Best book on Auschwitz?? (Vanity)

[Colosis]

I have just returned from Auschwitz after a short stay in Cracow. I didn't do much research before I went which I now greatly regret. I'm still in a state of semi-shock at what I have seen and would like any recommendations on what I should read. I hear Primo Levi's book is good.

[Colosis]

Any comments appreciated.

[ripley]

viktor frankl. man's search for meaning

[Guenevere]

Night..by Elie Wiesel is one of the most powerful little books I've ever read on this subject.

A must read!

[Guenevere]

Actually, Wiesel was in Buchenwald Concentration Camp...

..but if you don't need a specific camp, I fully believe the larger known ones, Auschwitz, Buchenwald, Bergen-Belsen, Ravensbruck....were very similar.

Another powerful book is The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom...she was in Ravensbruck.

[Guenevere]

My mistake....Wiesel was at Auschwitz, and I believe a few more, as well.

[mmanager]

I visited Auschwitz / Berkenau four months ago. One good feel the evil still present at the sites. As you probably know, Auschwitz was a camp built before the Germans invaded Poland, Berkenau was built for the final solution of the Jews. Berkenau was a very small village that the Nazi's razed and then built the camp.

When on tour, I asked our Polish guide didn't the locals know what was going on? She very sharply pointed out that Oswiecim (Polish name of town) was commandeered by the Nazi's and renamed Aushwitz (German). The Nazi's then began building the final solution to the Jewish "issue" by ordering a 40 Kilometer buffer zone around the camps. Meaning that no one associated with the camps could live in the area. The Germans occupied the original houses in Oswiecim and threw out the inhabitants.

Back to your question on "Best Book". I've read quite a bit on the camps and if you have visited, the best book is between your ears. It was the most moving moments of my life. The seven tons of hair, the prosthetics that were salvaged, eye glasses and shoes displayed at Auschwitz along with standing on the ashes of humanity at Birkenaus two crematoria's is better than any book I could have read.

The only positive aspect I got out of the tour was the thousands of people that were there that day including grade school children. My hope is that through this education history will not repeat itself. I feel that in today's world, I am wrong.

I wish I knew HTML, I have some great pic's that I would love to share with other FReepers. Anyone wish to share a quick "do this to post pic's"?

[mmanager]

"I visited Auschwitz / Berkenau four months ago. One good feel the evil still present at the sites".

Meant "One could feel.........."

Sorry 'bout that, only one cup of joe and heading to the airport.

[Misschuck]

Martin Gilbert

[raybbr]

What an emotional place that is. It didn't really hit me till I saw paperwork from a Gym teacher, born in Chicago, that was killed there. My father was born in Chicago and went to visit relatives in Poland in 1937. He didn't get back till 1947.

When I was there they sold a book on site called "Auschwitz; As seen by the SS". It was diaries from the original camp commander, a camp doctor and a coporal in the SS. It was astounding to read. Info here.

Is the place being kept up. When I was there they were talking about how they were running out of money to maintain it.

[Bahbah]

To post a picture type this:

[Tulsa Ramjet]

According to the leader of Iran, its all a lie. And, even if some jews were killed, he says that if Europe felt so guilty about letting all the jews be murdered, why didn't europe give the jews a homeland in europe rather than palestinian land?

This is a guy we almost gave a visa to come to New York and bad mouth Ameria.

[raybbr]

There's an html sandbox on FR. Do a keyword search for sandbox.

To post a pic:

In this example replace the "[" and "]" with "<" and ">" respectively.

For posting the pic the html is: [img src="image adress"]

For example this pic

looks like this with the brackets instead of the "<,>'s".

[img src="http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k135/raybbr/oddballs/Pelosi.jpg"]

I hope that helps. I would really like to see curren pics. I was there in '95.

[raybbr]

To post a picture type this:

Hee hee. There is a way to post the angle brackets without causing the html to disappear them but I can't remember what it is.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

"Another powerful book is The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom...she was in Ravensbruck."

I second that recommendation.

And if you want to read a moving tale about a young Polish girl of 17 who helped to hide people and kept them out of the camps in the first place read, "In My Hands" by Irene Opdyke.

I'll never forget that book. She's a true hero. :)

[mmanager]

Thank-You, I will give it a try when I get back later this week.

I have probably 100 pic's that I took and would share with anyone that would like to have them.

Just tell me how to share (create a folder on someone's homepage?) All I am is an operator of this machine, I have never took the time to figure out how it works.

Have a great week!

[raybbr]

Just tell me how to share (create a folder on someone's homepage?) All I am is an operator of this machine, I have never took the time to figure out how it works.

The best way to this is to upload your pics to a place like photobucket.com. They will host your pics for free and you can link them using their menus. I don't know how they do it but there are millions of pic loaded there and it doesn't cost a dime. No real advertising either.

Hope to see some pics. Is the place being kept up. I was there in 95 and they had been talking about how they were going to need money to maintain it.

[redwhit]

Primo Levi, "Survival at Auschwitz"

[7thson]

On the theme of if you do not need a specific camp, try reading this one - Dachau, 1933-1945: The Official History by Paul Berben. When stationed in Naples, Italy (77-79), I checked this out of the AFSOUTH Library and read it. You can only read a few pages at time before you have to put it down and shake the horrors out of your mind. A wife of one of the commandants would have men with colorful tattoos skinned and after trating the skin, would make a lampshade out of it. Guards would toss babies in the air and see how many times you could shot it before it hit the ground. This type of stuff still goes on today but the majority close thier eyes to it.

[P-40]

I feel that in today's world, I am wrong.

There is still wholesale killing of groups of people....but these days they are just killed in place and not shipped to one location to be killed. If the United Nations would fulfill its mission perhaps there would be less of it.

[Bahbah]

Oops. It's early. That's my excuse.