As the Nazis swept across Europe during World War II; Jewish victims wrote diaries in which they grappled with the terror unfolding around them. Some wrote simply to process the contradictory bits of news they received; some wrote so that their children; already safe in another country; might one day understand what had happened to their parents; and some wrote to furnish unknown readers in the outside world with evidence against the Nazi regime.Were these diarists resisters; or did the process of writing make the ravages of the Holocaust even more difficult to bear? Drawing on an astonishing array of unpublished and published diaries from all over German-occupied Europe; historian Alexandra Garbarini explores the multiple roles that diary writing played in the lives of these ordinary women and men. A story of hope and hopelessness; Numbered Days offers a powerful examination of the complex interplay of writing and mourning. And in these heartbreaking diaries; we see the first glimpses of a question that would haunt the twentieth century: Can such unimaginable horror be represented at all?
#1089385 in Books 2003-02-08Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.36 x .86 x 6.14l; 1.21 #File Name: 0300100132400 pages
Review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. grear research ..fresh approach and certainly unbiasedBy inzaLet me make it clear that I am neither a Hindu nor a Muslim; so am surprised when people call Varshney's research biased against Muslims; I am not sure how anyone could get that out of this book...if anyone for the sake of argument wanted to make a case for this book being biased there would be one for it being biased against Hindus!( which it is not either to be fair). But I guess if you are looking for Islamophobia you find it anywhere just as people promoting Islamophobia find reasons to be Islamophobic.. sad but true. Also this book is clearly in the genre of an optimistic search for ethnic peace..which makes it a tad bit 'innocent' but honestly that is the only reason I would read a book about ethnic conflict.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Excellent book!!By jnuwaalaThis very compelling book tells the story of Hindu-Muslim violence in India not by relying on a hunch; or ideological predisposition; but by drawing on hard data. Tightly written; the book will make you think about ethnic violence in a systematic and intelligent manner. The author's significant argument that civil society is implicated in preventing riots in certain Indian cities has important implications both at the personal as well as the political level. For it makes us ask ourselves; as citizens how does our participation or non participation in civic life impact Hindu-Muslim relations in our cities? Furthermore; how can the state and international agencies encourage and entrench the kind of civic behavior that diminishes the prospect of conflict turning into riots? Should be read by all concerned citizens.19 of 22 people found the following review helpful. Groundbreaking researchBy Prof-SilverSpringMDI've worked and taught in the field of peacebuilding for 25 years and consider this book the single most important research that has been done in the field. Varshney breaks new ground in conducting indepth research into why some cities in India into fell into violence and some did not during times of high national tension.He presents clear and extremely useful findings about what is useful and what is not useful in resisting violence. Specifically; his research shows that creating structures that bring people together to work for a common cause or benefit(such as Hindu-Muslim traders cooperatives; joint community development committees; peace committees; etc.) has a marked effect in reducing violence.I present Varshney's findings in a variety of settings worldwide and find audiences always highly responsive. My students love the book and find Varshney's ideas so clear and insightful that the often refer back to him later.This book in my view is an example of scholarship at its best: well-designed; provocative; clear in its conclusions. On top of that is it unusually lucid in writing style. I consider it a "classic" - a book that will endure for many years and that deserves to be on the shelf of any serious student of ethnic or religious violence.You can read the first and last few chapters and get the real benefits of the book.Ron KraybillProfessor of Conflict TransformationEastern Mennonite University
