiga rynas. henry holt and company n.y. copyright 1947. first printing. Did she change her name?

4 comments about The Secret of Priest's Grotto: A Holocaust Survival Story (Holocaust).

1. This is a very nice book about a little-known story from WWII. It is just incredible what these Jewish families were able to endure to stay alive by hiding in caves, although none of them were experienced cavers. The story of the modern-day cave experts who rediscovered the story is also well done, and the two tales are woven beautifully to create the book. Modern cave photographs and historical images work combine to help tell the story.



2. A book that should be read by all Holocaust-denyers. Had the privelage of meeting the authors and one of the family members written about.



3. Two authors, a cave expert and a photographer, tell this almost unbelievable story of how thirty-eight Jews from a village in the Ukraine survived the Holocaust. They clung tenaciously to life in two different caves for over one year, and somehow managed to come out of the experience physically, mentally, and emotionally intact. We feel admiration and empathy for these determined people who risked everything in order to stay together.
   The story of the caves is interwoven with the story of these people's survival. The authors conducted extensive interviews and consulted the memoir, We Fight to Survive, written in 1960 by Esther Stermer, the matriarch of one of the families. This book reads like an adventure story with a suspense-filled plot and fascinating characters. However, this is brutal fact, not artificial fiction. Generous margins, gorgeous photos of the people and places involved, accurate maps and fascinating sidebars make for a handsome book. The only elements lacking are an index and bibliography. One of the survivors, Shulim Stermer, states: "Everyone has it inside of them to survive." Peter Taylor wondered if he would be capable of the same will to fight for his own family's survival. The Secret of Priest's Grotto brings us face to face with this difficult question. Ages 10-14.



4. I visited the Priest's Grotto in 1990 and found the story local cavers told us fascinating. However it took the amazing detective work of Cris Nicola to uncover the entire story of survival. The book accurately conveys the cave environment and the conditions found there. Cris and Peter are able to put this into language that non caver types can understand. The book had special meaning to me as I am one of few Americans to actually visit the site. To anyone this story is a moving example of a family fighting to survive under horrible conditions. The photo of the present day family on page 61 brought tears to my eyes. I highly reccomend giving this book a read.

5 comments about Hiding in Plain Sight: The Incredible True Story of a German-Jewish Teenager's Struggle to Survive in Nazi-Occupied Poland.

1. Ms. Lauer gives us her almost-incredible account of survival in WWII Poland as a "submarine"; someone sought by the Nazi occupation as a Jewess (zydowka or Judin), yet who could manage by dying her hair blonde, acting confident, finding "female" occupations such as housework and babysitting, to survive in plain sight on the streets of WArsaw, Berlin, and small Polish towns. Rooms to rent were very hard to come by, but most Poles lost their pensions with the Nazi invasion, so many either had to start working or take in boarders. The native population was as frightened of arrest as these GErman Jewish refugees; if nothing else, aiding and abetting in the hiding of Jews or other undesirables could result in a concentration camp or death. Such a signal as having no fur collar on a winter coat indicated one's Jewishness: Jews were not allowed to own furs, had to turn them in; so obtaining a fur collar became another battle for assimilation/passing. In such and many other examples, the reader gradually realizes that Jews could often "hide in plain sight" by aping gentile behavior and clothing, going to Church, etc.
   
   What amazed this reader, after having lived for years in Europe (1980's), is the quite obvious fact that many who hired her or rented her and her mother rooms were aware from the start that they were Jews on the run. Sometimes it would simply erupt at the very end as they were vacating rooms or were let go from a job. Therefore, what you can conclude, most Europeans could recognize these Jewish "submarines" but for many reasons, perhaps from Christian principles or common decency, or hatred of the Occupation, they would not cooperate with the Nazis and turn them in.
   
