The Last Consolation Vanished

Author : Zalmen Gradowski
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 241 pages
File Size : 52,7 Mb
Release : 2022-11-15
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780226636788

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The Last Consolation Vanished by Zalmen Gradowski Pdf

"The Last Consolation Vanished is a unique first-person Holocaust account. It is by Zalmen Gradowski, who was one of the Sonderkommandos (special squads) at Auschwitz, a Jew tasked with ushering prisoners into the gas chambers, removing their bodies, salvaging any valuables, and destroying all evidence of their murders. The Sonderkommandos were forcibly recruited by SS men; when they discovered how dreadful the work they were expected to do was, a number of them committed suicide or acted with the aim of being killed by the SS. In spite of their situation, some Sonderkommandos never gave up and attempted to resist in two very interlaced ways: planning an uprising and testifying. Gradowski resisted both ways, and while the rebellion he helped to lead on October 7, 1944, was completely crushed, and Gradowski was murdered in the process, his testimony lives on. Hidden in a metal bottle in the ashes near Crematorium III, Gradowski's two lyrical accounts describe the brutality of the Nazi regime, the process of the assassination of Czech Jews, and the relationship among the men forced to assist in the horrors. But his notebooks are not the detached blow-by-blow series of declarative statements we have come to expect in narratives of this kind. In the midst of daily unimaginable horrors, Gradowski aimed to write beautifully, lyrically, movingly, to create true literature where and when one would least expect to find it. Gradowski wrote in Yiddish, and until now, his full writings have only appeared in French translation. This most exceptional text, accompanied by a preface and postface by Philippe Mesnard and Arnold I. Davidson, will be of enormous value, both in Holocaust scholarship and in continuing the remembrance of the Shoah, for many years to come"--

Author : Zalmen Gradowski
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 239 pages
File Size : 51,6 Mb
Release : 2024-05-06
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780226833231

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The Last Consolation Vanished by Zalmen Gradowski Pdf

A unique and haunting first-person Holocaust account by Zalmen Gradowski, a Sonderkommando prisoner killed in Auschwitz. On October 7, 1944, a group of Jewish prisoners in Auschwitz obtained explosives and rebelled against their Nazi murderers. It was a desperate uprising that was defeated by the end of the day. More than four hundred prisoners were killed. Filling a gap in history, The Last Consolation Vanished is the first complete English translation and critical edition of one prisoner’s powerful account of life and death in Auschwitz, written in Yiddish and buried in the ashes near Crematorium III. Zalmen Gradowski was in the Sonderkommando (special squad) at Auschwitz, a Jewish prisoner given the unthinkable task of ushering Jewish deportees into the gas chambers, removing their bodies, salvaging any valuables, transporting their corpses to the crematoria, and destroying all evidence of their murders. Sonderkommandos were forcibly recruited by SS soldiers; when they discovered the horror of their assignment, some of them committed suicide or tried to induce the SS to kill them. Despite their impossible situation, many Sonderkommandos chose to resist in two interlaced ways: planning an uprising and testifying. Gradowski did both, by helping to lead a rebellion and by documenting his experiences. Within 120 scrawled notebook pages, his accounts describe the process of the Holocaust, the relentless brutality of the Nazi regime, the assassination of Czech Jews, the relationships among the community of men forced to assist in this nightmare, and the unbearable separation and death of entire families, including his own. Amid daily unimaginable atrocities, he somehow wrote pages that were literary, sometimes even lyrical—hidden where and when one would least expect to find them. The October 7th rebellion was completely crushed and Gradowski was killed in the process, but his testimony lives on. His extraordinary and moving account, accompanied by a foreword and afterword by Philippe Mesnard and Arnold I. Davidson, is a voice speaking to us from the past on behalf of millions who were silenced. Their story must be shared.

Author : Gideon Greif
Publisher : Yale University Press
Page : 399 pages
File Size : 49,7 Mb
Release : 2005-01-01
Category : History
ISBN : 9780300131987

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We Wept Without Tears by Gideon Greif Pdf

The "Sonderkommando of "Auschwitz-Birkenau consisted primarily of Jewish prisoners forced by the Germans to facilitate the mass extermination. Though never involved in the killing itself, they were compelled to be "members of staff" of the Nazi death-factory. This book, translated for the first time into English from its original Hebrew, consists of interviews with the very few surviving men who witnessed at first hand the unparalleled horror of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. Some of these men had never spoken of their experiences before.

