It’s not a novel. It’s not ‘based on a true story.’ It really happened, and I am a witness. You will be, too… What do you do if you are a reluctant soldier, having been shot at, seen your friends killed, and can no longer even remember what your own mother looks like? As a combat soldier fighting your way across Europe, what is the plan when you come across a Holocaust train full of … you come across a Holocaust train full of suffering humanity that shocks you to your core, even after you think you have seen it all? And what happens when you get to meet the survivors face to face, two generations later?
~ ‘After I got home I cried a lot. My parents couldn’t understand why I couldn’t sleep at times.’-Walter ‘Babe’ Gantz, US Army medic
~From the author of ‘The Things Our Fathers Saw’ World War II eyewitness history series~
In this book, the true story behind an iconic photograph taken at the liberation of a DEATH TRAIN deep in the heart of Nazi Germany—brought to life by the history teacher who discovered it, and went on to reunite HUNDREDS of Holocaust survivors with the actual American soldiers who saved them!
~ ‘I grew up and spent all my years being angry. This means I don’t have to be angry anymore.’-Paul Arato, Holocaust Survivor
~THE HOLOCAUST was a watershed event in history. Drawing on never-before published eye-witness accounts, survivor testimony and memoirs, wartime reports and letters, Matthew Rozell takes us on his journey to uncover the stories behind the incredible 1945 liberation photographs taken by the soldiers who were there. He weaves together a chronology of the Holocaust as it unfolds across Europe and goes to the authentic sites of the Holocaust to retrace the steps of the survivors and the American soldiers who freed them. His mission culminates in joyful reunions on three continents, seven decades later. Rozell offers his unique perspective on the lessons of the Holocaust for future generations, and the impact that one person, a teacher, can make.
~ ‘I survived because of many miracles. But for me to actually meet, shake hands, hug, and cry together with my liberators—the ‘angels of life’ who literally gave me back my life—was just beyond imagination.’-Leslie Meisels, Holocaust Survivor
-Featuring testimony from 15 American liberators and over 30 Holocaust survivors
~ ‘People say it cannot happen here in this country; yes, it can happen here. I was 21 years old. I was there to see it happen!’-Luca Furnari, US Army
Included:
BOOK ONE-THE HOLOCAUST
BOOK TWO-THE AMERICANS
BOOK THREE-LIBERATION
BOOK FOUR-REUNION
~ ‘It’s not for my sake, it’s for the sake of humanity, that you will remember.’-Steve Barry, Holocaust Survivor
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A book everyone should read! Thank you Matthew.
First hand accounts from military and survivor point of view.
A riveting story of concentration camp survivors, but about halfway through it began to be very repetitive. Numerous people telling the same story from different perspectives in different years, it was just way too long. But the initial telling was fascinating.
A great read about folks escaping the Germans in WWII. Enough true history to keep reader grounded.
The interviews with holocaust survivors with reference to the places described was excellent. Wasn’t thrilled with the travelogue interspersed with the history.
The awesome courage of American soldiers during WWII. It is almost inconceivable the horrors the Nazis did to the Jewish people
As an avid reader of anything to do with WW2 I found this book a stark realistic account from both sides – the captured and the rescuers.
A little known happening at the end of WWII when the Nazi’s were on the verge of defeat. A train filled with close to 2500 concentration camp prisoners was discovered by Allied forces. The first part of the book has European Jews remembering their lives as they were rounded up to live in the ghettos, then moved into the concentration camps. The middle of the book is uplifting as they are rescued by American GI’s, many of the soldiers being unaware of what was the reality of life for the prisoners. The book follows the author and his high school students as they recount their investigations into this horrific yet victorious event. The various emotions flooding the reader throughout the book will stay for a long time. Again, a book with the power to warn us about man’s inhumanity to man.
Love real life history surrounding WW11. Have a thirst to understand the experience the life of the Jews and other victims of the Third Reich as well as what non combantants were doing during the war.
This book feeds that interest.
Couldn’t quite finish it… jumped around too much and tough to get connected to the characters in the way it was written. The first half was decent.
I have read many, many books, about the Holocaust, studied numerous aspects including most of the major concentration camps, and teaching various classes at the high school and community college levels about the Holocaust. I found this book very boring. The statements given by the interviewees were far too short. This entire book was too much like a horror travel guide, which I suppose it was, but as such, it was inappropriate. Either properly cover the material or don’ bother. There were no illustrations to guide us of what the camps looked like when they operated so we could picture what the prisoners were seeing. Or few. I simply looked for more, especially from a fellow teacher.
Great book for all fans of Holocaust literature. I would read more of this genre if it were available.