   She does comment that the gentile women would not bother her on the street or in public streetcars, but that the men, ages 18-60, were to be avoided. They would hit on her, call her "zydowka", and try to turn her into the police - and she would run. This kind of detail brings to light that not just Jew-hatred was at play, but some kind of sexual tension was added to the turmoil. One might guess that the gentile women would want her taken away, but apparently it was the gentile men disturbed at her bottle-blonde freedom and assimilation. Why? Worth speculating about!
   
   The book is so full of details, of names, job descriptions, food and clothing and weather, that one can only wonder that Ms. Lauer could even remember so much. A photographic memory at the least! Those interested in WWII occupied countries, in Jew hatred by gender, in the harshness of Polish life, in the minutiae of survival, will find this book fascinating. I personally enjoyed even hearing what they wore, how they found food, how they cooked it, how they found medical help, how information through letters was smuggled, how cyanide tablets were sewn into seams, new shoes made of old ski boots, etc. etc.
   
   She admits that one great advantage simply lay in her not having been circumcised, as her men were: her pants could not be pulled down and her parts examined. Only Jewish men were circumcised in Europe then.
   
   A book full of tension, a trip down memory lane: old-fashioned Poland. She was only a teenager, and her heart often yearned just for friendship with another girl, but her coreligionists' extreme undesirability made even that comfort almost impossible, for she could not risk excess talk. She would give herself and her mother away. A great story! There must have been many more, but who writes these long-ago details down so well?



2. This book is the choice of two reading groups and many individuals anticipating the visit by author Betty Lauer to our area. It is a vivid and gripping account of events in Poland and Germany of World War II from inside the feelings and emotions of an intelligent, courageous, and sensitive Jewish teenager. It is captivating reading and a major contribution to the documentation of the Holocast. Suitable for all ages.
   
   An obstacle was the small print and very tight binding that made it difficult to keep the book open.



3. Written in a straight-forward style with at least surface artlessness, I found this an engrossing account of a teenage Jewish girl's struggle to survive in Poland after the Nazis took over. While it does not have the overpowering aura of authenticity that is inherent in Victor Klemperer's I Will Bear Witness (Volume I read by me on 11 June 1999 and Volume II on 7 Apr 2000), I was caught up by this account and though one knew she survived (else the book would not exist) one had to remind oneself of that as she went from situation to situation. I think it necessary for one to remind oneself repeatedly of the inhuman behavior of so many people during the Hitler years, lest one take civil liberty for granted. She does meet people who are human but also there are many who behaved in a way which they surely have regretted ever since--I hope.



4. While attending a Bat Mitzvah of a relative, I was fortunate to meet and talk with Betty Lauer, the author of "Hiding in Plain Sight". I told her that I enjoyed the book immensely but found it hard to believe that she could experience so many crises. She said"Believe me: it is true" I said that it must have been very difficult for her to change her faith. She said that was very easy because both of our faiths belive in one God. She is a very upbeat woman.



5. Magnificent attenton to detail and an almost photographic like narrative characterise this Un-run of the mill Holocaust memoir. The author Betty is a modest teenager who is bold while being matter of fact and subtle- and she is able to convey with great nuance what is felt like to navigate the Nazi oocupied Poland during the height of the madness as a teenager .This lengthy memoir, a tale of youthful triumph against such huge odds, is satisfying and keeps the reader on the edge of one's seat.

5 comments about How to Talk Jewish.

1. Jackie Mason's book "How to Talk Jewish", is the greatest and funniest teaching tool for anyone who wonders why they've wasted words speaking English, when they could have said the same with one word in Jewish.



2. Jackie Mason's observations on Yiddish are hilarious. You don't have to be Jewish to love this book!



3. I wanted to learn some common Yiddish sayings. So I bought Jackie Masons' book titled: "How to Talk Jewish". It is an enjoyable book complete with Yiddish sayings and a taste of Jewish life as only Jackie Mason can tell it.



4. Not as good as I had hoped. He explains a lot of Yiddish phrases that are not commonly used. The commonly used expressions were not defined as well as I could have defined them myself.



