Modern-day Israel, and the Jewish community, are strongly influenced by the memory and horrors of Hitler and the Holocaust. Burg argues that the Jewish nation has been traumatized and has lost the ability to trust itself, its neighbors or the world around it. He shows that this is one of the causes for the growing nationalism and violence that are plaguing Israeli society and reverberating through Jewish communities worldwide. Burg uses his own family history--his parents were Holocaust survivors--to inform his innovative views on what the Jewish people need to do to move on and eventually live in peace with their Arab neighbors and feel comfortable in the world at large. Thought-provoking, compelling, and original, this book is bound to spark a heated debate around the world.
When Amitav Ghosh began his research for the Ibis Trilogy some twenty years ago, he was startled to find how the lives of the nineteenth-century sailors and soldiers he wrote of were dictated not only by the currents of the Indian Ocean, but also by a precious commodity carried in enormous quantities on those currents: opium. Most surprising of all was the discovery that his own identity and family history were swept up in the story. Smoke and Ashes is at once a travelogue, a memoir and an excursion into history, both economic and cultural. Ghosh traces the transformative effect the opium trade had on Britain, India and China, as well as on the world at large. Engineered by the British Empire, which exported opium from India to sell in China, the trade and its revenues were essential to the Empire's survival. Upon deeper exploration, Ghosh finds opium at the origins of some of the world's biggest corporations, several of America's most powerful families and institutions, and contemporary globalism itself. In India the long-term consequences were even more profound. Moving deftly between horticultural histories, the mythologies of capitalism and the social and cultural repercussions of colonialism, Smoke and Ashes reveals the pivotal role one small plant has played in the making of the world as we know it - a world that is now teetering on the edge of catastrophe. --- 'In thinking about the opium poppy's role in history it is hard to ignore the feeling of an intelligence at work. The single most important indication of this is the poppy's ability to create cycles of repetition, which manifest themselves in similar phenomena over time. What the opium poppy does is clearly not random; it builds symmetries that rhyme with each other. It is important to recognize that these cycles will go on repeating, because the opium poppy is not going away anytime soon. In Mexico, for instance, despite intensive eradication efforts the acreage under poppy cultivation has continued to increase. Indeed, there is more opium being produced in the world today than at any time in the past. Only by recognizing the power and intelligence of the opium poppy can we even begin to make peace with it.'
Immaculee Ilibagiza grew up in a country she loved, surrounded by a family she cherished. But in 1994 her idyllic world was ripped apart as Rwanda descended into a bloody genocide. Immaculee’s family was brutally murdered during a killing spree that lasted three months and claimed the lives of nearly a million Rwandans. Incredibly, Immaculee survived the slaughter. For 91 days, she and seven other women huddled silently together in the cramped bathroom of a local pastor while hundreds of machete-wielding killers hunted for them. It was during those endless hours of unspeakable terror that Immaculee discovered the power of prayer, eventually shedding her fear of death and forging a profound and lasting relationship with God. She emerged from her bathroom hideout having discovered the meaning of truly unconditional love—a love so strong she was able seek out and forgive her family’s killers. The triumphant story of this remarkable young woman’s journey through the darkness of genocide will inspire anyone whose life has been touched by fear, suffering, and loss.
Garden, Ashes is the remarkable account of Andi Scham's childhood during World War II, as his Jewish family traverses Eastern Europe to escape persecution. As the family moves from house to house, the novel focuses on Andi's relationship with his father; he recounts the endless hours his father poured into the creation of his all-inclusive third edition of the Bus, Ship, Rail, and Air Travel Guide, to the bizarre sermons he delivered to his befuddled family, to his eventual disappearance and assumed death at Auschwitz. Despite the apocalyptic events fueling this family's story, Kis's writing emphasizes the specific details of life during this period, constructing a personal account of a future artist growing up under the shadow of the Nazis and in a world capable of containing a person as unique as his father.
