Customer Reviews

Jack and Rochelle: A Holocaust Story of Love and Resistance

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In recent years, some accounts of Holocaust survivors have been called into question as to their veracity. But this narrative, told alternately by Jack and Rochelle Sutin has the absolute ring of truth. The accounts of their experiences in the forests of Poland as part of the armed Jewish resistance are thrilling and heart-breaking by turn. Their survival is miraculous, considering that for more than two years they were hunted every day by Nazis, anti-Semitic Polish farmers, and even Russians by whose sides they were fighting.

Jack and Rochelle tell their story in a very straightforward manner, setting forth details which must be painful beyond telling to remember. I am filled with admiration for their ability to move forward and agree that giving life to a new generation is the best revenge for all the horrors they suffered.

Adding much to the book are an eloquent preface and afterword by the Sutins' son, Lawrence, who compiled and edited the material. His love and respect for his parents are evident with every word he writes, and he tells quite honestly how hearing these stories since early childhood has affected his and his sister's lives.

An important addition to the body of Holocaust literature.

Ably edited by their son Lawrence, the instructive and inspiring Holocaust narrative of Jack and Rochelle Sutin provides ample proof of both the degradation implicit in the Shoah and the astounding strength and courage Jewish partisans demonstrated in their battle against the attempted Nazi genocide. "Jack and Rochelle" is a deceptively easy book to read; the chapters consist of blended chronological testimonies; Lawrence Sutin honorably avoids imposing his own voice on his parents, instead allowing his mother and father to describe, in their own words, their own cadences, the horrors they faced and the gritty resolve they mustered to fight back. Rarely does a subtitle so accurately depict the contents of a memoir as does their own: "A Holocaust Story of Love and Resistance."

Both Jack and Rochelle came from educated and enlightened eastern European Jewish families. As the two of them chronicle the onset of anti-Jewish depradations, they remind us of the rich texture of their pre-war lives. This dimension of humanity, of lives complicated by strained love relations, competitive urges and the deeply felt need for independence, makes the Nazi onslaught all the more unsettling and horrific.

Several themes predominate in the Sutins' braided lives. First is the omnipresence of Jew hatred, whether it be in pre or post war Poland, in the brutally repressive Soviet bureaucracy or the finely honed hatred of Nazi Germany. Indifferent neighbors, vicious anti-Jewish Russian partisans (who commit ghastly sexual offenses against women who want nothing more than to join them in battling a common enemy), and the active participants in human eradication, the Nazis, make the Sutins' world one of constant peril. Survival is never taken for granted, and Jack and Rochelle's descriptions of their physical torment, often undertated, is wrenching to read. Personal sacrifice exists on every level: physical, social and spiritual. Rochelle's first child dies within a day due to exposure when its survival imperils others; Jack is literally covered with pus-filled boils as a result of living outside the boundaries of human habitation.

Yet, neither Jack or Rochelle never complain, never give themselves away to self-pity. Instead, they are infused with the Judaic command to remember and Rochelle's mother's insistence on revenge, to take action to avenge the murder of their people. In this charged atmosphere of sanguine justice and physical erosion, amidst the rank and fetid habitat of primitive partisan surroundings, hope and love survive. Jack dreams that Rochelle will appear. She does. Despite sexual abuse and spiritual depletion, Rochelle gradually accepts and receives Jack's love. He has never stopped loving her.

"Jack and Rochelle" is above all a cry of victory. It is a cry that murder and eradication cannot conquer a people. It is a cry that memory and consecration to life will prevail over death. It is a cry that love can endure, even if it is formed in the absolute crucible of death.

