DOC Theresienstadt 1941-1945: The Face of a Coerced Community by H. G. Adler in History

Review

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful. German-Jewish Theresienstadt Camp; WWIIBy William Garrison Jr."Theresienstadt 1941-1945: The Face of a Coerced Community" by H. [Hans] G. [Gunther]  Adler (German:1955 2005;  English: April 2017).  The author was imprisoned in Theresienstadt; Germany in 1942; and after even being transported to Auschwitz and a small labor camp in Niederorschel; he survived after being liberated by advancing Russians in early 1945.Partial comments by Peter Filkins in his 12 July 2017 book review in "Tablet" online magazine:"...[T]he horror of Theresienstadt is not reducible to images of gas chambers or crematoria. And what might be known of it—such as the fact that it was set up by the Nazis as a “model” community.... The truth; however; is far more complex; far more interesting than that; and Adler was the first to capture it."Should you wish to know the average daily caloric intake from potatoes for children (168 calories) in Theresienstadt; you will find it here....[or] know the names of the first council of elders at the ghetto’s founding in late 1941; as well as their duties; individual character traits; and nationality; ...[or]... the sham bank ...; or the equally dubious café; post office; grocery and clothing store; you will find it here. You will also find samples of poems written by inmates; the titles of hundreds of lectures delivered; descriptions of the many concerts given; and a detailed account of the efforts made to dupe the International Red Cross when it inspected the ghetto in June 1944. And of course; if you wish to learn about the deportations and the fate of the 140;000 prisoners who passed through Theresienstadt (only 15 percent of whom survived); you will find that here as well...."Following [this book's] publication [in Germany] in November 1955; glowing reviews poured in from Europe; America; and Israel; along with letters from Martin Buber; Gershom Scholem; and German President Theodor Heuss; all of whom arranged to meet Adler in person. To say that Adler was a made man would be an exaggeration; but the book’s success; along with that of a 1958 companion volume of Theresienstadt documents called "The Hidden Truth; soon brought him numerous lecture invitations........"There was and remains no book quite like Theresienstadt 1941-1945; and it is easy to see why British and American publishers struggled to know what to do with it. Part history; part sociological study; and part psychological analysis (the book’s three sections are organized under these disciplines); it is encyclopedic in scope yet riveting in its underlying narrative; relentlessly objective and quantitative in its research; yet searing in its moral indictment of the Nazi and Jewish leadership alike; and in the end it argues both the dangers of the modern bureaucratic state and simultaneously rises to the level of what Hermann Levin Goldschmidt called a prophetic “indictment” of what Adler referred to as “the latest unfathomable calamity to befall the Jewish people.”..."There have been those who have found Adler’s condemnation of the Jewish administration to be unfair or have misinterpreted his criticism of certain individuals as aimed at whole groups; be it Zionists or Communists. Benjamin Murmelstein; the last head of the council of elders; even went so far as to sue the publisher for 5;000 marks; demanding that Adler remove a sentence from the first edition that he felt implied he had organized the last transport to Auschwitz himself. Adler did so for the second edition; and the case was resolved without penalty; but the text still maintains coolly that; when it came to the suffering of his fellow prisoners; “Murmelstein seemed well-armed against compassion.” However; the aim of such pointed observations carries with it no animus; for Adler insists; “The issues; which I raise in all seriousness; are not meant to incriminate or exonerate anyone; they are only intended to deepen our insight into the tragedy that befell those who were in charge—a tragedy for which they remain blameless—and our understanding of their failures; for which they may be blamed.”...."Writing to a childhood friend in October 1947; Adler described his book as “a Kafka novel with the terms reversed; transcribed according to reality;” by which he meant that; rather than conjuring a nightmare world that reflected modern ills; all he had to do was set down its quotidian reality in order to speak its horror...."1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Great book; high priceBy J. HardinCoerced is way too weak a title. An excellent; absorbing account of terror disguised as model city. The price though is no incentive.2 of 4 people found the following review helpful. A must read reference book on a shameful period in our world historyBy Jeff H. KaufmanI was lucky to find this book because it really belngs in every library around the country and the world. A must read The documentation is amazing.