A Powerful, Life-Affirming New Perspective on the Holocaust Almost ninety children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors—theologians, scholars, spiritual leaders, authors, artists, political and community leaders and media personalities—from sixteen countries on six continents reflect on how the memories transmitted to them have affected their lives. Profoundly personal stories explore faith, identity and legacy in the aftermath of the Holocaust as well as our role in ensuring that future genocides and similar atrocities never happen again. There have been many books and studies about children of Holocaust survivors—the so-called second and third generations—with a psycho-social focus. This book is different. It is intended to reflect what they believe, who they are and how that informs what they have done and are doing with their lives. From major religious or intellectual explorations to shorter commentaries on experiences, quandaries and cultural, political and personal affirmations, almost ninety contributors from sixteen countries respond to this question: how have your parents’ and grandparents’ experiences and examples helped shape your identity and your attitudes toward God, faith, Judaism, the Jewish people and the world as a whole? For people of all faiths and backgrounds, these powerful and deeply moving statements will have a profound effect on the way our and future generations understand and shape their understanding of the Holocaust. Praise from Pope Francis for Menachem Rosensaft’s essay reconciling God’s presence with the horrors of the Holocaust: “When you, with humility, are telling us where God was in that moment, I felt within me that you had transcended all possible explanations and that, after a long pilgrimage—sometimes sad, tedious or dull—you came to discover a certain logic and it is from there that you were speaking to us; the logic of First Kings 19:12, the logic of that ‘gentle breeze’ (I know that it is a very poor translation of the rich Hebrew expression) that constitutes the only possible hermeneutic interpretation. “Thank you from my heart. And, please, do not forget to pray for me. May the Lord bless you.” —His Holiness Pope Francis Contributors include: Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella of the Supreme Court of Canada Historian Ilya Altman, cofounder and cochairman, Russian Research and Educational Holocaust Center, Moscow New York Times reporter and author Joseph Berger, New York Historian Eleonora Bergman, former director, Jewish Historical Institute, Warsaw Vivian Glaser Bernstein, former cochief, Group Programmes Unit, United Nations Department of Public Information, New York Michael Brenner, professor of Jewish history and culture, Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich; chair in Israel studies, American University, Washington, DC Novelist and poet Lily Brett, winner of the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize Award, New York New York Times deputy national news editor and former Jerusalem bureau chief Ethan Bronner, New York Stephanie Butnick, associate editor, Tablet Magazine, New York Rabbi Chaim Zev Citron, Ahavas Yisroel Synagogue and Yeshiva Ohr Elchonon Chabad, Los Angeles Dr. Stephen L. Comite, assistant clinical professor of dermatology, Mount Sinai Hospital, New York Elaine Culbertson, director of a program taking American high school teachers to study Holocaust sites, New York Former Israeli Minister of Internal Security and Shin Bet director Avi Dichter, Israel Lawrence S. Elbaum, attorney, New York Alexis Fishman, Australian actor and singer Shimon Koffler Fogel, CEO, Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, Ottawa Dr. Eva Fogelman, psychologist and author, New York Associate Judge Karen “Chaya” Friedman of the Circuit Court of Maryland Natalie Friedman, dean of studies and senior class dean, Barnard College, New York Michael W. Grunberger, director of collections, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC David Harris, executive director, American Jewish Committee, New York Author Eva Hoffman, recipient of the Jean Stein Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, London Rabbi Abie Ingber, executive director, Center for Interfaith Community Engagement, Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH Josef Joffe, editor-publisher, Die Zeit, Germany Rabbi Lody B. van de Kamp, author; former member of the Chief Rabbinate of Holland and the Conference of European Rabbis, Holland Rabbi Lilly Kaufman, Torah Fund director, The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, New York Filmmaker Aviva Kempner, Washington, DC Cardiologist Dr. David N. Kenigsberg, Plantation, FL Author and Shalom Hartman Institute fellow Yossi Klein Halevi, Israel Attorney Faina Kukliansky, chairperson, Jewish Community of Lithuania, Vilnius Rabbi Benny Lau, Ramban Synagogue, Jerusalem Amichai Lau-Lavie, founding director, Storahtelling, Israel/New York Philanthropist