Lorri M. Book Review: Country of Ash: A Jewish Doctor in Poland 1939-1945

Country of Ash: A Jewish Doctor in Poland 1939-1945, by Edward Reicher, is a compelling memoir, and one that speaks forthrightly about the Holocaust and how it affected Reicher and his family.

The horrific incidents and events that took place between 1939-1945 are depicted with candor, leaving no detail undisclosed. From the Lodz ghetto to the Warsaw ghetto and all locations in between, Reicher writes about the horrors of the Jewish ghetto life, the inhumanities that the Jewish population faced and had to deal with, and the agonizing moments of family separation.

At one point he had to make a choice between his severely ill father in his house, and his wife and child back home. He chose to stay with his father, because he felt he would not be able to go on without him. He felt that his family would be able to survive, and prayed he made the right decision.

Being a doctor who specialized in skin disorders, he was forced to treat the Germans. which he did. He was not given special privilege for his efforts. Reicher literally saved Germans from the agony of skin diseases, including syphilis and gonorrhea. He did so out of duty as a doctor. He also treated other Jews who ended up turning on him, and did nothing to help him. He eventually was able to hide on the Aryan side of Warsaw, disguised and running from place to place.

Reicher witnessed a lot of abusive actions and witnessed Jews being murdered. He, himself, suffered abuse, but he writes about that in a minor fashion compared to what other Jews endured. He had involvement with Chaim Rumkowski, a man that he described as a madman, and a self-appointed “King of the Jews”. He courageously testified against Hermann Hofle, and how Hofle helped send hundreds of thousands of Jews to their deaths in Poland.

Reicher survived the Holocaust, along with his wife and daughter. His daughter, Elisabeth Bizouard-Reicher translated her father’s book to French from Polish, and now, it has been translated to English by Magda Bogin.

Country of Ash: A Jewish Doctor in Poland 1939-1945 is not only a tribute to the strength, determination, and fortitude, but a tribute to all of the Jewish victims of the Holocaust. It is a tribute to those who were not Jewish, yet did strive to offer a place to hide and offer food to Reicher and/or his family. It is a memoir that honors Reicher’s daughter, Elisabeth Bizouard-Reicher’s determination to see her father’s memoir in print for all the world to read the horrors and inhumanities suffered by the Polish Jews.

Country of Ash is intense, graphic with its depictions, and a brilliantly written account of one man’s environment and interactions during the Holocaust. It is written without flourish or exaggeration, but written as Edward Reicher witnessed events, and as he found himself involved in the many crossroads of decision and action.

It is not a book I will soon forget due to the extensiveness and intensity of the content, which makes it a difficult read. But, read, I had to, because I wanted to know the truth of his story. It is not a book I will soon forget.
May 16, 2013 – 7 Sivan, 5773

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Lorri M. Review: Where She Came From

Where She Came From: A Daughter’s Search for Her Mother’s History, by Helen Epstein is an extremely compelling memoir. We journey with Helen Epstein as she searches for her familial past, and searches for answers regarding her family members who were murdered during the Holocaust.

The book is difficult to put down, once you start to read it. I was engrossed in this book from the first page…although it was a slow read for me, because I wanted to grasp the intensity of the generational saga, and grasp the historical facts, correctly.

Epstein has more than proved herself as a writer in this dramatic memoir of family generations, identity, and history. We journey with her through time, through the positive and negative aspects, through the good and not so good, through the hardships and adversity. The reader is given remnants of life in a familial tapestry, through history, through the horrors of war, and how it affects all the generations, from past to present, and also how it can and will affect future generations.

From assimilating into society and racial and religious identity, to how one views themselves and what they identify with, Where She Came From is written with insight, often brutal in Epstein’s vivid descriptions. She writes with love, with yearning and the emotions of loss, she writes with clarity. Where She Came From is an extremely inspiring book.

