From A Name to A Number: A Holocaust Survivor's Autobiography [Paperback]

Alter Wiener (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 5, 2007

Alter Wiener's father was brutally murdered on September 11, 1939 by the German invaders of Poland. Alter was then a boy of 13. At the age of 15 he was deported to Blechhammer, a Forced Labor Camp for Jews, in Germany. He survived five camps. Upon liberation by the Russian Army on May 9, 1945, Alter weighed 80 lbs as reflected on the book's cover. Alter Wiener is one of the very few Holocaust survivors still living in Portland, Oregon. He moved to Oregon in 2000 and since then he has shared his life story with over 700 audiences (as of June, 2011) in universities, colleges, middle and high schools, Churches, Synagogues, prisons, clubs, etc. He has also been interviewed by radio and TV stations as well as the press. Wiener's autobiography is a testimony to an unfolding tragedy taking place in WWII. Its message illustrates what prejudice may lead to and how tolerance is imperative. This book is not just Wiener's life story but it reveals many responses to his story. Hopefully, it will enable many readers to truly understand such levels of horror and a chance to empathize with the unique plight of the Holocaust victims. Feel free to visit my website www.alterwiener.com for more information including links.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

I had lived in Forest Hills,New York for 40 years and I had never been asked to share my life story, with students or adults.Like many other Holocaust survivors,I was focused on adjusting to a new life in a new country.I had a full time job until the age of 73,& then I left New York for Oregon. I have never been able to bring down an iron curtain on my past.For me,the horrific memories from the Holocaust are still fresh.The ashes I rose from are still smoldering.I am tormented by memories even as I try to carry on with my life.I am crying in silence,I am still in pain,I am draped in sadness.While grieving I am also somewhat healed.Most members,of my extended family,had passed away but their love will stay and our relationship will never end,because love is not mortal.The warmth that permeated our family is the anchor that I hang on to.The Holocaust is a ghastly and repulsive historical nightmare.Not all physical and mental scars can be completely healed with passing years; some extend through time. However,I can not let grief immobilize me. I realize that it is beyond the understanding of most people to fathom the horror and dread that I have witnessed and endured.The Holocaust is indeed beyond comprehension.My tribulations during the Holocaust are so removed from people’s daily lives that those horrors sound unbelievable to them. In April 2000, I moved to Hillsboro Oregon.I met a Holocaust survivor who urged me to join the Oregon Holocaust Resource Center (OHRC).I did,& became a member of the OHRC “Speakers Bureau.”The Speakers share their Holocaust experiences with young students and adults,in the State of Oregon and Washington. I have always been self conscious of my limited vocabulary,my foreign accent and my flawed diction.Had I been well versed in the English language I would still feel uncomfortable to address audiences.However, I was coaxed by the coordinator of OHRC to give a try, and I made my first presentation, in December 2000, at Century High School, Hillsboro. Since then,I have shared my life story with about 300 audiences.Most of my listeners have been quite respectful, sympathetic, as reflected in their faces, sometimes with outrage and often with tears. They are captivated, in their rapt attentiveness. The appreciation for my implicit and explicit messages is reflected in their verbal and written responses. I am very pleased when told by teachers that my presentation had inspired even the most fidgety students.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: AuthorHouse (April 5, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1425997406
• ISBN-13: 978-1425997403
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.5 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (441 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #108,324 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #38 in Books > History > Europe > Poland
  • #89 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Regional U.S. > West

More About the Author

One of approximately 250 customer reviews of Alter's book on Amazon.com: "Al honestly and poignantly relates the story of his early childhood, the loss of normal adolescence because of the Holocaust and his lifelong journey to overcome the past. I know Al personally and know that his willingness to share painful memories, both through speaking and through writing, is motivated by his desire to eliminate hate, vengeance and intolerance in the world. His book is a compelling read for all, especially those who think the past is over and done one should only move forward. Al has moved forward, but everyday he continues to be affected by the past. Now he willingly shares his lessons with others. I highly recommend this book."

