Mother of the Wire Fence: Inside and Outside the Holocaust [Paperback]

Karl A. Plank (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1994

Is it possible to empathize fully with the victims of the Holocaust? Can those who approach the Holocaust in the aftermath ever know it in a way that does not trivialize its horror? With what language can we speak of such an event without at the same time betraying its meaning? In this powerful book, Karl Plank takes a hard look at these questions as he explores the boundaries that lie between those outside and those inside the experience of the Holocaust.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Plank's thoughtful book begins with the photograph of a Jewish mother speaking to her young son through a wire fence in the Lodz ghetto in September 1942. The boy is about to be deported to the death camp in Chelmno. Plank meditates on the photograph, taken clandestinely by Mendel Grossman, whose photographs of the ghetto are among the most valuable records of that time, and what he calls "other textual images akin to it," responding to questions raised by viewing it. Is it possible to fully empathize with the victims of the Holocaust? Can those who approach the Holocaust in the aftermath ever know it in a way that does not trivialize its horror? With what language can we speak of such an event without at the same time betraying its meaning? In answering these questions, Plank attempts to bridge the gap between "inside" and "outside." In doing so, he brings the non-Jewish outsider a little closer to what it was like being on the inside. George Cohen

About the Author

Karl A. Plank is J. W. Cannon Professor of Religion at Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina.

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press; 1st edition (November 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0664252192
• ISBN-13: 978-0664252199
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #548,146 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Book, February 10, 2005

By 

Maggie M (Columbus, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mother of the Wire Fence: Inside and Outside the Holocaust (Paperback)

When I began reading this book, I was enthralled by the description of the photograph and the circumstances under which it was taken. But shortly after, I found myself bored. The author seemed to wander a bit an I lost interest.

Fortunately, for me, I stuck with the book. Karl Plank goes on to describe the situation of events in Lodz Ghetto, where the photo was taken. He uses excerpts from the memoir of Jozef Zelkowicz to illistrate the horrors of what was occuring inside the ghetto walls. Zelkowicz describes the death of a mother and her young daughter at hands of the Nazis as punishment for not abondoning her daughter.

Karl Plank also uses the poetry of Simcha Bunem Shayevitsh, a Lodz Ghetto inhabitant, to illistrate his ideas. The poetry of Shayevitsh, there are only two poems that survive, are profound and moving. His poem speaking of his young daughter, Blimel, is easily the most haunting of images. As readers, we know what their fate is, the poet is left to agonize over the unknown.

This is a wonderful book to read. I would also reccomend you read Lodz Ghetto: Inside a Community Under Siege. This book also uses more of Zelkowicz's memoirs of his life inside Lodz and it

also has passages on the Shayevitsh family.