At last; the everyday fighting men who were the first Americans to know the full and horrifying truth about the Holocaust share their astonishing stories. Rich with powerful never-before-published details from the author’s interviews with more than 150 U.S. soldiers who liberated the Nazi death camps; The Liberators is an essential addition to the literature of World War II—and a stirring testament to Allied courage in the face of inconceivable atrocities.Taking us from the beginnings of the liberators’ final march across Germany to V-E Day and beyond; Michael Hirsh allows us to walk in their footsteps; experiencing the journey as they themselves experienced it. But this book is more than just an in-depth account of the liberation. It reveals how profoundly these young men were affected by what they saw—the unbelievable horror and pathos they felt upon seeing “stacks of bodies like cordwood†and “skeletonlike survivors†in camp after camp. That life-altering experience has stayed with them to this very day. It’s been well over half a century since the end of World War II; and they still haven’t forgotten what the camps looked like; how they smelled; what the inmates looked like; and how it made them feel. Many of the liberators suffer from what’s now called post-traumatic stress disorder and still experience Holocaust-related nightmares. Here we meet the brave souls who—now in their eighties and nineties—have chosen at last to share their stories. Corporal Forrest Robinson saw masses of dead bodies at Nordhausen and was so horrified that he lost his memory for the next two weeks. Melvin Waters; a 4-F volunteer civilian ambulance driver; recalls that a woman at Bergen-Belsen “fought us like a cat because she thought we were taking her to the crematory.†Private Don Timmer used his high school German to interpret for General Dwight Eisenhower during the supreme Allied commander’s visit to Ohrdruf; the first camp liberated by the Americans. And Phyllis Lamont Law; an army nurse at Mauthausen-Gusen; recalls the shock and; ultimately; “the hope†that “you can save a few.†From Bergen-Belsen in northern Germany to Mauthausen in Austria; The Liberators offers readers an intense and unforgettable look at the Nazi death machine through the eyes of the men and women who were our country’s witnesses to the Holocaust. The liberators’ recollections are historically important; vivid; riveting; heartbreaking; and; on rare occasions; joyous and uplifting. This book is their opportunity; perhaps for the last time; to tell the world.
#484143 in Books 2014-10-28 2014-10-28Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x 1.09 x 6.00l; 1.00 #File Name: 0547669194288 pages
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Read for your own goodBy Interested ReaderThis is a book you should read even though the content will probably anger you. I had to stop reading for now. Well written and developed. The days of anti-communist McCarthyism appear to resemble the early days of the holocaust. Develop a target group; use propaganda to turn opinion against that group; then implement a plan to destroy such group. Sadly; many Jewish writers in Hollywood were caught up in it. What surprised me was the governments willingness to protect war criminals like Ossie. Ossie was anything to anyone as long as it benefited him. The terrible thing was anytime the US brought Nazi's here it prevented an equal number of deserving refugees from immigrating.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. This is one of those books that I just didn't ...By GretchenThis is one of those books that I just didn't have the mental momentum to finish... perhaps it was because; after half way through; it became too predictable. It gives numerous examples of Nazi's that should never have benefited; nor allowed to come to the US after WWII. The US government was in fear of Russia's growing threat/strength/power; and needed to counter this threat; through intelligence and technology provided by the Nazi's and their associates. I get it; but this book; just provides example after example and I get it.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. In-depth research; solid reportingBy CustomerAuthor Eric Lichtblau does a fine job with a delicate subject. HIs book is a well-researched expose of post-WW II efforts on the part of the U.S. and USSR gov'ts. to quickly divide and conquer Nazi Germany's best and brightest -- in spite of many citizens' moral repugnance with regards to such a government strategy. The reader knows very well how Mr. Lichtblau feels about the US government's sordid recruiting of Nazi scientists; engineers; medical doctors; and government spies. At the same time; the author never lets his sense of indignation sour the depth of his exhaustive research nor his ability to reveal how government and military officials rationalize such recruitments.