How does one start over after enduring such atrocities and horrors? Is there laughter in your life, once again? How does the past affect the present? Does God exist? These are just a few of the questions Where She Came From leaves the reader to ponder, and Epstein pondered those issues and questions, and many more. She manages to weave a tapestry of her family, each moment in time adds to the fabric of her own identity, as she comes closer to some of her ancestral answers. We laugh with her, and cry with her, and we are inspired by Where She Came From.

Successive generations live with the past every day of their lives…it seems inevitable, and Epstein reinforces that theory through her writing. Epstein’s writing draws us in, and her memoir is intriguing, insightful and concise, but mainly it is extremely inspiring. In my opinion it is a must read for everyone, as its educational value is priceless.

Where She Came From is both compelling as a memoir and as a historical book. It is an incredible resource for schools, colleges, universities, and anyone who wants to gain a better understanding of life before, during and after the Holocaust.

I applaud Helen Epstein for such an exceptional read!

All rights reserved © Copyright 2007 – 2013 – All Rights Reserved – No permission is given or allowed to reuse my photography, book reviews, writings, or my poetry in any form/format without my express written consent/permissio

Lorri M. Review: I Kiss Your Hands Many Times

I Kiss Your Hands Many Times: Hearts, Souls and War in Hungary is a non-fictional account of a Hungarian family, spanning prewar and post World War II. It is the story of Marianne Szegedy-Maszák’s parents and other family, members, and how they went from riches to basic poverty during the most horrific of times.

Szegedy-Maszak’s father was a well off man, who was arrested and sent to Dachau. Her mother was the granddaughter of a Jewish aristocrat, a man who owned several factories. Those very factories were used as collateral in order for her mother and family members to escape death and enable them to emigrate to Portugal.

Szegedy-Maszák details with vivid word imagery and intense prose the extremes to which the Nazis went to in order to overtake Hungary.

Initially, there seemed to be a sense of denial that events were actually happening within their environment, and the family stayed, rather than emigrate. Whether through ignorance or denial regarding the entirety of the situation, the family felt they were being noble in their choice. Many individuals felt the same way during World War II, and Szegedy-Maszák’s family was not the only one with those ideals and opinions. This decision proved to be one that contributed to their eventual and negative fate.

There is a lot of compelling historical information within the pages. The data is not only relevant to the time period, the war, and the events that occurred, but data that is extremely important documentation in its own right regarding circumstances, events and social mores and stigmas prewar and postwar.

Some of the book’s details come from a series of letters written between both Szegedy-Maszak’s parents. Those letters describe the defining moments of their experiences during the Holocaust. They also describe the deep love that her parents had for each other, even during long periods of separation. Throughout all of the atrocities, their love survived, and they were eventually married in Budapest, after liberation.

I Kiss Your Hands Many Times: Hearts, Souls and War in Hungary brings the reader an intense look at the Hungarian situation during the war, and how it affected Marianne Szegedy-Maszak’s family, and their future together. It is an inspiring love story and one that depicts the face of survival under extreme odds.

Lorri M. Review – Gabby: A Story of Courage, Love and Resilience

Gabby: A Story of Courage, Love and Resilience, is a book of remembrance, remembrance of a love story, a strong woman, and a remembrance of what once was in the body’s ability to persevere through pain and recovery.

Gabrielle Giffords was a physically and mentally vital woman before she was shot in the head on January 8, 2011. Through her determination, she remains a mentally vital woman, but a person with a few physical issues that still need constant working on. With her husband, Mark Kelly, at her side, she is a determined woman, and one who continually strives to get as close to her former self as possible. She has made strides, but is always seeking more advancement, physically and mentally. She has overcome much adversity, and is an example of inspiration and strength.

Her struggles are told with forthrightness, and her therapeutic progress is inspirational. Although her speech is affected, and although she has lost sight in one eye, she is a cognizant individual. She has her own ideals and determinations on how best she can serve her country, now that she is no longer a member of the House. She is an advocate for several causes.

