The Ovitz family--seven dwarfs and three normal-statured siblings--traveled through Transylvania and neighboring lands singing songs for enthusiastic audiences in the 1930s and early 1940s. Then in 1944, they were shipped with thousands of other Jews to Auschwitz, where the infamous Dr. Mengele took an interest in them. Saved from immediate murder by Mengele, they were treated far better than the average resident of Auschwitz. Although forced to suffer through painful and humiliating medical tests, they kept their own clothes and were better fed than others at the camp. They survived Mengele's experiments, eventually moving to Israel and going on a successful reunion tour before retiring to run a cinema together. Employing information culled from interviews with friends and the last surviving Ovitz sister, Koren and Negev explore with considerable depth the Ovitzes' complicated relationships with their size, one another, and their awful savior, Mengele. This is a quirky, illuminating, and unique addition to Holocaust history.
Just when I thought I knew all the big stories from the Holocaust, I come upon this. Tender, raw, and real. -Reader
The Children of Willesden Lane - Beyond the Kindertransport: A Memoir of Music, Love, and Survival by Mona Golabek and Lee Cohen
Based on the true story of her mother, Mona Golabek describes the
inspirational story of Lisa Jura Golabek's escape from Austria
to England on the Kindertransport. Jewish musical prodigy Lisa Jura has a
wonderful life in Vienna, but when the Nazis start closing in on the city, life
changes irreversibly. Although he has three daughters, Lisa's father is only
able to secure one on the Kindertransport. The family decides to send Lisa so that she may pursue her a career as a concert pianist.
Lisa bravely endures the trip and a
disastrous posting outside London before finding her way to the Willesden Lane
Orphanage. Her
music inspires the other orphanage children, and they, in turn, cheer her on in
her efforts to realize her musical
potential. Through hard work and sheer pluck, Lisa wins a scholarship to study
piano at the Royal Academy. As she supports herself and studies, she makes a new
life for herself and dreams of reconnecting with the family she was forced to
leave behind. The resulting tale delivers a message of the power of music to
uplift the human spirit and to grant the individual soul endurance, patience,
and peace.
The Children of Willesden Lane is a remarkable, transporting story, at once upllifting and heartbreaking. I'm a better person for reading it. -Reader
The Abuse of Holocaust Memory: Distortions and Responses by Manfred Gerstenfeld
In an increasingly uncertain world, the Holocaust is likely to continue to play an important role as the metaphor of absolute evil. This is all the more so as threats of genocide again appear in public statements. Fighting the main manipulations of the Holocaust requires first understanding the nature of the abuses. This must be followed by exposing the manipulation of the perpetrators, who should then be turned into the accused. Preserving Holocaust memory correctly requires documentation, education, the establishment of monuments, museums, and memorials, ceremonies and remembrance days; as well as commemorative projects. Legislation and art are other spheres that have made important contributions.This book analyzes the categories of distortion and the responses to them. Also included are case studies that analyze Holocaust distortion in several European countries and the Muslim world.
Written with exemplary tenacity, research and courage, this volume's urgency is proven by its resolve to unmask and denounce the nefarious ugliness of Holocaust abuse and denial. -Elie Wiesel
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