A Race Against Death: Peter Bergson, America, and the Holocaust

Peter Bergson (pen-name of Hillel Kook, nephew of Israel's chief rabbi during WWII) was one of the heroes of the Second World War. His efforts to rescue European Jews were instrumental in changing American policies; they led to the saving of hundreds of thousands of lives--and possibly to the establishment of Israel (there were only some 700,000 Palestinian Jews in 1948, many of them camp survivors). More famous rescuers, such as Raoul Wallenberg, were able to act in Europe because Bergson had conviced the Roosevelt administration to set up the War Refugee Board in 1944. Before Bergson's work, saving Jews was simply not a priority for the US government. After Bergson succeeded in persuading FDR and Congress, it became a war aim. American agents were active in Sweden, Switzerland, and Turkey, among other places, making serious efforts to save lives. David Wyman deserves great praise for putting together previously unpublished documentation in a fascinating book. I only wish the cover had Bergson's photo on it. A must-read for anyone interested in the history of America and the Holocaust.

This is a powerful, moving, and very readable book. I saw one of the authors recently on a television talk show, "The Leon Charney Report," and was fascinated to learn that Jewish activists had campaigned --with some success-- to pressure the Roosevelt administration to rescue Jews from Hitler. In contrast with most other Holocaust-related books, "A Race Against Death" shows how some people did try to stir the world's conscienceregarding the Nazi massacres. It's the kind of book that gives you hope and shows how a handful of people can really make a difference. I strongly recommend it.