The Holocaust

From the the March, 2009 issue of the Smithsonian Magazine: "Courageous Dissent is the first book published about America's unsung diplomat hero Hiram (Harry) Bingham IV, the author’s father, who was in charge of issuing visas to America and freedom while stationed as a US vice consul in Marseilles, just
before World War II. It captures Bingham's compelling story of placing humanity above his career during the early days of the Holocaust. Bingham defied his government's restrictive immigration policies by running an underground railroad out of his villa. Both Jewish and non-Jewish refugees fleeing Hitler sought life-saving visas from Bingham during 1940-41."

Product description from Amazon: "When Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, some 525,000 Jews were living within the borders of Germany. Over the next six years between 250,000 and 300,000 either chose or were forced to emigrate as a result of officially sanctioned anti-Semitism, yet as the pivotal year of 1939 dawned, nearly half remained.Why so many German Jews appeared reluctant to leave their homeland and escape the Nazi terror is one of the great unsolved questions of the Holocaust. Theories abound: the vagaries of Hitler’s Jewish policy during the 1930s did not clearly foreshadow the Final Solution; Jews expected to survive this period of German anti-Semitism as they had others throughout the centuries; those who tried to escape were denied immigration visas all over the world. While there is some truth in all these responses, according to John Dippel they are more ex post facto rationalizations than explanations. In this revelatory book he examines diaries, letters, and other documents written before 1939 in an attempt to discover an answer uncolored by hindsight.Bound Upon a Wheel of Fire is the story of six prominent figures in the German Jewish community who chose to stay on under the Nazis—the chief rabbi of Berlin, the editor of the leading Zionist newspaper, a renowned international financier, a Nobel Prize-winning chemist, a society columnist, and a conservative youth movement leader. Owing to their visibility, their decisions not to emigrate changed irreversibly not only their own lives but also the lives of thousands of others.In spite of their disparate lives, Dippel argues that these six shared a single passion: a deep and abiding love for their country. Able to trace their German heritage back hundreds of years, they were proud of their ability to assimilate successfully—to become ”more German than the Germans.” Their ties to their homeland in fact were so deep that most probably would have described their primary identification as German rather than Jewish. Ultimately, their sense of loyalty and nostalgia—their patriotism—blinded them to the hatred that swirled around them until it was too late.Bound Upon a Wheel of Fire explores the emotional and psychological conflicts as well as the patriotic, cultural, and economic ties that kept these six leaders, along with countless others, from fleeing. In addition, it provides a fascinating look at the dynamics of late nineteenth and early twentieth century German Jewish life, including the rise of the Zionist movement and the tensions between established Jews and their eastern European immigrant cousins."

From the catalog description: "Filmmaker Melissa Hacker's mother, Ruth Morley (Academy Award nominated costume designer for The Miracle Worker), was one of the over 10,000 children who were saved in the Kindertransport movement during the Holocaust. On the eve of World War II, as millions of Jews were seeking refuge from Nazi persecution, country after country turned its back--all except for Great Britain who opened its doors to an unspecified number of Jewish children in danger. As the children boarded trains taking them to a safe haven in London, their parents were left to embark on a different journey--one taking them to the concentration camps. Most of these children never saw their parents again."

From PenguinReaders.com: "Schindler’s List is an account of the life of Oskar Schindler (1908–74), a Czechoslovakian businessman who saves European Jews from the Nazis during the Second World War (1939–45). Although initially a supporter of the German National Socialist Party (the Nazis), Schindler has many Jewish friends and business partners. He is horrified when he comes to realize that the Nazi party plans to eradicate Jews from the whole of Europe, and becomes determined to do what he can to save the people around him. Employing Jewish workers in his factory in Poland, he uses bribes and his friends in Germany to keep his Jewish workers safe. By the end of the war, Schindler has saved many people from certain death in the Nazi concentration camps. After the war, Schindler’s businesses fail and his actions are criticized in Germany. However he remained honoured by Jewish communities around the world and was buried in Jerusalem, Israel, after his death."

From LuLu.com: "Extravagantly praised by critics and readers, this stunning story by bestselling author Kati Marton tells of the breathtaking journey of nine extraordinary men from Budapest to the New World, what they experienced along their dangerous route, and how they changed America and the world. They are the scientists Leo Szilard, Edward Teller, Eugene Wigner, and John von Neuman; Arthur Koestler, author of "Darkness at Noon"; Robert Capa, the first photographer ashore on D-Day; Andre Kertesz, pioneer of modern photojournalism; and iconic filmmakers Alexander Korda and Michael Curtiz."

From WorldCat.org: "Paldiel highlights the role of non-Jews in extending aid and assistance to Jews inside Nazi-dominated Europe. From the testimonies and files housed at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust martyrs and heroes memorial in Jerusalem, Paldiel presents dozens of stories of the circumstances and odds facing Jews and those who would help them."

From Google Books: "The Seventh Million is the first book to show the decisive impact of the Holocaust on the identity, ideology, and politics of Israel. Drawing on diaries, interviews, and thousands of declassified documents, Segev reconsiders the major struggles and personalities of Israel's past, including Ben-Gurion, Begin, and Nahum Goldmann, and argues that the nation's legacy has, at critical moments--the Exodusaffair, the Eichmann trial, the case of John Demjanjuk--have been molded and manipulated in accordance with the ideological requirements of the state. The Seventh Million covers a vast and complex story and reveals how the bitter events of decades past continue to shape the experiences not just of individuals but of a nation. Translated by Haim Watzman."

By Harold Mayr on IMDB.com: "Oskar Schindler is a vainglorious and greedy German businessman who becomes unlikely humanitarian amid the barbaric Nazi reign when he feels compelled to turn his factory into a refuge for Jews. Based on the true story of Oskar Schindler who managed to save about 1100 Jews from being gassed at the Auschwitz concentration camp. A testament for the good in all of us."

From JewishUsedBooks.com: "It is widely believed that European Jewry went passively to large-scale death in the Nazi concentration camps. This assumption has raised anguished controversy among the present Jewish communities of the world, especially in Israel Yuri Suhi has met this misconception head on, gathering into a superb and comprehensive anthology vivid evidence that not all the Jews of Europe let them- selves be led sheepishly to slaughter. He shows that throughout Europe Jewish activist movements fought back, and some fought even within the death camps. Here is hitherto unavailable evidence that a Jewish resistance group existed in almost every ghetto and concentration camp, active in sabotage, and in many in- stances carrying out successful armed revolts. With narratives of unparalleled drama, this volume tells the truth about Jewish courage and steadfastness. Yuri SuhI is a distinguished poet, novelist, and biographer."

From Google Books: "Sixty-four eyewitness accounts by survivors of the Holocaust preserve a picture of Jewish resistance to the unprecedented evil visited upon them by the Nazis and by the populations that willingly collaborated with them."