Two Books I Am Interested In Reading
A description on eBay says this book is "an excellent hardback book by Samuel J Newland about the German programme to recruit Cossack soldiers to fight against the Soviet Union in the Second World War."Also, I am interested in reading Collaboration in the Holocaust : Crimes of the Local Police in Belorussia and Ukraine, 1941-44.
Has anyone read either of these books?
7 Comments:
How do you read such stuff without getting super depressed and mad? Especially since I have a baby I find I can't read any Holocaust stuff without being really depressed for days- in a not healthy way.
It does infuriate me. Especially given the fact that Ukrainians collaborated in the shtetl where my family lived.
I posted about it here
The Bluzhover Rebbe once said, "Every day, every child, after studying the daily lessons prescribed by our sages, should learn about the Holocaust, for it says in our holy Torah: “Then it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are come upon them, that this song shall testify before them as a witness.” (Devarim 31:21). The suffering and the testimonies, when told by Holocaust survivors, are a song, a hymn of praise, a testimony to the eternity of the Jewish people and the greatness of their spirit."
I will certainly teach my son about it, God willing, even if it is depressing for me, and he carries it with him in a good way in that he is named after two survivors I grew up with. We chose a name that will provide a long answer to the question, "Why am I named Jacob?"
Alice: What was it about the survivors you grew up with that inspired to name your son after them?
Well, their last name is Jacobius, hence our son's name. Arnold, a German Jew, lost most of his family to the Nazis. He escaped going country to country to make it here. Then he went back as a translator on the side of the US. Out of the frying pan, back into the frying pan of his own free will to help his people. Now that I respect. That's called courage. Despite his loses, he didn't harbor anger. He smiled and laughed like crazy and made an awesome life for himself. They broke the mold with that guy.
His wife, Emmy, was actually an angel. God let Arnold have her on some kind of special arrangement. She radiated holy light and saw right through to your soul. Hugs from her lasted way after she let go. It was like having big old fluffy wings wrapped around you. When she smiled, which was most of the time, her whole face smiled.
And yes I know this all sounds crazy.
Alice: I assume it was these people who attracted you to Judaism, correct?
In part, yes. In the DC area there are tons of European Jews and my parents were friends with many such fascinating people. They were involved in the arts and such. But this couple were quite special to me. I'm telling you, when people meet a great rabbi and talk about how radiant they are, that was Emmy. She was on loan.
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