Customer Reviews

Concentration Camps: A Traveler's Guide to World War II Sites

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Karl P. Koenig (kpkoe@swcp.com). Photographer and writer. February 3, 2000. A Brilliant and Concise Guide. I have looked for the information provided in this book about the camps for several years. Nothing that I have uncovered compares even remotely with Terrance's book. He tells the traveller how to proceed right down to precise maps for walkers, drivers, bus and rail travelers. He provides language and cultural hints, cost information, and so on. In a way, this is scholarship at its best because it provides with a high degree of precision exactly what one must know to travel in foreign countries and discover those locations residents may not be all that happy for you to find. Still, the book is non-polemical and non-political. He just tells it the way it is--clearly and unapologetically. I recommend it highly and will use it on my next photographic tour of the camps. Karl P. Koenig

Also recommended: Reading the Holocaust. The War Against the Jews. Foley: The Spy who Saved 10,000 Jews.

I took this book along on my yearly train trip across Europe and found it very helpful in planning some Holocaust-related stops along the way. I had no idea where most of them were and my other guidebooks didn't mention many of these places. This is a valuable resource for an emotional learning experience.

This book is ideal for the independent traveler. It would also be handy as a complimentary guide to standard guides that group leaders may use. As a student who has traveled to many of these sites, this book would have been ideal for locating some of the camps, as signs can be small or absent altogether. If I ever return to visit camps this guide will be a must have to accompany me.

For those with little knowledge of the camps, you will need another book to give you the background and history of the camps. Terrance's guide focuses mostly on how to get there and highlights the main visuals you'll encounter.

This book was everything I had hoped for and more. Clear and concise directions to the camps including comments abouts transportation options, hours of operations, URLs, photos, travel times from nearby cities. Perhaps most important of all, this book explains what remains to been seen at these camps since some of them were destroyed.

This book will save you so much time if you are traveling through Europe and want to see these sites along the way. I only wish there was more background historical material on each site that said why it was important and what happened there. The maps and directions were great.

Most conventional European tour guides have brief descriptions of the more prominent concentration camps and related memorial sites, as well as directions to them. Terrance's book goes beyond this to include a large number of secondary sites. It also has a photograph of each memorial it discusses, and a map to get you there. However, it is not a comprehensive guide to all concentration camp memorials. Many minor facilities have been omitted.

The directions focus almost entirely on tourists traveling by train. The only street directions are maps showing how to walk from the train station to the memorial, or which bus to take. It will be impractical for tourists visiting by automobile, since he usually omits which highways to take to get into the general area.

This tour guide does not mention any of the non-Holocaust sites near concentration camps that would be of interest to travelers, such as the castle in Dachau, or the rallying grounds in Nurnberg. You will need to get another tour guide to fill in these gaps, so you can see as much as possible in any given town you are visiting.

Overall, I do not mean to sound as if I am speaking ill of the book. What it has is good, but more comprehensive coverage is needed.

A clearly written guide with exact directions to the Holocaust Memorials. The "Turn Left, Turn Right", "Look for a sign that says..." directions are clear and easy to follow. (It even has pictures of the signs!). I used this guide on my trip to Auschwitz and several other camps and found my way there on foot from the train stations with ease. I recommend this guide for the independent traveler who likes to venture out on their own, but needs a road map to lead the way. This resource has an incredible amount of detail, great maps, pictures and many website addresses. I can't thank the author enough for compiling this information. Great Job!!

This book is a must-read for anyone who plans to tour any of the camps. Contains meticulously accurate directions, train schedules, etc. which enables you to plan and actually FIND some of the more obscure camps with ease.

When my son, Marc Terrance told me he was writing a travel guidebook to the concentration camps, I couldn't understand why. Then he invited me along as he did the research for this 2003 revised edition that is now being shipped. Having never been to Europe, he had me follow his directions from the book to see if I could find my way to Auschwitz. I was amazed at how well I did! His directions are very clear, and taking that trip with him opened my eyes to the atrocities that happened. Now I understand why he wrote it. Everyone should visit these memorials to understand what happened. I'm very proud of his work in producing this book and thankful to have been a part of it.

Great little book with both basic and extra helpful tips. Especially good for those that travel by train. If you want or expect more than that, do your own research and write another book....I think the author has done a STELLAR job.