Holocaust

This is a superlative story of two German families, one Jewish, one Aryan, caught in the insanity that was to tear Germany and the world apart. The Weiss family, more German than Jewish, would soon discover just how Jewish they really were, when the Nazi regime was firmly in place. The Dorf family, would find themselves with new opportunities under the Nazi regime, if only they would subscribe to the new Germany. The fates of these two families artfully unfold through parallel stories, one told by Rudi Weiss, the other told by Erik Dorf. Through Rudi, an athletic, young man who refused to kowtow to the Nazis and, instead, became a partisan, the reader learns of the fate of the Weiss family, a family that was in denial as to what lay in store for them . Through Eric Dorf, a pleasant, young lawyer with an ambitious wife, the readers discovers how Eric becomes embroiled in the upper echelons of the Nazi regime, and how he transitions from being a rational human being to one that strains to find a rationale for the atrocities that he now affirmatively endorses. This is a beautifully told saga, filled with the pain that was felt by those whose lives were torn asunder by the Nazis. What is also interesting about the book is that it includes depictions of Germans who did not support the policies of the Nazis and did what they could to thwart them. Those with an interest in the holocaust will love this book. It is a spellbinding work of fiction. Bravo! This book was also made into a wonderful mini series for NBC in the late nineteen seventies. It was faithful to the novel and boasted an excellent cast, including a young Meryl Streep in the role of Inga Helms, the young German, Catholic woman who married Rudi's brother, Karl (James Woods). Michael Moriarty was perfectly cast as Erik Dorf. Rudi Weiss was played by Joseph Bottoms. Fritz Weaver, Tom Bell, Rosemary Harris, David Warner, Tovah Feldshuh, and Sam Wanamaker round out this stellar cast. It comes as no surprise that this superb production won eight (8) Emmy Awards. I saw it on television and was riveted!

To those of us growing up now; with no first-hand knowledge of the Holocaust; to those of us uninterested in our history as humans; and to those of us who will make the decisions in the future...I recommend this book, maybe more than any other I have read. I have been to the camps, have seen the ovens, the barracks...but they are just things, gruesome things, to be sure, but things. It is the people who did the acts of the Holocaust that we must resolve to never become. This book tells the story of two families on both sides of the Holocaust. Rudi's family is completely destroyed. Eric Dorff and his family survive the war. But who triumphed? In the end, it was Rudi. Why? Because, when it was all over, he was still human. I also recommend "The Hiding Place."

The destiny of two families - the Weiss and the Dorf - in touch at the beginning of the story but antagonist later are the main frame of this story in which the life of both families change roles; the Weiss, a middle high class family went down as a consequence of the nazi anti-jew laws and the Dorf, a poor unemployed couple that went up socially because of their adherence to the national socialism ideology.Throughout the novel, the tale of Rubi, the sole survivor of the Weiss and the diary of Erik Dorf, the reader find out how the jews were deprived of their civil rights and citizenship, segregated, empoverished, persecuted, forced to live in guettos and finally exterminated in concentration camps as a final solution to the "jew problem" by the nazis who profited and enriched with the confiscated fortune, properties and slave force of the jews and the plundering of war as part of the hate policy against everybody considered non arian.Very interesting the dialogue of both side of the story in which the reader can go deep into the thoughts of the antagonists and how the families face their situation and fate. Recommended for people interested in WWII and the holocaust.

This novel tells the fictional story of two Germans, one on each side of the holocaust. Rudi Weiss is a young Jewish boy whose family refuses to acknowledge the growing threat of Hitler and the Nazis. They realize too late that they should have left Germany and become embroiled in the persecution and elimination of the Jews. Erik Dorf is a new lawyer whose wife prods him to become an SS officer under the direction of Heydrich. He rises quickly through the ranks of the SS and it is disturbing to see how his nonchalance about the Jews becomes full-fledged hatred throughout the course of the story. The book alternates the voices of Weiss and Dorf, effectively showing both sides of the conflict in a manner that will both educate you about why Hitler chose the Jews as a scapegoat and shock you with its sometimes graphic depiction of abuse and humiliation. This book needs to be read so that the horrifying memory of the Holocaust will never be forgotten or repeated.

This is an amazing human document. Although fiction, it will not be surprising to hear stories like this from that era. I for one don't believe that german wives and other german civvies were not aware of what was happening in the camps. They just chose to ignore it out of fear or whatever. However that is irrelevant to this review. But if there was one book that somebody asked me about the holocaust to read from an emotional (which is how it should be looked at) and not a statistical(Those big numbers and experiments) sta ndpoint, this will be it.