Customer Reviews

The Remnant - Stories of the Jewish Resistance in WWII (Boomer Book Series)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This historical novel paints a picture of the hardships, problems and dangers faced by resistance groups in WWII. The fact that it deals mainly with the added problems that Jewish resistance fighters faced gives us a real understanding of just how brave and resilient these amazing people were. Their spirit lives on...

The fact that most of these stories were taken from survivors and the backstory taken from the transcripts of the Nuremburg Trials just made the story even more fantastic, tragic and amazingly inspirational!

I was born not long after the end of World War II. Some of my earliest memories are of hiding under the table out on my Grandma's porch listening to my Dad and all of my uncles talk about their experiences during the war. World War II, and in particular the Holocaust, has always held a fascination (for want of a better word) for me. I've read countless books on the subject, watched dozens, perhaps hundreds, of hours of movies and documentaries, and even had a chance to see & hear about some of what happened first hand both here at home and living in Germany.

In general, I do not approve of fiction when it comes to the Holocaust. Let me tell you why. This is an event that must never be forgotten, an event that some (all too many) deny ever happened, even with many survivors and combatants on both sides still alive. So, when I hear about something like "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas", first presented as a real event, then later declared to be a complete fiction by the authors themselves, I cringe. It will not be long before all of the direct witnesses have passed. Even my generation, the ones who heard the stories first hand, who saw the tattoos, who have walked the remnants of the battlegrounds, are getting on up there. Before too long, there will be nothing to witness except words written in a book. Those words must be truth, not fantasy. Otherwise, in 25 or 30 or 40 years people can simply point to a stack of made up books and say "see - all fiction - never happened."

There are some cases, though, where a story is important to tell even if it must be told through the medium of fiction because there are no longer living witnesses - or perhaps never were. One of those stories is the roundup,subsequent abandonment and final shipment to Auschwitz of more than 4,000 children in the Vel d'Hiv roundup in Paris, an action carried out by the French police on Petain's orders. There were few survivors - a mere handful - and most of those were young children at the time. Tatiana de Rosney does an excellent job of telling the story of this horrific event in Sarah's Key.

Until very recently even the fact that there WERE Jewish partisans was not particularly well known, at least not in popular mediums. Leon Uris talks about the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in Exodus. Rudi Weiss joins the Jewish partisans in Holocaust. Only in the last few years has the story of the Bielski Brothers - The Bielski Brothers: The True Story of Three Men Who Defied the Nazis, Built a Village in the Forest, and Saved 1,200 Jews and Defiance - truly documented the Jewish Resistance. As heroic as the Bielskis were, their group was not the only Jewish resistance group. It is vitally important that a couple of decades from now, when all who were there to witness or spoke to those who witnessed are gone, that people know that everyone did not march quietly to the slaughter like so many sheep, that the Bielskis were neither alone in their resistance nor an aberration. There is room in the historical record for The Remnant - Stories of the Jewish Resistance in WWII.

Othniel Seiden's story has its foundations in a great deal of research - interviews, records of the Nuremberg proceedings, diaries left behind by those who lived these events - and he has done a remarkable job of presenting characters that are accurate & compelling composites.

Some have commented negatively on his portrayal of the role of the Roman Catholic Church in Hitler's Final Solution, particularly as regards the Pope in office at the time of World War II, a role that has been the subject of great debate over the years, debate that is not yet entirely settled. The basic facts that Seiden addresses in this regard - that the Catholic Church had a pact with Hitler and that the Vatican helped thousands of Nazis to escape Europe at the end of World War II - are grounded in known, demonstrable facts. It is only since the papacy of Pope John Paul II, himself a Polish seminary student during World War II, that there has been some attempt to rehabilitate the reputation of Pope Pius XII regarding his actions towards the Nazis and the "Final Solution." Had Seiden chosen to present this rehabilitative material, information that would have been unknown to the characters at the time during which these events occurred, would be to rewrite history. That would be a grave error.

Highly recommended. This is worth your time to read.

This book is a must read for students interested in WWII. A good look at the dangers and day-to-day life of resistance behind enemy lines battling the elements as well as the enemy, and the amazing people who risked it all to help defeat the Nazis. These Jews did not meekly go to the gas chambers. You keep asking yourself what you would do in a similar situation.

were amazing people and they endured unspeakable atrocities. It is a testimony to the human spirit that any of them lived, let alone fought back for their freedom and that of the rest of the free world.

This novel was obviously meticulously researched. It felt more like a history book. Well worth the read. I recommend it to anyone who loves a good historical fiction or is a WWII history buff!

This book tells of the Jewish persecution and brutality, of course, the Holocaust played out on the world stage - every knows the story of the ones who died. Not everyone knows the story of the ones who remained free and fought back with a grief and a passion and a revenge so deep few could fathom. The Jewish Freedom fighters of the European theater - in this book - the Ukraine, were formidable fighters and took down many of their German enemies.

The freedom you enjoy today, was won on the backs of these brave souls as well as the uniformed Allied forces who fought for the common goal.

Stunning, educational, frustrating at times because of man's inhumanity to man, but well worth the read!

Very moving and extreemly well written book. I was moved to tears many times. I have to admit that I knew nothing about the Jewish resistance fighters until I read this book. A must read.

I'll make this short. This book goes well beyond what Shindler's List was trying to convey. A powerful 'must read' story about how no matter how much hatred inflicted onto the Jews, it didn't take away their will to prevail. It's a great window into how perpetrators escape their own self hatred by persecuting others. And the irony of this is it doesn't work. You still have to deal with your own demons. This book is all about what really matters in this short time we spend on this planet

this is an excellent book. it shows a side of the war that is very rarely spoken about . the bravery and endurance for survival of the jewish people shown with in this book is amazing. this book is also very heartbreakingand reminds us not forget the reality of anti semitism that's still very alive today .

An historic fiction novel set primarily in the forests of Kiev and the emcampments of displaced Jewish refugees trying to survive the elements and the events of WWII. The Babi Yar massacre is well detailed. The Jewish Resistance fighters' missions and fate tell the tale of what they had to endure in the name of Freedom!

Ive read over a hundred holocaust memoirs. This is by far one of my favourites. Id been looking for stories
About "Babi Yar" and not finding much untill I read this masterpiece. Not all Jews were shuffled off to death unknowingly. Some fought back. And fought back hard. This book is that gripping tale. I could hardly put it down!!