Author : Shlomo Venezia
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
Page : 238 pages
File Size : 55,8 Mb
Release : 2013-12-06
Category : History
ISBN : 9780745683775

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Inside the Gas Chambers by Shlomo Venezia Pdf

This is a unique, eye-witness account of everyday life right at the heart of the Nazi extermination machine. Slomo Venezia was born into a poor Jewish-Italian community living in Thessaloniki, Greece. At first, the occupying Italians protected his family; but when the Germans invaded, the Venezias were deported to Auschwitz. His mother and sisters disappeared on arrival, and he learned, at first with disbelief, that they had almost certainly been gassed. Given the chance to earn a little extra bread, he agreed to become a ‘Sonderkommando', without realising what this entailed. He soon found himself a member of the ‘special unit' responsible for removing the corpses from the gas chambers and burning their bodies. Dispassionately, he details the grim round of daily tasks, evokes the terror inspired by the man in charge of the crematoria, ‘Angel of Death' Otto Moll, and recounts the attempts made by some of the prisoners to escape, including the revolt of October 1944. It is usual to imagine that none of those who went into the gas chambers at Auschwitz ever emerged to tell their tale - but, as a member of a ‘Sonderkommando', Shlomo Venezia was given this horrific privilege. He knew that, having witnessed the unspeakable, he in turn would probably be eliminated by the SS in case he ever told his tale. He survived: this is his story. Published in association with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Author : Jori Epstein
Publisher : Post Hill Press
Page : 174 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2021-03-23
Category : History
ISBN : 9781642937855

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The Upstander by Jori Epstein Pdf

The stench of decay pierced the air aboard the boxcar of trapped Jews. “Why me?” fifteen-year-old Max asked himself, as a convoy rumbled from the Warsaw Ghetto to Majdanek death camp in May 1943. The Nazis had destroyed the Glauben family’s business, upended their rights, and ultimately decimated their neighborhood. The deluge of questions would only intensify after the Nazis murdered Max’s mother, father, and brother. Max channeled grit, determination, and a fortuitous knack for manufacturing airplane parts to outlast six horrific concentration camps in his quest to survive. This memoir explores Max’s mischievous childhood and teen years as a go-to ghetto smuggler. Max journeys from displaced person to American immigrant and Korean veteran. He reveals how he ached as he dared to court love and rear children. For decades, he bottled up his trauma. Then he realized: He could transform his pain into purpose. Infused with raw emotion and vivid detail, historical records and Max’s poignant voice, this memoir relays the true story of the harrowing violence and dehumanization Max endured. It relays Max’s powerful lifetime commitment to actively thwarting hate and galvanizing resilience. Max insists you, too, can transform your adversity into your greatest strength. In the seventy-five years since his liberation, Max has ceased to ask himself, “Why me?” Instead, he reframes his focus, eager to partner with you and ask: “What can we do next?”

Author : Richard L. Rashke
Publisher : University of Illinois Press
Page : 418 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 1995
Category : Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
ISBN : 0252064798

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Escape from Sobibor by Richard L. Rashke Pdf

A story reconstructed from the diaries, notes, and memories of the six hundred Jews who revolted, three hundred of whom escaped the death camp Sobibor.

Author : Maggie Schein
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 265 pages
File Size : 44,6 Mb
Release : 2023-12-02
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9783031243196

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Cruelty by Maggie Schein Pdf

Cruelty is such a ubiquitous and at the same time disturbing phenomenon that we take for granted that we understand what it is, and how it impacts the ways in which we think about our humanity as a moral condition—how we understand our moral significance. Cruelty: A Book About Us offers an accessible interrogation of cruelty and humanity, and, most critically, it provides a groundwork for us to raise questions collectively; it is an invitation for us all to join in the dialogue. Through academic studies, literary works, and’ personal stories and observations, this book provokes deeper insights into why cruel acts trouble our usual ways of articulating and addressing wrongness. Mining interdisciplinary sources, it excavates what we may not know we don't know and guides us in conversations about this profoundly evocative and often uneasy subject.

Author : Edwin Goldberg
Publisher : CCAR Press
Page : 201 pages
File Size : 49,6 Mb
Release : 2024-03-15
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780881236484

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CCAR Journal: The Reform Jewish Quarterly, Winter 2024 by Edwin Goldberg Pdf

This issue of the CCAR Journal focuses on the relationship between Judaism and rapid technological change, the disconnect between information and meaning, and related existential questions facing the Reform Movement. General articles, book reviews, and poetry are also included.

