Fighting Back [Paperback]

Harold Werner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 1994 | ISBN-10: 0231078838 | ISBN-13: 978-0231078832 0

An authoritative account of the Jewish Resistance during World War II.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The Jewish partisan unit to which Werner, who died in 1989, belonged--some 400 men and women led by a man named Chiel Grynszpan--operated in the woods of eastern Poland during WW II. Grynszpan's guerrillas performed acts of sabotage against the Germans (blowing up trains, convoys, bridges) and rescued Jews from the Wlodawa ghetto. When the Germans retreated, the Jewish partisans executed Polish civilians who had betrayed Jews in hiding to the Germans during the occupation. The most awesome aspect of this memoir is its stark depiction of the ferocious Polish anti-Semitism before and during the war. Nor did it abate after the war. Werner, who emigrated to the U.S., learned that two of his brothers had been clubbed to death by villagers when they returned to their homes. Told in simple, direct, unemotional language, the book is a valuable document that preserves a record of successful Jewish resistance during the Holocaust. Photos.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

A tale of astonishing success--the small groups slowly grew, joined with other groups, and became a partisan force able to blow up bridges, attack German convoys, rescue other Jews, and exact revenge for earlier betrayals . . . This account has the authority of unvarnished human testimony; Mr. Werner's matter-of-fact tone makes the story he tells all the more horrifying. -- The New Yorker

Product Details

• Paperback: 251 pages
• Publisher: Columbia University Press (April 15, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0231078838
• ISBN-13: 978-0231078832
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,417,776 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A valuable telling of history., November 1, 1999

By 

anonymous "anonymous" (New England) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fighting Back (Paperback)

Thanks to Harold Werner for retelling these events from his deathbed. I read the book in an evening and could not put it down. I am very proud to know that people such as Mr. Werner fought back no matter what the odds. Not only does he write about battles and suffering, but he also writes of the community he grew up with, the people he loved, how people made their living, and how they related to their neighbors.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping story of Jewish resistance to Nazi persecution, June 26, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Fighting Back (Paperback)

This true story takes place in Poland during the late 1930s thru 1946.The main character is a young man named Harold.The trials he experiences prior to WW2 are nothing compaired to the radical changes his life undergoes during the Nazi occupation.There were several things that I enjoyed most about this book.It is scary to realise how treacherous people can be to each other but it is encouraging to see how the human spirit rises to such adverse circumstances.You will follow his life from living in the city to hiding in the forests of Poland while being hunted by villagers and Nazis.Fear and hunger were common among this group of partsians.I found this story easy to read and relate to. This story can parallel any group of people who are oppressed.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Standing Up, February 15, 2005

By 

Neal Bellet (Wayne, New Jersey United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fighting Back (Paperback)

Fighting Back, by Harold Werner, is the well told story of a group of Jewish partisans, who instead of quietly submitting to the will of their Nazi oppressors, and those anti-semitic villagers, and there seemed to be many, who collaborated with the Nazis in their quest to destroy the Jews of Poland, decided to fight back. The author was one of those partisans. These people had all lost family members and friends to both the Nazis and to many of their neighbors who had once been their friends, and all they wanted was a chance to fight back, an opportunity for revenge. After reading many holocaust books about the camps, or about Jews in hiding, it was a pleasure to finally read one where the Jews actually defended themselves, and if they had to die, they died "Fighting Back." This is a must read.