The Story of 'Hernan der Norweger' Auschwitz Prisoner #79235: As told by Herman Sachnowitz to Arnold Jacoby [Paperback]

Thor Hall (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 23, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0761822984 | ISBN-13: 978-0761822981

This book is an English translation of the Norwegian memoirs of Herman Sachnowitz of Larvik, Norway, Auschwitz prisoner #79235. Out of the 780 Norwegian Jews imprisoned in Auschwitz, only 9, including Sachnowitz, returned home alive. The book chronicles Hernan's two years as a slave-worker at Bunna Werke and as a member-first-chair trumpet of the Buna camp orchestra. It is a gripping story that takes the reader right to the heart of the death-camp experience. The fear, the deprivation, the degradation that finally threatened to destroy the prisoner's will to live is described with agonizing realism.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Thor Hall retired from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 1994 with the title Le Roy A. Martin Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies, Emeritus. He is the author of a dozen books, the editor of several more, and the translator of a number of Scandinavian theological and secular works. His books include: A Theology of Christian Devotion, A Framework for Faith, Whatever Happened to the Gospel, The Future Shape of Preaching, Systematic Theology Today, and The Evolution of Christology.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: University Press Of America (July 23, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761822984
• ISBN-13: 978-0761822981
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 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: #4,214,057 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful personal account of a survivor, September 1, 2008

By 

L. Knutsen "vyer" (Maplewood, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Story of 'Hernan der Norweger' Auschwitz Prisoner #79235: As told by Herman Sachnowitz to Arnold Jacoby (Paperback)

When it was published in the late 1970s, Sachnowitz's book put the Holocaust into the public discourse in Norway. It lay the groundwork for several other personal accounts, including those of Julius Paltiel, Robert Savosnick, and Kai Feinberg; and secondary research on the role of Norwegian police in the persecution; and comprehensive surveys by Mendelsohn and Abrahamsen.

While the account offers important historical information about life and death in Auschwitz generally, and in the camp orchestra in particular, it also provides candid and unblinking insights into the human reactions to this existence of terror. Sachnowitz tells us of his deepening despair over the loss of one family member after another, with the loss of his brother as the bottom. He relates petty rivalries and great cruelty, both among the perpetrators and the victims in the camp; and of the final, chaotic days, with death marches and liberation.