Hitler, Stalin, Mum and Dad: A Family Memoir of Miraculous Survival

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Hitler, Stalin, Mum and Dad: A Family Memoir of Miraculous Survival

Hitler, Stalin, Mum and Dad: A Family Memoir of Miraculous Survival

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Finkelstein's narrative is nothing short of epic, chronicling the harrowing experiences of two families uprooted by the horrors of World War II. The author skillfully weaves together the stories of his grandparents, Alfred Wiener and Ludwik, highlighting their resilience and strength in the face of unimaginable adversity. Initially, I’d thought the family trees needed dates, but I now realise that having these would have spoiled the story.

Grete were expecting palsetine exchange certificate so that she can save atleast Mirjam,Eva and Ruth,one can assume how worse situation would have been there.For any parents , seeing their children grow up is an emotional moment. There is a moment in that when Ruth is getting 16 years old and there is a very poignant conversation between mother Grete and Ruth. It is important to read this book to comprehend the humanity and the feelings of parents. I came to know more about the sympathiser’s life and their circumstances in which they have bengined towards the jews,whether it will be Lados group,Camille and Hugli's local people. So by keeping these little things from my own life, I am merely maintaining family tradition, staying true to my inheritance. Today: as winter approaches in Siberia, Daniel's grandmother and father fight for survival. But the course of the war is about to shift, and with it their fortunes...Another leitmotif – made possible by the craft of Finkelstein’s writing – is the way you’re made to understand how even deeply intelligent and politically attuned people were caught unawares by war and genocide, and were left with no idea about where to go or what to do. And when you are gone, your family will want to know these things about you, to be reminded of you. Daniel Finkelstein continues his heartrending memoir of his parents' experiences of persecution, resistance and survival during WWII, this week focusing on the story of his father's family at the hands of Stalin. In the autumn of 2012, we tidied the lounge, hired a party tent from some people we found on the internet and asked a man from that place round the corner to supply some food. And then we held a party for my 50th birthday. If like Finkelstein’s mother’s family, for example, you’ve fled Berlin because it’s no longer safe to be Jewish there, and you’re in Amsterdam, living close to Anne Frank, once war breaks out, are you better off in the Netherlands or in Britain? Now we know the answer, but Finkelstein’s skilful use of dramatic irony helps us see that at the time, smart people could conclude that the Netherlands was the better place to be and so stayed put – with disastrous consequences.

This book took me some time to read but it was well worth it. The author did an excellent job presenting the stories. But tragically, despite “all the truth-telling combating all the lies”, Hitler still came to power, destroying Alfred’s “romantic idea” of “the liberal values he associated with his country’s better nature”. There’s an echo here of Clive James’s haunting ode to Viennese cafe culture in Cultural Amnesia: “For the Jewish intelligentsia, cultivated to the fingertips, it was very hard to grasp the intensity of the irrationality they were dealing with – the irrationality that was counting the hours until it could deal with them.”A compelling narrative of two families that survived the horrors of Nazi Germany and Stalin’s Russia. This is certainly not going to be for everyone but I would recommend to all on account of the importance of the story. We may think we know what happened but first hand accounts like these strike differently. Good grief this is a wonderful book. I got it on kindle and audible, where the author reads it himself. The first and most overwhelming impression is just how fortunate we are to be living in comparative safety - this was not the norm throughout history, nor is it the norm throughout the world. Today: after his arrest, Daniel's grandfather is transported to a gulag on the edge of the Artic Circle. Survival, he knows, is virtually impossible... The second thing I realise is how valuable these relics are. The Wiener Holocaust Library was vital to the Nuremberg trials and remains a unique and important resource. It has certainly brought home to me how extraordinarily important it remains as a record of the Holocaust, as is the wonderful Refugee Voices project of the Association of Jewish Refugees. Without their recording of my father’s story, a four-hour interview, I am not at all sure that my book would have been possible.



  • Fruugo ID: 258392218-563234582
  • EAN: 764486781913
  • Sold by: Fruugo

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