This book has put humanity's face on the history of one of the most atrocious nights of the world's recent past with the startlingly detailed accounts of those who lived it. The author, through his microscopic focusing ability, has amassed eye-witness accounts and has told the history of a horrifying night and its repercussions through the several years that followed it.
At least for me, "Kristallnacht: Prelude to Destruction" was very difficult to read without getting profoundly moved and deeply saddened; however, I read the book to the end without putting it down and without losing attention, because this book proved to be much more significant than any other piece of writing I had come across on the subject.
Kristallnacht occurred while people in the world watched powerlessly, although they understood what was happening. Some recorded the details; others shrugged it off; and most, even if threatened by it, froze in action. "Night of the broken glass" was mob behavior encouraged and abetted by the Third Reich.
The anti-Jew sentiment or rather the actions stemming from that sentiment had begun as early as 1933 at the onset of the Nazi Germany and grew to monstrous dimensions by November,1939. The German nation's each imperfection was blamed on its Jewish population with an attempt to swing the public opinion against the Jews. Thus, the deportation of the Jews from Germany had begun quite a few years before November 10, 1939, the date of the Kristallnacht.
The impossibility for all the Jews to leave Germany had many reasons. Some thought the homeland they fought for in World War .I. would never betray them. Others could not find passage to other countries. Most countries had immigration quotas and they allowed only so many people. The Jews, therefore, found themselves locked in a threatening situation and in a dangerous place they had come to love and respect as their homeland.
During these forced deportations of the Semites, Herschel Grynszpan, a seventeen year-old Jewish boy--after getting word of his family's plight--shot and mortally wounded the Third Secretary to the German Ambassador in Paris. This became the spark to inflame the hatred of the German masses against the Jews.
On the "night of the broken glass," almost every synagogue was burned; Jewish cemeteries were desecrated; private homes and stores belonging to Jews were broken into and every single item demolished or confiscated; and men and women--rich or poor, young or old, healthy or infirm--were beaten, killed, or terrorized. Vienna, known as the "Jewish City," was mostly burned, and in other cities, all Jewish neighborhoods were wrecked.
In one of the personal stories, then-six-year old Lea Weems remembers, after the Nazis came in and broke everything her family owned, "they pushed my father and grandfather down the stairs. I was screaming and pulling on my father's sleeve trying to keep him from leaving."
The book is made up of similar hair-raising remembrances of the survivors of Kristallnacht through their escape or destiny. The writer has also noted the generous and kind actions of the few Germans who were human enough to see the wrong in their fellow citizens, for some of them helped the Jews as much as they could.
The writer, Sir Martin Gilbert, is a British historian with more than seventy volumes and Kristallnacht is his seventy-seventh book. He is well known as Churchill's historian. Among his other works are: The Churchill Biography, Jerusalem, Holocaust, British History, European History, Atlases, World History, Jewish History and several 'Books on Tape' like Aushwitz. the Allies, In Search of Churchill, Israel and Zionism.
The book, Kristallnacht: Prelude to Destruction, is 314 pages, in hardcover and with ISBN:0060570830.
The lessons to be learned from Kristallnacht is best said in Sir Martin Gilbert's words as: "It taught those who were the source of prejudice that a whole people can be demonized; that a whole nation can be turned totally and obscenely against a decent, hard-working, creative, loyal and integral part of its own society. This point was made on 19 August 2005 when Pope Benedict XVI, on his first visit to his native Germany after becoming Pope, went to the Roonstrasse synagogue in Cologne…"
Kristallnacht: Prelude to Destruction is an irreplaceable book and it deserves a good deal of attention from history buffs and all readers alike.
Being a book reviewer, I maybe treat reading a little different from most people. I pick up a book, check the number of pages, the typeface, and font size. Lifetime Loser based on my reading criteria looked like a two, or at most 3 day adventure. How wrong I was, it took me over a week to read this book. The plot lines are intricate, and the character development intricately and cleverly handled. I knew I was in trouble when at the end of my first day of reading I had barely scratched the first 50 pages. I took some time out to think about this shocking statistic. It wasn't that I had lost my touch at the art of reading, it was just that there was so much detail that was so well written, it took time to assemble and file the information.
OK, I suppose you want to know what the book is about?
Our hero is J. W. Schroeder (aka J Dub), we meet him as a young man who has a flair for the game of golf, his father having taught him all he can about this gentleman's game. J Dub has a chance to make it to the big league, a player on the PGA. One momentary lapse of concentration wrenches defeat from the jaws of victory, and J Dub loses his opportunity. What next for this young man and his pregnant wife? A life giving golf lessons at the local driving range?
J Dub's angel comes in the form of one Lewford E. Zerrmann. Lew is a 'land man' and has recently purchased a rather run down golf course, he needs someone with a knowledge of the game to run it for him. Better still, because Lew is such a nice guy he will offer a partnership, J Dub can have have 20% of the business, and a first option to buy should J Dub wish to become a sole owner.
15 years elapse, and about the only thing J Dub knows for sure is that his partner is no gentleman, he has no people skills, and seems to be hell bent of driving customers away. The golf course on the other hand is a popular spot, cash flow is great, yet their never seems to be any money left in the bank after expenses have been paid.
As the relationship becomes increasing strained J Dub is forced to start looking around, and talking to people. What he hears and sees does not make for a pretty picture. He must know make a decision, to walk away from 15 years of sweat equity or stay and fight?
This is a great book, it has murder, swindles, forgery, tax evasion, pretty much everything you could want in a great read. Lew has all of the social skills of Rattle Snake, while naive J Dub plods gently along at his own pace. In a David Vs. Goliath battle who will win?
I will not give the intricacies of the plot away, and neither will I spoil the ending, but I will whet your appetite with the fact that the ending will come as a big surprise.
Both Joy Cagil & Simon Barrett are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Joy Cagil has sinced written about articles on various topics from Politics, Poetry and Women. Joy Cagil is an author on . Her education is in foreign languages, linguistics, psychology, and humanities.. Joy Cagil's top article generates over 27100 views. to your Favourites.
Simon Barrett has sinced written about articles on various topics from Auto Insurance, Entertainment Guide and Writing. Simon Barrett is an adult educator in Calgary, Alberta. With the 11 months a year of winter, he reads a lot of books! He is also a contributing editor for an. Simon Barrett's top article generates over 27100 views. to your Favourites.