Biography:
Alter Wiener's father was brutally murdered on September 11, 1939 by the German invaders of Poland. Alter was then a boy of 13. At the age of 15 he was deported to Blechhammer, a Forced Labor Camp for Jews, in Germany. He survived five camps. Upon liberation, by the Russian Army on May 9, 1945, Alter weighed 80 lbs as reflected on the book's cover. Alter Wiener is one of the very few Holocaust survivors still living in Portland OR. He had moved to Oregon several years ago and since then he has shared his life story with 300 audiences in universities, colleges, middle and high schools, Churches, Synagogues, prisons, clubs etc. He has also been interviewed by radio and TV stations as well as the press Wiener's autobiography is a testimony to an unfolding tragedy taking place in WWII. It has a message what prejudice may lead to and how tolerance is imperative. This book is not just Wiener's life story but it reveals many responses to his story. Hopefully, it will enable many readers to truly understand such levels of horror and a chance to empathize with the unique plight of the Holocaust victims.

http://www.fromanametoanumber.com

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 66 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Living With the Past September 17, 2007

By D. Krauthoefer

Format:Paperback

Al honestly and poignantly relates the story of his early childhood, the loss of normal adolescence because of the Holocaust and his lifelong journey to overcome the past. I know Al personally and know that his willingness to share painful memories, both through speaking and through writing, is motivated by his desire to eliminate hate, vengeance and intolerance in the world. His book is a compelling read for all, especially those who think the past is over and done one should only move forward. Al has moved forward, but everyday he continues to be affected by the past. Now he willingly shares his lessons with others. I highly recommend this book.

53 of 56 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Uniqueness of "From A Name to A Number" July 19, 2009

By Larry Schnitzer

Format:Paperback

My late father was a Holocaust survivor; so is my mother. From my early childhood on I have been listening and over hearing about the tragic events taking place during WWII.
Most of my parents' friends were also Holocaust survivors. Their social conversations were always intertwined with episodes experienced or witnessed in ghettos and concentration camps in Germany. Some of their life stories are etched in my memory.

Alter Wiener, the author and my late father had been great friends since their early childhood in Chrzanów, Poland. They had common roots and had been subjected to identical horrors under the Nazis' yoke. After the liberation, in 1945, they both faced similar struggles on the path of reconstructing their life. By marrying and having children of their own they assured the continuity of the their annihilated families' heritage.

From A Name to A Number encompasses the author's life before the war, during the war and its aftermath. My late father and the author traveled the same journey of travails and triumphs. I am grateful to Alter Wiener for writing the book to perpetuate the Holocaust legacy and my ancestors' legacy.

Reading the book, I was very impressed by its uniqueness. The life audiences recorded responses to Alter's life story are very compelling. The young and the old listeners are impacted by Alter. They decide to be more appreciative of their lot. They realize how precious personal freedom is; how difficult life is without loving parents. They become aware that without a good education there is no promising future. The questions presented to Alter are indicative of a keen interest in the Holocaust legacy, and sometimes it reflects the questioner's ignorance about the Holocaust..... The expressed sympathy to the author's tribulations is consoling. I find comfort that children of non-Holocaust survivors feel my pains. I have not seen similar perspectives in any other of Holocaust survivors' biographies. I am grateful to Alter for taking the courage to put in print his traumatic past, for the benefit of contemporary and future generations, including my own offspring. Read more ›

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Alter Wiener's calls for soul searching January 20, 2009