Author : Susan Eischeid
Publisher : Springer
Page : 151 pages
File Size : 43,7 Mb
Release : 2016-06-25
Category : History
ISBN : 9783319310381

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The Truth about Fania Fénelon and the Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz-Birkenau by Susan Eischeid Pdf

This book explores how the women’s orchestra at Auschwitz-Birkenau has been remembered in both media and popular culture since the end of the Second World War. In particular it focuses on Fania Fenelon’s memoir, Playing for Time (1976), which was subsequently adapted into a film. Since then the publication has become a cornerstone of Holocaust remembrance and scholarship. Susan Eischeid therefore investigates whether it deserves such status, and whether such material can ever be considered reliable source material for historians. Using divergent source material gathered by the author, such as interviews with the other surviving members of the orchestra, this Pivot seeks to shed light on this period of women’s history, and questions how we remember the Holocaust today.

Author : Lucy Adlington
Publisher : HarperCollins
Page : 400 pages
File Size : 48,5 Mb
Release : 2021-09-14
Category : History
ISBN : 9780063030947

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The Dressmakers of Auschwitz by Lucy Adlington Pdf

A powerful chronicle of the women who used their sewing skills to survive the Holocaust, stitching beautiful clothes at an extraordinary fashion workshop created within one of the most notorious WWII death camps. At the height of the Holocaust twenty-five young inmates of the infamous Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp—mainly Jewish women and girls—were selected to design, cut, and sew beautiful fashions for elite Nazi women in a dedicated salon. It was work that they hoped would spare them from the gas chambers. This fashion workshop—called the Upper Tailoring Studio—was established by Hedwig Höss, the camp commandant’s wife, and patronized by the wives of SS guards and officers. Here, the dressmakers produced high-quality garments for SS social functions in Auschwitz, and for ladies from Nazi Berlin’s upper crust. Drawing on diverse sources—including interviews with the last surviving seamstress—The Dressmakers of Auschwitz follows the fates of these brave women. Their bonds of family and friendship not only helped them endure persecution, but also to play their part in camp resistance. Weaving the dressmakers’ remarkable experiences within the context of Nazi policies for plunder and exploitation, historian Lucy Adlington exposes the greed, cruelty, and hypocrisy of the Third Reich and offers a fresh look at a little-known chapter of World War II and the Holocaust.

Author : Chil Rajchman
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 160 pages
File Size : 50,7 Mb
Release : 2021-11-15
Category : History
ISBN : 9781639361045

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The Last Jew of Treblinka by Chil Rajchman Pdf

A Simon & Schuster eBook. Simon & Schuster has a great book for every reader.

Author : Ronald J. Diller
Publisher : Cherry Orchard Books
Page : 136 pages
File Size : 43,5 Mb
Release : 2020
Category : HISTORY
ISBN : 1644695073

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From Darkness to Light by Ronald J. Diller Pdf

A compilation of personal testimonies of six Holocaust survivors. Amid their immense pain and suffering, they overcame every hurdle they encountered and realized their dream to live in Israel. Their love for Israel and their creation of families embody children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren nullified Hitler's aim to annihilate the Jews.

Author : Nicholas Chare,Dominic Williams
Publisher : Berghahn Books
Page : 581 pages
File Size : 47,5 Mb
Release : 2019-09-01
Category : History
ISBN : 9781805393498

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Testimonies of Resistance by Nicholas Chare,Dominic Williams Pdf

The Sonderkommando—the “special squad” of enslaved Jewish laborers who were forced to work in the gas chambers and crematoria of Auschwitz-Birkenau—comprise one of the most fascinating and troubling topics within Holocaust history. As eyewitnesses to and unwilling abettors of the murder of their fellow Jews, they are the object of fierce condemnation even today. Yet it was a group of these seemingly compromised men who carried out the revolt of October 7, 1944, one of the most celebrated acts of Holocaust resistance. This interdisciplinary collection assembles careful investigations into how the Sonderkommando have been represented—by themselves and by others—both during and after the Holocaust.

Author : Sybille Steinbacher
Publisher : Harper Collins
Page : 111 pages
File Size : 52,5 Mb
Release : 2013-05-21
Category : History
ISBN : 9780062296191

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Auschwitz by Sybille Steinbacher Pdf

At the terrible heart of the modern age lies Auschwitz. In a total inversion of earlier hopes about the use of science and technology to improve, extend, and protect human life, Auschwitz manipulated the same systems to quite different ends. In Sybille Steinbacher's terse, powerful new book, the reader is led through the process by which something unthinkable to anyone on earth in the 1930s had become a sprawling, industrial reality during the course of the Second World War. How Auschwitz grew and mutated into an entire dreadful city, how both those who managed it and those who were killed by it came to be in Poland in the 1940s, and how it was allowed to happen, is something everyone needs to understand.

Author : Piotr Setkiewicz
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 122 pages
File Size : 54,5 Mb
Release : 2011
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 8377040212

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The Auschwitz Crematoria and Gas Chambers by Piotr Setkiewicz Pdf