In September; 1939; George Lucius Salton's boyhood in Tyczyn; Poland; was shattered by escalating violence and terror under German occupation. His father; a lawyer; was forbidden to work; but eleven-year-old George dug potatoes; split wood; and resourcefully helped his family. They suffered hunger and deprivation; a forced march to the Rzeszow ghetto; then eternal separation when fourteen-year-old George and his brother were left behind to labor in work camps while their parents were deported in boxcars to die in Belzec. For the next three years; George slaved and barely survived in ten concentration camps; including Rzeszow; Plaszow; Flossenburg; Colmar; Sachsenhausen; Braunschweig; Ravensbrück; and Wobbelin. Cattle cars filled with skeletal men emptied into a train yard in Colmar; France. George and the other prisoners marched under the whips and fists of SS guards. But here; unlike the taunts and rocks from villagers in Poland and Germany; there was applause. "I could clearly hear the people calling: 'Shame! Shame!' . . . Suddenly; I realized that the people of Colmar were applauding us! They were condemning the inhumanity of the Germans!" Of the 500 prisoners of the Nazis who marched through the streets of Colmar in the spring of 1944; just fifty were alive one year later when the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division liberated the Wobbelin concentration camp on the afternoon of May 2; 1945. "I felt something stir deep within my soul. It was my true self; the one who had stayed deep within and had not forgotten how to love and how to cry; the one who had chosen life and was still standing when the last roll call ended."
#16405517 in Books 1989Format: ImportOriginal language:EnglishPDF # 1 #File Name: 0297798030416 pages
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. A Great Revisionist AccountBy Kip H.Bosher's study asks a number of questions not normally approached in classes and popular accounts of France's Revolutionary era:1) Was there a single revolution?2) Was there a revolutionary movement which started and carried out the French Revolution?3) Who were the sans-coulettes?4) Was the Jacobin dictatorship a natural outgrowth of the liberal revolution?...And many more. The answers to these questions may surprise; but Bosher backs them up with solid readings; including plenty of primary sources.The book reads dry in places; and the person reading (like I was) simply to deepen their understanding of a somewhat confusing era may feel as if they need to skip a page here and there. However; there are some very quotable; very funny (even) places in the book.2 of 3 people found the following review helpful. An explanation of the French Revolution.By Kevin M QuiggA well written history of the French Revolution. Bosher describes in detail why the French monarchy; along with the Catholic Church and nobility perished in this revolution/civil war. Louis XVI was a weak king with liberal political thinking. He strove to be inclusive in leading a reform of the financial administration. However when the nobels and provinces rebelled at this event; he called the Estates General to go directly to the people. The Estates General evolved into a legislative grouping further taking away power from the French monarch.Eventually; the groupings of different factions splitered the country and caused the King and much of the royal family to be killed.Bosher does a great job of detailing why the French Revolution occurred. As such; it was not simply a class war; but a frecturing of society that led to the political reformation of European society. This is a well written although dry history of the French Revolution.9 of 13 people found the following review helpful. Outstanding historical analysisBy Steven Mattes (quase@pacbell.net)This book is history and historical analysis at its very best. Professor Bosher has an absolutely thorough knowledge of the subject; and he presents it all with the kind of clarity that makes the reader; even one new to the subject; comfortable with it. The French Revolution is a subject on which there is much disagreement and debate. Bosher explains all sides of the issue. Anyone looking for insight and understanding will find this book a page-turner.