By Leif G. Terdal

Format:Paperback

Alter Wiener writes that his father was murdered on September 11, 1939 during the German invasion of Poland. Alter was 13 years old when his father was killed and his body was thrown into a ditch. At age 15, while living in Chrzanow, Poland he was taken away from his step mother over her screams and protests. He was deported to Blechhaner, a Nazi work camp for interned Jews. He describes the awful work conditions, filth, the starvation diet and the brutality of some of the guards. Over time this young man was transferred to an additional four camps during his internment, which ended in 1945 when liberated by Russian troops. The horror he describes was repeated over and over in every country that was overrun and occupied by German forces in WW II.
An interesting and important part of his book is the section in which he lists questions asked of him during his more than 300 presentations. Alteer Wiener was a Keynote speaker during a series of presentation on WW II at the First United Methodist Church in Portland, Oregon. One question that is often asked of him is, "How could this have happened?" One speaker at the same conference pointed out that in Germany in the 1930's and 40's Christian Churches, for the most part, assisted the Nazi regime. For example, the churches had engaged in anti-Semitic teachings for hundreds of years. Furthermore, the churches generally complied with Nazi requests to help identify Jews by turning over baptismal records. In addition to some level of active collaboration, most churches failed to voice a protest or to offer assistance to the Jews as they faced increasing levels of oppression.
These failures leading up to the Holocaust will require soul searching for many generations to come.... Alter Wiener's book will help to remind us of a most difficult past that must be better understood as we face our future.
Reviewer, Leif Terdal, PhD is a retired psychologist. He and his family escaped from Norway during WW II. He is the author of a recently published book, Our Escape from Nazi-Occupied Norway: Norwegian Resistance to Nazism. Read more ›

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars From a Name to A Number - From a Stranger to a Friend September 27, 2007

By M. Dobbie

Format:Paperback

Read Alter Wiener's life story From a Name to a Number. It will take you on an emotional roller-coaster ride. But unlike actual roller coaster rides where you are the same person when you get off that you were getting on... You'll be forever changed for having read his amazing story.

If you ever get a chance to meet Al in person - don't miss it! Even if your paths never cross - you'll still get to know this wonderful man with a beautiful spirit, as you read his words of deep pain, inhumane treatment, unbelievable loss, and yet he had hope and purpose. Both have brought him to the place where he was able to share from his heart and his experiences in his wonderfully written memoir From a Name to A Number. We are blessed to have read his book and to now know him as a friend.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book That You'll Never Forget March 11, 2011

By Howard DiNatale

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

"From a Name to a Number" is a book that you'll never forget. It is the story of a Jewish teenager who received his education in five concentration camps. After he was liberated, Alter found himself without a home, country, or immediate family. Most of "From a Name to a Number" is the story of where he went and how he lived after liberation.

Alter's story is tragic and inspirational. He refuses to hate the German people for the violence and cruelty that the Nazis inflicted on him and his family. If Alter can refuse to hate, we have no excuse.

The immensity and deliberate, industrialized cruelty of the Holocaust are difficult to comprehend. We know it happened because the Nazis kept meticulous records. These death camp balance sheets are evidence of an inhuman cruelty that should never be allowed to happen again.

Despite the historical evidence (films, mass graves, pictures, balance sheets, and historical sites), Holocaust deniers tell others that it didn't happen. They do this to justify their own racist beliefs or because they despise the attention that society gives to victims. As the Holocaust's survivors succumb to old age, the number of Holocaust deniers is increasing.

An increasing number of media personalities are routinely blaming victims or referring to minorities as racists or Nazis. They do this because they perceive victimhood as power, which they crave. If we allow hate mongers to call themselves victims, we do a disservice to past, present, and future victims of violence.

Repeated use of the word "Nazi" on political television shows is a deliberate attempt to change its meaning.... If we allow this word to be watered down until it is becomes slang for "nationalization" or "jerk", the Holocaust will be harder for future generations to understand.

Survivors of genocides such as the Holocaust or the Khmer Rouge retell their stories even though it hurts them to do so. Alter is in his eighties and continues to speak at colleges and middle schools. Survivors like Alter show us their physical and emotional scars to teach us that hatred and genocide can happen anywhere. Read more ›