Kaddish for Kovno: Life and Death in a Lithuanian Ghetto 1941-1945 [Paperback]

William W. Mishell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1999

This is a personal account of one man's unforgettable odyssey through hell of the Holocaust, and a rare firsthand document to the 20th century's most mournful tragedy. The kaddish is a prayer for the dead and Mishell documents in passionate detail the creation, and then the obliteration, of ghetto Kovno secured food, smuggled children to safety, set up hospital, and even organize an orchestra in the face of numbing deprivations and brutality.

Editorial Reviews

Review

I am very impressed and moved. --Elie Wiesel

Mishell doesn't stint relating the horrifying experience and the psychic scars that have lasted to this day. Another solid addition to the growing body of Holocaust literature. --Booklist

Mr. Mishell's voice in its particularity rings throughout, and to realize that he made it through and lived to tell the tale gives you a pleasure of a very singular kind. --Joanne Greenberg, author of I never Promised You a Rose Garden

About the Author

William W. Mishell is one of a handful of Jews to survive the Nazi occupation of Lithuania. Liberated from Dachau by American forces in April 1945, he emigrated to the United States, where he took an engineering degree from New York University. A Chicago-area resident, Mr. Mishell passed away in October, 1994 and is survived by his wife, three children, and grandchildren.

Product Details

• Paperback: 408 pages
• Publisher: Chicago Review Press (March 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556523408
• ISBN-13: 978-1556523403
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,488,438 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important Book, March 29, 2005

By 

Knigochei (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kaddish for Kovno: Life and Death in a Lithuanian Ghetto, 1941-1945 (Hardcover)

This memoir is a great and important work. Mishell was one of the few survivors of the Kovno ghetto, and if one wishes to learn about the destruction of Jews on Soviet territory, this is the book to read.

5.0 out of 5 stars Must Read, March 27, 2011

By 

mmp - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kaddish for Kovno: Life and Death in a Lithuanian Ghetto 1941-1945 (Paperback)

This is an amazing book detailing the agony of striving to survive the Kovno Ghetto. It is written in a very down to earth style, and the reader is not spared the horrifying truth. I say it is a must read for anyone who really wants to understand what WWII ghetto life was like for Jews and the cruelty men are capable of. The author tells the story of how through his ingenuity he made it through his experiences. He boldly shares his intimate moments with such honesty. It is well written and makes you feel like you are there. Reading this book is a life altering experience. However it is not one we should ignore if we never want to see a repeat of this again. An eye opener for anyone who takes the Holocaust lightly or really doesn't know what happened. My understanding is that this book was out of print for a long time.

The inner jacket says, it "...is a story of ingenuity and heroism as well as of destruction. The Jews of Kovno secured food, smuggled children to safety, set up hospitals, a police force, and even a ghetto orchestra in the face of numbing deprivations and brutality. The workshops they created, among them a graphics and a toy making workshop, brought a degree of order and protection to their participants that enabled them to live, work, and even love until the last shattering year of the war."