The Day the Holocaust Began: The Odyssey of Herschel Grynszpan [Hardcover]

Gerald Schwab (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 9, 1990 | ISBN-10: 0275935760 | ISBN-13: 978-0275935764 | Edition: 1St Edition

On November 7, 1938, Herschel Grynszpan, a 17-year old Polish-German Jew, walked into the German Embassy in Paris and shot Third Secretary, Ernst vom Rath, who died shortly after. Vom Rath's death triggered the destruction and mahem which became known as Kristallnacht, or The Night of Broken Glass, resulting in the death of hundreds, the razing of 265 synagogues and 200 houses, the demolition of 7,500 business establishments, and the incarceration of 30,000 Jews in concentration camps. Herschel Grynszpan was immediately arrested. France's foremost criminal lawyer took over his defense. On June 8, 1940, two days before the French Government evacuated Paris, the youth was indicted for murder. A month later he was in Nazi hands, being interrogated by the Gestapo in anticipation of a major show trial. Little has been known in the past about this extraordinary young man. Using German documents never before revealed, including a startling coded testament, Gerald Schwab examines his background and the events culminating in the shooting. The book describes, in considerable detail, Grynszpan's experiences in French and German hands and his trial which was to become Nazi Germany's justification of the Holocaust. It also challenges some commonly held ideas about the cause of the shooting and its aftermath. The Day the Holocaust Began describes the life of a mixed-up, emotionally immature youngster who developed into one of the most amazing and unlikely heroes of modern history, demonstrating the power of the human spirit against overwhelming odds. Anyone interested in modern European history, the Nazi Government, the persecution of the European Jews, as well as students of the Holocaust and its many ramifications, will find The Day the Holocaust Began invaluable reading.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

When Grynzpan, a distraught Jewish refugee, assassinated a German embassy official in Paris, he gave the Nazis a pretext for unleashing the infamous Kristallnacht pogrom. Arrested by the French, Grynzpan came into the Germans' hands after the fall of Paris; they planned a major show trial to demonstrate the evils of world Jewry. In this meticulously researched book, Schwab, himself a survivor of Kristallnacht , examines the events that led to Grynzpan's desperate act and, drawing from French and German archives, reproduces the arguments defense and prosecution lawyers hoped to use at the trial. It never occurred, and Grynzpan disappeared with millions of fellow Jews into the Holocaust. Schwab, however, has rescued an important event from historical limbo. This title belongs in most 20th-century history collections.
- An drea Caron Kempf, Johnson Cty. Community Coll. Lib., Overland Park, Kan.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

“The day the Holocaust began was November 7, 1938, when Herschel Grynszpan, a 17-year-old Polish-German Jew, shot and killed Eduard vom Rath, an officer in the German embassy in Paris. Grynszpan proclaimed that he wanted `to avenge the great wrong which had been visited on his fellow Jews in general and on his family in particular.' What followed was the Kristallnacht, in which 265 synagogues were destroyed, 7,500 Jewish businesses looted, and 30,000 Jews sent to concentration camps--the first step in the Holocaust. Schwab's father was one of those sent to the camps. Schwab became interested in the Grynszpan case and eventually met an embassy clerk who had been a key witness at Grynszpan's trial, as well as Grynszpan's defense lawyer. Schwab describes Grynszpan's experiences while in French and German custody and gives a detailed background of the assassin-hero. The author asserts that in the final analysis, Grynszpan performed a valuable service for European Jews--for although his dee”–Booklist

“This history, a footnote to that of the Holocaust, tells the story of the trial and eventual liquidation of Grynzspan as completely as it ever will be known.”–Washington Post Book World

“The Day the Holocaust Began gives a detailed picture of the planning and preparations the Nazis undertook in order to stage a show trial--with Herschel Grynszpan as the representative of World Jewry...The extensive chronology in this book is impressive and should prove quite useful for historians...it fills a void in historiography, and I am sure it will be read by a vast and appreciative audience.”–Simon Wiesenthal

“Gerald Schwab's The Day the Holocaust Began is fascinating reading. It is an extremely valuable account of the story of Herschel Grynszpan, the expulsion of Polish Jews from Germany, the November 1938 pogrom (Crystal Night), and of Grynszpan's subsequent fate as a prisoner of the Nazis. This vivid and dramatic story is both biographical and historical and fills a critical gap in our understanding of the Holocaust.”–Sybil Milton, Resident Historian U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

“Gerald Schwab has written a compelling story about the aftermath of one of the most important events to take place on the path to the Holocaust. Using primarily official German documents, Schwab has written a fascinating, exhaustively researched book which is sure to become a standard work on this subject. He is to be congratulated for producing a work which maintains the reader's interest throughout while maintaining the highest levels of scholarship.”–Senator Rudy Boschwitz

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Praeger Publishers; 1St Edition edition (November 9, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0275935760
• ISBN-13: 978-0275935764
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,000,930 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive biography of Herschel Grynszpan, July 4, 2011

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Anysia Majdanek - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Day the Holocaust Began: The Odyssey of Herschel Grynszpan (Hardcover)

I wrote a detailed review of this book at The Rumpus for their column "The Last Book I Loved", so I won't repeat all that here. I'll just say this is the best book I've read on the subject, and I've read them all. Not hard, since there are only a few. Schwab puts no words in Grynszpan's mouth and doesn't jump to conclusions about his thoughts, intentions or actions, which can't possibly be known now. Just a straightforward account of the events exactly as they transpired. This is a scholarly work but never dull; it's well-written and thoroughly researched. I strongly recommend The Day the Holocaust Began: The Odyssey of Herschel Grynszpan to anyone with an interest in WWII and Kristallnacht.