This is the story of Jack and Rochelle Sutin as told to their son, who, in turn, writes with great love and sensitivity about his parents' struggle to survive the Holocaust. Theirs is the account of a segment of the Holocaust I had known little about before I read this book: the Jewish Resistance. As the Nazis invaded Poland, established, and then emptied the ghettos, some Jews escaped to the forests, living in dirt caves, hiding from the Nazis, scratching out their survival from one day to the next, not knowing what had become of their families. By the end of the book, the reader is left with an incredible respect and affinity for those who cheated Hitler out of a handful of Jewish lives

Jack and Rochelle Sutin were Jewish and met during WWII. I have read many stories of the holocaust from the perspective of the concentration camp. But never a story like Jack and Rochelle's!! They escaped from the ghetto and hid out it the woods during the war. (Small groups of Jews banded together in the woods.) Sound idyllic? Their existence was horrific, dreadful, and desperate! They were often reduced to being like animals. If a woman arrived pregnant, no one wanted her in their group - a baby is noisy and would be too risky. (If the woman was accepted into the group despite her pregnancy, she was forced to kill her newborn or someone in the group killed it for her.) Jewish women, who were alone and did not find a group of Jews to join, often had to perform sexual favors to find someone to take them in or help them. (Cruel and heartless Russian partisans were the worst offenders!) Despite the absolute horror of this true story, the story of Jack and Rochelle is inspiring. They met in the woods, and survived - overcoming great odds. They later married and came to the USA. The book is also well-written, and is an "easy read" in regards to the writing style.

A true story well told. An uplifting story about the power of love, faith, and self reliance. The unbelievable resiliance of humans to survive and keep their sanity in a world gone crazy. The book does not dwell on the horrors or even give explicit descriptions. The two main characters had a hard enough time and were not physically tortured or held prisoner. They simply hid out and lived in terror for several years until miraculously making their escape to the West. These were two lucky people who nevertheless suffered years of fear and depradation.

Jack and Rochelle is probably one of the best books I have read in the past 5 yrs. It is truly amazing what they endure during the war and how they survive. There truly isn't any words to describe how much I loved this book. Thank you Jack and Rochelle for writing your experiences! This is a well written and easy to read book. The story is very easy to follow and so important to be read! I hope that everyone has a chance to read this book. It makes you realize you need to be a kinder and more understanding person to others. Hate is an awful thing....and there is still too much of it in our world! Thank you Jack and Rochelle! God bless you both!

This true story was extremely well written to the point where you felt as though you yourself were there. All of the Holocaust survivor accounts show us that, we all are going to suffer in one way or another and that many times good things come out of it. They show us how the adverse situation helped them to be creative, strong and to fight back. Ultimately most of the survivors have built unbelievable personal character and skills and determination. It's not all bad, but I believe this country can learn a lot about what real suffering and deprivation is all about.Living without much food for years; having to constantly be on the run,or piled into broken down camps, no one can fathom any of this; and,to this very day, the desire to exterminate the Jewish race is still here. They still suffer, they still live in fear and trepidation. There has never been this kind of torture and suffering in all of time than can equal what the Jewish people have suffered..ever.

This is a beautiful story told wonderfully.

I am a casual student of the holocaust--I've read a few books and multiple accounts of survivors--however, this book is unlike anything I had read. I'm grateful to Larry Sutin and his parents for sharing this story with the world.

This is a truly amazing story of human courage. Jack and Rochelle were not only brave enough to run away from their Germany captors, but then spent years living in the woods surviving and fighting back. Even after the Russian liberation and their departure from the woods, Jack and Rochelle fought danger constantly until they could get to an American displaced persons camp. They were such survivors. I can't imagine living through what they did, especially at their young ages.

I read this in a day because I couldn't put it down.

I have not even finished this book and I have to say that it is amazing. It's tragic and romantic. I cant even put how I feel about it into words. But I can easily imagine myself in their story with them. I am always craving to turn the page and see what happens next. I find myself urging them to watch out and sympathize for them. I cant ever imagine going through this and I never want to know. I'm so happy that people DID survive and also fight back! For whatever reason, I had never thought that Jews did that during this time. I know that when I reach the end of the book I'll be speechless and in awe. I already am. It warms my heart that I know they have spent and will spend the rest of their lives together.