Customer Reviews

Himmler's Jewish Tailor: The Story of Holocaust Survivor Jacob Frank (Religion, Theology and the Holocaust)

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I loved the book...I hated the book. What can I say? It's a wonderful story about a terrible time. From the time I picked up the book I found it difficult to put down. Knowing that Mr. Frank is indeed a survivor, I needed to get to the part where he was safe. I especially liked the way author Mark Lewis presented the very essence of Mr. Frank by not altering his accent, his syntax. The question and answer format was interesting. Not too many questions, rather, enough to help clarify certain points.

As the story begins, Jacob Frank a youth full of hope and dreams embarks on his journey. Who could imagine that choices, decisions made at such a tender age would so dramatically impact his life? As the years pass, the hope, the ambition, the joy of this wonderful young man is slowly, systematically robbed from him. It is a story too horrible to imagine yet Jacob Frank recalls every detail. He describes these events with simple details-not so dramatic as to be unbelievable. The idea of the Holocaust is unbelievable, unfathomable. Thankfully, for survivors like Mr. Frank, the world will know the horrible truth.

Jacob Frank speaks with a voice that comes from an ever distant time and place. He grew up in Poland, in a Jewish Society that was almost totally destroyed during the Holocaust. Out of the sixty four members of his family in Poland, Jacob Frank is the only one that survived. The only physical remnant of his entire family that still exists is a single photograph of Jacob Frank and his wife Dora. Mr. Frank carefully sewed the photograph into his clothing, and kept it hidden during nearly six years of survival in concentration camps and prisons in Poland and Germany. He wanted always to remember his wife and family; and to keep their image in his mind and heart. The poignant photograph of Jacob and Dora Frank is included in the book. With great courage Jacob Frank tried to protect his family and to help other people in the concentration camps, but he was trapped in a nightmare world where life had little or no value. There was not much that he could do to protect himself, or anyone else. Jacob Frank was valuable to the Nazis, because of his great skill as a master tailor. They needed him to make uniforms and suits. Because of his forced duties as a tailor, Mr. Frank often came into close contact with some of the leading Nazis; including Heinrich Himmler and Adolf Eichmann. He felt intense fear when he was in their presence, and sometimes he could not bear to look directly at their faces. He could only see shadows of evil when he glanced at them. As one who was there and survived, he speaks with a deep and unique insight into the Holocaust. He helps us to understand what really happened; and the men capable of carrying out a plan of genocide on a huge scale. He helps us to understand the great tragedy of entire families being murdered and lost forever. The witness and memory of Jacob Frank provide a valuable service to the world. His important book sheds light on a time of great darkness, and helps to stand guard against any future Holocaust.

This Holocaust Memoir,ASIN:0815606060 Himmler's Jewish Tailor: The Story of Holocaust Survivor Jacob Frank (Religion, Theology and the Holocaust)is one of the finest I have ever read, and I have purchased at least 10 or 15. If you want a story that is so well written, you feel as though you are right there with this desparate to survive, Jewish Tailor, then this book is a must to read. I can hardly convey to you what a compelling, captivating, horrifying true to life story this is.How very wily, and brilliant Jacob Frank truly was, as he was sly as a fox, outsmarting the Nazi's at every turn.Yes, it is sad, how he was systematically starved, and especially when he was wrongfully accused of stealing a crust of someone's bread, he even looks this person up after liberation, to make sure his friend believed he was innocent of that.I will never, ever part with this book.Out of all the books I have amassed in my collection of Holocaust Survivor Memoirs, it is most definetly one of the most excellent stories.I can truly say, I hung on each and every word that this man wrote.It is so brilliantly written, capturing the devilish, historic, "essence", if I may say, of this cruel, merciless, period of History that Frank, and millions of other Jews were forced to endure.Unfortunately, only the ones blessed with ability to outsmart Hitler's henchmen, daily, at every turn it seems, were fortunate to have lived through it, escaping so that the whole world could be told about this nightmare of being starved, tortured and killed, just because of their race. You will never regret purchasing this fairly inexpensive, totally interesting book, and you certainly will never forget it.I have even googled this man online, hoping to find a link to convey my sorrow that he had to endure this horrific, unbelievably cruel experience in his life.You will love his victorious story, and for sure re read it again.

I was disappointed in the way that the book was written. It was hard for me to stay interested because they just jumped from one thing too another and some things that you had already read were repeated.