Jeanette Lerman- Neubauer, Philadelphia Hariete Levy, insurance actuary, Paris Annette Lévy-Willard, journalist and author, Paris Rabbi Mordechai Liebling, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, Philadelphia Knesset member Rabbi Dov Lipman, Israel Rabbi Michael Marmur, provost, Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion, Jerusalem International banker Julius Meinl, president, Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, Prague Knesset member and former journalist Merav Michaeli, Israel The Right Honourable David Miliband, former foreign secretary, United Kingdom; president, International Rescue Committee, New York Tali Nates, director, Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre, South Africa Eric Nelson, professor of government, Harvard University Eddy Neumann, esq., Sydney, Australia Mathew S. Nosanchuk, Director for Outreach, National Security Council, the White House, Washington, DC Artist and author Aliza Olmert, Jerusalem Couples therapist Esther Perel, New York Sylvia Posner, administrative executive to the Board of Governors, Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion, New York Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, executive vice president, New York Board of Rabbis Dr. Richard Prasquier, past president, Conseil Représentatif des Institutions Juives de France (Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions), Paris Richard Primus, professor of law, University of Michigan Law School Professor Shulamit Reinharz, director, the Women’s Studies Research Center and the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute, Brandeis University, MA Chaim Reiss, CFO, World Jewish Congress Jochi (Jochevet) Ritz-Olewski, former vice dean of academic studies, The Open University of Israel Moshe Ronen, vice president, World Jewish Congress; former president, Canadian Jewish Congress, Toronto Novelist and Fordham University law professor Thane Rosenbaum, New York Rabbi Dr. Bernhard H. Rosenberg, Congregation Beth-El, Edison, NJ Art historian and museum director Jean Bloch Rosensaft, New York Menachem Z. Rosensaft, general counsel, World Jewish Congress and professor of law, New York Hannah Rosenthal, former U.S. State Department special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism, Wisconsin Rabbi Judith Schindler, Temple Beth El, Charlotte, NC Clarence Schwab, equity investor, New York Cantor Azi Schwartz, Park Avenue Synagogue, New York Ghita Schwarz, senior attorney, Center for Constitutional Rights, New York Psychologist Dr. David Senesh, Tel Aviv Florence Shapiro, former mayor, Plano, Texas, and former state senator, Texas Rabbi Kinneret Shiryon, Kehillat YOZMA, Modi’in, Israel David Silberklang, senior historian, Yad Vashem, Israel Documentary film maker and author André Singer, London Peter Singer, professor of bioethics, Princeton University Robert Singer, CEO and executive vice president, World Jewish Congress Psychologist Dr. Yaffa Singer, Tel Aviv Sam Sokol, reporter, The Jerusalem Post, Israel Philanthropist Alexander Soros, New York Rabbi Elie Kaplan Spitz, Congregation B’nai Israel, Tustin, CA Michael Ashley Stein, executive director, Harvard Law School Project on Disability Rabbi Kenneth A. Stern, Congregation Gesher Shalom, Fort Lee, NJ Maram Stern, associate CEO for diplomacy, World Jewish Congress, Brussels Carol Kahn Strauss, international director, Leo Baeck Institute, New York Aviva Tal, lecturer in Yiddish literature, Bar Ilan University, Israel Professor Katrin Tenenbaum, scholar on modern Jewish culture and philosophical thought, University of Rome Dr. Mark L. Tykocinski, dean, Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia Rabbi Moshe Waldoks, Temple Beth Zion, Brookline, MA Psychologist Diana Wang, president, Generaciones de la Shoá en Argentina, Buenos Aires Author Ilana Weiser-Senesh, Tel Aviv Jeffrey S. Wiesenfeld, former senior aide to New York Governor George Pataki and U.S. Senator Alfonse D’Amato U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, Oregon Sociologist Tali Zelkowicz, Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion, Los Angeles
Antony Lerman traces his five-decade personal and political journey from idealistic socialist Zionist to controversial critic of Zionism and Israeli policies towards the Palestinians. As head of an influential UK Jewish think tank, he operated at the highest levels of international Jewish political and intellectual life. He recalls his 1960s Zionist activism, two years spent on kibbutz and service in the IDF, followed by the gradual onset of doubts about Israel on returning to England. Assailed for his growing public criticism of Israeli policy and Zionism, he details his ostracism by the Jewish establishment. Through his insider's critique of Zionism, critical assessment of Jewish politics and analysis of the Israel-Palestine conflict Lerman presents a powerful, human rights-based argument about how a just peace can be achieved.
