Annihilation of Lithuanian Jewry [Hardcover]

Efroim Oshry (Author), Bonnie Goldman (Editor), Y. Leiman (Translator)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 188058218X | ISBN-13: 978-1880582183 | Publication Date: March 1, 1996

Rabbi Oshry's eye-witness account of the Lithuanian religious community's courageous struggle to survive in the Kovno Ghetto. Even in famine, kashruth was kept. Even under the threat of death, Torah learning continued. Even as Nazis waied by the door, baby boys were circumcised. An astonishing account and unlike anything else that's been written about Lithuania! Included also is a short town-by-town history of Jewish Lithuania and a record of its destruction. Illustrated with 171 photographs and complete with index, glossary and maps. Translated from Yiddish by Y. Leiman.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Yiddish

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Judaica Press (March 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 188058218X
• ISBN-13: 978-1880582183
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,202,605 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #49 in Books > History > Europe > Lithuania

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is an excellant first hand account., March 10, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Annihilation of Lithuanian Jewry (Hardcover)

This book consists of two parts. The first 60 % is about Rabbi Oshry's experainces in the Kovno ghetto. This part of the book can be broken up into four periods. The Nazi arrival and initial attrociates, 'normal ghetto life', the liquidation of the ghetto, and the period of time that they lived in a bunker. Their also are two chapters about the post-liberation period under Soviet rule. Though according to Jewish folklore, Lithuianian Jews are sterotypically 'cold interlectualls', this book is very passionately written. Because it was written shortly after the events occurred by an important figure of the Kovno ghetto, it is certainly an important book for those who want to learn about the Holocaust.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read book on the Holocaust, August 29, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Annihilation of Lithuanian Jewry (Hardcover)

This most serious book is very effective at sharing events that happened during the Holocaust - particularly in Kovno / Slobadka. It enables the readers to get a glimpse of the savagery of the Nazi butchers. Rabbi Oshry tells first hand accounts of their brutality and it clearly instills the fear of G-d in the reader.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jewish Faith under Nazi Occupation, December 24, 2007

By 

TamarDC "tamardc" (Newton, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Annihilation of Lithuanian Jewry (Hardcover)

In addition to the helpful comments of previous reviewers, I'd like to add that this book is important because it throws life on how Jewish life continued in Kovno all the way through the Nazi occupation. Oshry movingly describes the enormous efforts Jews made to continue to practice their faith and the joy they still found in their religion.