Gabby’s political perspectives are told through Kelly’s voice, and her determination to be a House representative of depth and detail is well documented. She put her constituents first and foremost. She was a democratic representative for the people in every aspect.

Although, I did like the story regarding Gabby’s therapeutic endeavors and her strong will to recover, I felt that much of the book centered on Mark Kelly. The reader learns about Kelly’s history, before meeting Gabby, and while dating her. We learn about his status as a Navy pilot and as an astronaut, and his goals. I would say that the information is interesting, but so is Gabby’s premarital story, which I thought should be expanded upon.

In retrospect, though, the book is about the two of them and their relationship. Their story is one of love and support, through the difficult times of physical, mental and emotional injury.

In the future, I would like to see a book written strictly by Gabrielle Giffords, and one where her recovery efforts are told through her voice, and her voice alone.

I do recommend Gabby: A Story of Courage, Love and Resilience, by Gabby Giffords, Mark Kelly, and contributor Jeffrey Zaslow.

Lorri M. Book Review: The Scientists-A Family Romance

The Scientists: A Family Romance, by Marco Roth is an unusual memoir, and one, in my opinion that is written more to find psychological and familial truth through the act of writing, than to portray one’s life.

During the 1980s through 1990s fear of AIDS was rampant throughout the country. This fear and is the foundation upon which his teenage years was built. Roth learns at the age of fourteen that his father, Eugene, has AIDS, and is told he acquired it from a needle that slipped out of a patient’s arm. Roth was told never to tell anyone of his father’s condition. Secrecy was the basics of his upbringing. He carried that burden for years to come.

The Scientists is a metaphor for the life of denial that Roth’s parents lived, harboring the secrets that caused Eugene’s (his father’s) AIDS, and eventual death, and harboring other secrets. This superficial exterior was fostered even after the death of Roth’s father.

Roth began to question the stories he had heard over the years, and when his aunt, Anne Rolphe’s memoir was published, he began a journey of searching for answers. His search took him through memory’s closets, and through moments too painful for his parents to acknowledge or want to remember. The time period cast a deep stain on AIDS, which caused the individuals concerned to be frowned upon. They often became societal outcasts, even within their own family members.

That, in itself, is a sad state of affairs on the human condition, and on humanity’s lack of understanding, over AIDS, homosexuality and the discrimination that lies behind ignorance and the lack of acceptance of others.

Roth’s parents were affluent, and believed that education was the answer to the future. This played heavily in his life, as he became a precocious child, playing the violin, reading Shakespeare, etc. These educational and cultural efforts were part and parcel of the Roth lifestyle.

Through his memoir he was able to move forward, and come to terms with the secrets and familial dynamics that encompassed his life. He was able to understand the social stigmas forced on those who had AIDS, the discrimination spewed out to homosexuals, and the entire spectrum surrounding those issues that led to generations of secrets. What he was not totally able to come to terms with was the total effect of how he was affected by his father’s insistence, and how the ghost of his father still lingers.

Emotions range the gamut within the pages, with Roth often wandering in limbo, trying to find the answers, answers of identity and truth. He questions himself, who he is, and whether he carries the genes of his father’s philandering.

I can not say that I enjoyed reading The Scientists: A Family Romance, it isn’t that type of memoir. I feel that the word “romance” in the title was the author’s use of the word for the love of the father/son relationship, the love of researching, learning, writing and setting the familial record straight. The book became a passion for Roth, and he carried his notes and drafts wherever he lived.

For me, it isn’t a book of inspiration in a spiritual sense, but a book that might inspire others to search for familial truths. But, I will say that the writing is definitely illuminated with vivid imagery and emotional content. Marco Roth writes with honesty and conciseness in exhibiting his emotions and thoughts, his search for truth and identity. He does not hide what was unspoken, or carry the secrets forward. That is the strength the reader finds within the pages of The Scientists: A Family Romance.

Lorri M. Review: Triumph and Tragedy

Triumph and Tragedy, by Rabbi Joel Padowitz is a book that takes the reader on an amazing journey of 1,000 years, in the life of Poland and its Jewish communities.