When Hannelore Zack left Cologne, Germany, on July 24, 1939, she had no way of knowing that she was part of the Kindertransport, an epic rescue effort that would save 10,000 Jewish children from Hitler's Nazi regime by granting them safe passage to England. After being stripped of their business, forced from their home, and deported to endure six months of inhumane conditions in the Lodz Ghetto, her parents were gassed in a brutally efficient killing operation in a remote forested area near Chelmno, Poland, on May 3, 1942. Written over a four-year period beginning when Hanna was about seventy-five years old, this is both a gripping detective story recounting the heartbreaking process of discovering her family's fate and a poignant account of her journey from vengeful hatred to forgiveness.
The introduction provides a thorough overview of the current status of research in the field, and each essay seeks to push the theoretical boundaries that shape our understanding of women’s experience and agency during the Holocaust and of the ways in which they have expressed their memories.
A young Jewish girl recounts her experiences during a horrifying time in recent history. As Rose begins her diary, she is in her third home since coming to Winnipeg. Traumatized by her experiences in the Holocaust, she struggles to connect with others, and above all, to trust again. When her new guardian, Saul, tries to get Rose to deal with what happened to her during the war, she begins writing in her diary about how she survived the murder of the Jews in Poland by going into hiding. Memories of herself and her mother being taken in by those willing to risk sheltering Jews, moving from place to place, being constantly on the run to escape capture, begin to flood her diary pages. Recalling those harrowing days, includingwhen they stumbled on a resistance cell deep in the forest and lived underground in filthy conditions, begins to take its toll on Rose. As she delves deeper into her past, she is haunted by the most terrifying memory of all. Will she find the courage to bear witness to her mother's ultimate sacrifice?
In the shouted words of a woman bound for Auschwitz to a man about to escape from a cattle car, “If you get out, maybe you can tell the story! Who else will tell it?” Our Crime Was Being Jewish contains 576 vivid memories of 358 Holocaust survivors. These are the true, insider stories of victims, told in their own words. They include the experiences of teenagers who saw their parents and siblings sent to the gas chambers; of starving children beaten for trying to steal a morsel of food; of people who saw their friends commit suicide to save themselves from the daily agony they endured. The recollections are from the start of the war—the home invasions, the Gestapo busts, and the ghettos—as well as the daily hell of the concentration camps and what actually happened inside. Six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust, and this hefty collection of stories told by its survivors is one of the most important books of our time. It was compiled by award-winning author Anthony S. Pitch, who worked with sources such as the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to get survivors’ stories compiled together and to supplement them with images from the war. These memories must be told and held onto so what happened is documented; so the lives of those who perished are not forgotten—so history does not repeat itself. Skyhorse Publishing, along with our Arcade, Good Books, Sports Publishing, and Yucca imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs. Our list includes biographies on well-known historical figures like Benjamin Franklin, Nelson Mandela, and Alexander Graham Bell, as well as villains from history, such as Heinrich Himmler, John Wayne Gacy, and O. J. Simpson. We have also published survivor stories of World War II, memoirs about overcoming adversity, first-hand tales of adventure, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
