Calof’s [story] has the ‘electricity’ one occasionally finds in primary sources. It is powerful; shocking; and primitive; with the kind of appeal primary sources often attain without effort.... it is a strong addition to the literature of women’s experience on the frontier." ―Lillian SchlisselIn 1894; eighteen-year-old Rachel Bella Kahn travelled from Russia to the United States for an arranged marriage to Abraham Calof; an immigrant homesteader in North Dakota. Rachel Calof’s Story combines her memoir of a hard pioneering life on the prairie with scholarly essays that provide historical and cultural background and show her narrative to be both unique and a representative western tale. Her narrative is riveting and candid; laced with humor and irony.The memoir; written by Rachel Bella Calof in 1936; recounts aspects of her childhood and teenage years in a Jewish community; (shtetl) in Russia; but focuses largely on her life between 1894 and 1904; when she and her husband carved out a life as homesteaders. She recalls her horror at the hardships of pioneer life―especially the crowding of many family members into the 12 x 14’ dirt-floored shanties that were their first dwellings. "Of all the privations I knew as a homesteader;" says Calof; "the lack of privacy was the hardest to bear." Money; food; and fuel were scarce; and during bitter winters; three Calof households―Abraham and Rachel with their growing children; along with his parents and a brother’s family―would pool resources and live together (with livestock) in one shanty.Under harsh and primitive conditions; Rachel Bella Calof bore and raised nine children. The family withstood many dangers; including hailstorms that hammered wheat to the ground and flooded their home; droughts that reduced crops to dust; blinding snowstorms of plains winters. Through it all; however; Calof drew on a humor and resolve that is everywhere apparent in her narrative. Always striving to improve her living c
#282826 in Books Black Jeremy M 2016-08-14Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.90 x .70 x 5.90l; .0 #File Name: 0253022142320 pagesThe Holocaust History and Memory
Review
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy R. Lance SnipesExcellent academic breakdown of the Holocaust throughout Europe.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. The Holocaust; but aso how it has been remembered; selectively ignored; and politicized. A grim but fascinating book.By lyndonbrechtThis is not the kind of book one "loves" but in terms of writing; thoroughness and information; it rates five stars. This book is not another history of the Holocaust; it covers the history well in the first portion of the book; but the rest of it examines the role of German allies (Romanians killed perhaps 280;000 to 380;000 Jews; for example); German post-war attitudes; and other matters.In particular; Black is concerned with what he sees as a false equivalence between the Holocaust and the bombing of Germany. The 600;000 or so Germans killed by Allied (that is; British and American) bombing were not treated with routine sadism; were not systematically starved; were not robbed of hair; gold teeth and worldly goods; and were not targeted because the Allies wanted to rid the world of Germans. His argument is strong; perhaps a bit harsh; but worth reading. The equivalence diminishes the Holocaust and partly excuses the crime; he says.The book has some telling details. In World War 1; 100;000 German Jews and 320;000 Austrian Jews fought; with about an 8th being killed--which means that something like 50;000 of them died for their presumed motherlands. I had not known that about 60% of German Jews fled (harsh laws and conditions were deliberate; encouraging migration); 102;000 to the USA; 63;000 to Argentina; 52;000 to the UK; and so on. Black sees the euthanasia campaigns as leading into the Holocaust--212;000 Germans were killed who were disabled; in psychiatric clinics and such. And a million Jews were killed in the East; by shooting; before the industrial-like phase of killing kicked in. It's a sobering thought that Rommel's troops in North Africa had they won would have assisted killing the Jews in cities like Cairo--and the dream was to sever the Suez Canal; fight up through Palestine and link up with German forces coming down through the Caucasus. Black sees the entire Wehrmacht as complicit in killing.Oddly; the Japanese did not persecute Jews; some 19;000 refugees lived in Shanghai. And Italy did not persecute Jews much; only seriously doing so when the puppet Salo regime was set up after Mussolini was rescued.Chapter 4 covers Germany's allies--Romania had the worst persecutions; by far. Chapter 5 concerns "Memorialization" and that is the most provoking section of the book. There was pressure on German historians to deny the widespread collusion of German forces with the Holocaust; because of the cold war needs of the US and allies to set up a strong Germany. Eastern European histories emphasized killing of Christians and citizens rather than Jews. The French made it difficult to write about Vichy collaboration. While we're much more open now; there are still tender issues and denials. The role of the Catholic Church; the culpability of the regular German forces; remain issues. The chapter also has an interesting section on the Holocaust and the Muslim world.Chapter 6 also is worth a read. It looks at the Holocaust and today; including Holocaust denial. Black denies an equivalence between German genocide and the Soviet campaign against the kulaks. He notes that the Left tends to emphasize Nazi brutality and the Right tends to emphasize communist brutality. So it's not just horrible history; it's contentious 21st century politics.1 of 2 people found the following review helpful. A Must Read for All!By Danielle UrbanThe Holocaust: History Memory by Jeremy Black is one that I will forever behold. This book contains so much history and memories during one of the most horrifying moments in history. Jeremy Black has brilliantly put together a great study of the Holocaust for readers everywhere to revisit and learn. His writing is direct; concise; and very detailed. I am never giving up this book. There is so much to read. The information contained in this reading material is stunning. I was surprised it wasn't thicker with all that was inside of it. The journey back in time and across nations and other countries was remarkable. The Holocaust always brings up the dreaded nightmares and terrors that no one​ wants to remember. All the innocent lives that were taken in mass killings is something that all should never forget. We need to be reminded of the hows and why and to learn that we shouldn't ever allow something like that to occur ever again. The Holocaust: History Memory is a strong and superb book. I highly recommend this read to all. Jeremy Black's work is one to take seriously and read.Educational; informative; and a remembrance of such nightmares...