The book might seem like a travel guide to some, but let me tell you, it is much more than that, and it is a compelling read. Beginning with the year 966 through the Holocaust, the reader is taken down the road of antisemitism at its worst, and individuals at their best. The Jewish communities in Poland have always had antisemitism as their burden in life, and have been blamed for much of what happened in Poland, throughout the years.

The Black Death (the Plague), for instance, is one prime example of blaming Jews for the epidemic of deaths that rampaged through the country, and all of Europe. Due to the fact that the healers of the time did not understand the medical reasons for the plague, they put the blame on Jews, and said that they intentionally poisoned the wells. Therefore, tens of thousands of Jewish people were massacred. Life was literally lived on the edge for the Jewish survivors.

The Golden age brought a bit of acceptance to the Jews, with Sigismund I on the throne, which lasted for forty years. Although he protected the Jews and they were accepted in Polish society, the underlying faction of antisemitism still festered. Kabbalah became a mystical force, which the outside world could not comprehend. The mysticism aspect frightened Christians and other non-Jews. This fear continued through the 18th century with the rise of the Hassidic communities in Poland, and their unique traditions, mannerisms, and foundation of learning.

Eventually Russia took over the Polish-Lithuania Commonwealth, and the Jewish population were under Russian rule. The Jews were forced to live in the Pale of Settlement, involving almost five million Jews. There were restrictions, and of course, antisemitism was prevalent. Pogroms existed, Jews were beaten, killed, and atrocious living conditions were forced upon them. Yet, life continued, and with it, so did hope.

The pre-war events leading up to the Holocaust made life almost impossible for the Jewish communities. Wearing of a yellow star became mandatory for Jews, along with less than ideal living conditions, animal treatment of Jews, loss of homes and businesses, being forced into ghetto situations, and so much more. And, of course, there was the dreadful and horrific Holocaust, and its gruesomeness, repercussions and horrendous outcomes. But, Rabbi Padowitz does not want the reader to dwell only on that aspect, within Triumph and Tragedy.

Within the pages are photographs, artistic works, writings, documents, graphs, etc., that underscore the rich Jewish culture that was thriving in Jewish Poland. That is what Rabbi Padowitz wants the reader to be aware of. Throughout the antisemitism, the Jews managed to produce artistic culture within their communities. They managed to be able to keep their traditions alive within the walls of life. Although some assimilated into the non-Jewish environment in their daily living, their contributions were strong.

Throughout the history of Jewish antisemitism, the life flame flickered, life went on, businesses were built, shops catered to everyone, cultural traditions continued, and the Jews led their lives with hope. During the Holocaust they were a force, an underground force. There were also individuals (both Jewish and non-Jewish) who did their best to save the Jews. The Jews were a life force that would not let the fires of their lives burn out.

The book is so well organized, and for me that was an example of Rabbi Padowitz’s desire to incorporate the years in a readable format for all readers. Various segments include the most visited Polish sites, and also articles on specific individuals who endeavored to change the face of atrocity. What began as a guide for the Jews traveling to Poland, through the JRoots organization (Jewish Journeys Connecting Generations), became a book of Jewish culture, filled with historic importance. This reader was fascinated with the knowledge contained throughout the book, and its educational importance can not be emphasized enough. Jewish readers will be transported back in time, and come to the present with a deeper understanding of the Polish Jewish population. Some might be inspired to visit Poland, in search of not only their ancestral background, but their own Jewish identity.

I highly recommend Triumph and Tragedy: Journeying Through 1,000 Years of Jewish Life in Poland, by Rabbi Joel Padowitz. It is not only filled with educational and Jewish importance, but also a book that is filled with hope, with the voice of Jewish life, and inspiring on so many levels.

Thank you to Stuart Schnee, PR, and to JRoots, for my complimentary copy. I feel privileged to have received it.

April 28, 2013 – 28 Nisan, 5773

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