Utterly heartbreaking and well arranged so that we are taken on a journey into the hell of nazism and see all around us death and yet somehow, inconceivably, we survive. This books highlights the sheer unlikeliness, the luck of survival. This is counter to how most of us think about ourselves and history. This book is also an important testimony. Within a couple of years from now there will be no-one left who can say This Happened I Saw It and it will become easier to say that it didn't happen. Even today, lies are told about the Holocaust, by deniers who pretend it didn't happen, and by people who say for various reasons that it didn't happen the way it did. These can only be countered by facts, testimonies, and historical study. A fine book. ( )

At first I found this book a little hard to read, because rather than present a complete case study it broke them all up into sections so the snippet of case study related to the chapter topic (such as the ghetto or the camps) but soon I found as I read I picked up familiar threads of people’s stories. Once I finished it, I saw how powerful this was of structuring it was and wouldn’t have it any other way.
The structure and the voices of the survivors took me through an emotional journey. There was raw emotion in the words, and I don’t mean from flowery language. The most moving entry I found was one line long and very blunt. I could hear it being said in my head, flat and without feeling, yet those twelve words brought me to tears.
It was still a hard book to read, not for the reason I first mentioned but because of the emotion that poured out of the pages. That said, I think this is a book everybody NEEDS to read and I am very glad I have read it. ( )

Wow! Just finished this walking down the road on the way to work.

I think it's the most complete work I've read on the subject. Includes sections on pre-war experience, ghettos, resistance, camps, death marches, liberation, aftermath.

Excellently compiled and gives views of those who were there: Jews and non-Jews, as well as civilians, liberators, soldiers, etc.

To me the case study-like approach paints a very thorough picture. At the beginning of each section is a brief historical introduction, though this doesn't labour the point.

The words of those involved seem to drip feed the historical context into you, so at the end you feel very well-informed about the events that occurred.

Personally I was particularly inspired by the small section right at the end entitled forgiving and forgetting. That so many thousands/millions could have endured this and emerge with their spirit intact, and go on to build normal and largely happy lives, is a great example of the strength of the human psyche. ( )

Bookseller
'probably the most harrowing book I'll ever read...gripping....its subject matter is something that should never be forgotten'