From Publishers Weekly
In an effort to provide a more positive picture of Switzerland during WWII, a country whose image of neutrality has been tainted by the documented cooperation between Swiss bankers and the Nazis, the author presents the heroic acts of ordinary Swiss citizens during the Holocaust. At great risk to themselves, the more than 40 men and women whose stories are described here acted bravely to save Jewish lives. In 1938 Switzerland closed its borders to Jewish refugees. However, Paul Gr?ninger, a police captain in St. Gallen, refused to obey orders and falsely backdated the papers of several thousand Jewish refugees so that they could remain safely in Switzerland. Although he sacrificed his career and financial security for these actions, after his death he was honored by the Israeli government, and Switzerland finally officially recognized his achievements. Pastor Daniel Curtet organized his entire town of Le Chambon to successfully hide hundreds of Jewish refugees. Sister Jeanne Berchmans, a nun at the Sacr?-Coeur Convent, risked arrest to hide Jews in a "quarantine" room while German soldiers searched the building. Wagner has done history a service by sharing these carefully researched anecdotes, many already known and others told here for the first time. Wagner, who currently promotes tourism and cultural exchange for Switzerland, is not an accomplished writer, but is himself a Holocaust survivor, and these heroic accounts are informed by his personal passion. Photos. (Mar. 19)
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
It is well known that Switzerland was not the most willing nation to aid the Jews during the Holocaust. Thousands of Jews were turned back at the Swiss border and eventually killed, although 21,000 Jewish refugees did ultimately find asylum there. And much has been written about the complicity of Swiss bankers with the Germans. Wagner's meticulously researched book documents 37 Swiss men and women who helped save Jews during World War II, and whose efforts were recognized by the awarding of Israel's Yad Vashem "Righteous Among the Nations" medal. Each chapter is built around the actions of one or more individuals and their part in saving Jews. Eyewitness accounts and testimonies have been used extensively. These courageous citizens came from every walk of life, including nuns, clergymen, Red Cross personnel, teachers, a farmer, a doctor, and diplomats. Wagner, who with his family was interned in a concentration camp in the Ukraine during World War II, has gathered remarkably vivid accounts of bravery and compassion. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