5. Quintessential Jackie! Hilarious! A must-have in a Jewish humor library. May I also recommend a nifty, gezunta book I received as a gift and fell in love with? "A Little joy, A Little Oy" -- if Jackie's a main course Joy, Oy is one amazing antipasto.

   Lillian & Joe Moses

2 comments about Arrogant Beggar.

1. Anzia Yezierska published her one great novel, Bread Givers, in 1925. It's a seemingly autobiographical account of the struggle for assimilation and for independence from a reactionary father of a Jewish immigrant girl in New York City, and it's quite a piece of work, innovative, fiery, and at times funny, the most powerful novel of urban immigration ever written. This novel, Arrogant Beggar, published in 1927, is also a first-person narrative, but the narrator is an American-born orphan, and the story begins when she is already "formed" and seeking a career.
   
   Let's caution everyone posthaste that Arrogant Beggar is not a literary masterpiece. The writing is modest at best, awkward at times, and awful toward the end. The story is effectively ruined by clumsy inprobabilities and coincidences. The chief male character, Arthur Hellman, is implausible and artificial. There's no suspense and little enough humor. Nevertheless, I recommend it highly for its historical and sociological interest. Adele Lindner, the heroine, makes up for the implausibility of all the other characters by her intensely believable presence. Whether "Adele" is a characterological self-portrait of Anzia Yezierska doesn't much matter. Adele is a stunning revelation of lower-class consciousness in America in the early 20th Century, a spokesperson for the pride of the poor in the face of social condescension. The book was received by contemporaries as a devastating work of social criticism, specifically of Progressive and Social Gospel inspired charities such as the "boardinghouse for poor girls who might aspire to be young ladies but had better recognize their destiny as domestics" where Adele resides for the first half of the narrative. Obviously the reception was hostile.
   
   To quote the book jacket, "the second half of the novel takes Adele back to her ghetto origins as she explores an alternate model of philanthropy by opening a restaurant that combines the communitarian traditions of Old World shetl traditions with the contingencies of New World capitalism." Close enough, but the second half is largely utopian fantasy and lacks the biting pertinence of the first half, with Adele's painful thin-skinned love/hate tussle with gentility.
   
   Was class consciousness, in a European sense, ever part of American society? Was class warfare really a likelihood before the New Deal? This book can be considered a primary source for historians, academic or armchair, who want to taste and smell poverty as the poor tasted and smelled it.



2. This book arrived in about a week and was in BETTER condition than advertised. Overall, I was satisfied with the transaction and would purchase from this seller again.

2 comments about The Life of Jews in Poland before the Holocaust: A Memoir.

1. This book is a compeling read. It describes in minute detail the religious, social and economic structure of the time. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wishes to have a glimpse of life in Poland before WWII.



2. As the Holocaust recedes further into the past, it becomes increasingly difficult to treat it as more than an abstraction. It becomes defined by numbers: Six million or more dead, numbingly large. Yet, how can one who did not live in that era imagine what it truly meant, and even more so for a goy such as myself?
   
   Ben-Zion Gold's memoir is truly a treasure, because of its portrait of Jewish life before the Holocaust. He describes his boyhood living in an Orthodox household in Radom, Poland in the 1930's. He paints rich pictures of family members and gatherings and a host of unique individuals. He depicts his religious schooling, cut short by the war.
   
   The last few chapters briefly describe how Gold survived the war, and the impact of his ordeal on his faith. His candor and insights are deeply appreciated.
   
   Gold originally wrote his story with his daughters in mind -- to tell them about the family in Poland, all of whom were murdered well before his daughters' birth. Fortunately for us, he has expanded the tale in such a way as to make it accessible, even to those of us with no familiarity with Jewish life or customs. I was particularly grateful for how terms are defined on first use.
   
   The Holocaust becomes so much more meaningful now. With Gold's story, we see the faces of those who perished, their personalities, community and culture. We understand a little better what was lost.
   
   I highly recommend this book.