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celiananas's review against another edition
Je ne peux pas donner de note à un livre retraçant de telles tragédies, mais s'il vous plait, lisez ce livre.
fractaltexan's review against another edition
4.0
A book that grabbed me from the start, and wouldn't let me go. However, considering this was, more or less, a biography, I took it with a grain of salt, considering that not a lot of sources or events could be verified in text.
However, the book was one that shows, at least in part, how the Nazis treated Homosexuals.
However, the book was one that shows, at least in part, how the Nazis treated Homosexuals.
andresreading's review against another edition
5.0
Un recuento honesto y lleno de sufrimiento de un hombre para quien la segunda guerra mundial no terminó en 1945. Una obra de enorme importancia para el porvenir y, aún más importante, para hoy, donde la discriminación, el odio y la violencia siguen destruyendo vidas y familias. Un recuento, de hecho, valiente, para demostrar al mundo que el sufrimiento, la tortura, el odio, nunca ganarán.
brettcarl's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.75
With I, Pierre Seel, Deported Homosexual, Seel bravely recounts the Nazi horrors and terrors that were forcibly inflicted on him, but also Seel's account significantly stands as factual evidence of Nazis persecution and annihilation of homosexuals - a fact that was purposely and despicably hidden, ignored and dismissed by many historians, politicians and institutions after the defeat of the Nazis and the liberation of France - something Seel directly addresses in his memoir.
Seel's memoir is an astonishing account of not just suffering, trauma and shame, but also of resilence, survival and ultimately, self-acceptance and freedom. Seel deftly conveys the fear, anxiety and terror that was instilled within him through the experiences inflicted upon him, as well as how society and culture was also instilled with these petrifying emotions too. In particularly, Seel skillful signifies the effects of war and genocide by exposing how such atrocious inhumanity can perversely and devastatingly strip millions of people - both victimsaand abusers - of their identity and humanity. Furthermore, Seel masterfully questions the morals and ethics of war and humanity both during and after the war through not only the surge in homophobia in society and the passing of Anti-homosexual laws, but also in the Post-Ww2 relationships between the Allied forces (as seen in the splitting of Germany), as well as the organisation and undertaking of justice (such as the inconsistent punishment of the Nazis, and the inconsistent care, acceptance and support of their victims).
Notably, Seel's memoir also highlights the trials and tribulations that homosexuals still face today, specifically the oppression, persecution and discrimination that they are subjected too, and subsequently, how this treatment has drastic and devastating ramifications on them and their loved ones (such as homosexuals being pressured in to heterosexual marriages and procreation).
Lastly, and personally, I want to thank Pierre Seel for his outstanding bravery and remarkable humanity in proudly and defiantly representing both homosexual victims of the Nazi persecution, and thus adding the, sadly, much-needed evidence and credibility to the factual claims made by many of the Nazis persecution of homosexuals, but also Seel's memoir and Seel himself are vital testaments to the experiences and existence of LGBTQ+ individuals and groups within our societies throughout history showing not only that we've always existed, but how we've been treated in the most inhumane ways and still resisted, rebelled, survived and thrived through it all too!
Thank you Mr Seel! Thank you!
Seel's memoir is an astonishing account of not just suffering, trauma and shame, but also of resilence, survival and ultimately, self-acceptance and freedom. Seel deftly conveys the fear, anxiety and terror that was instilled within him through the experiences inflicted upon him, as well as how society and culture was also instilled with these petrifying emotions too. In particularly, Seel skillful signifies the effects of war and genocide by exposing how such atrocious inhumanity can perversely and devastatingly strip millions of people - both victimsaand abusers - of their identity and humanity. Furthermore, Seel masterfully questions the morals and ethics of war and humanity both during and after the war through not only the surge in homophobia in society and the passing of Anti-homosexual laws, but also in the Post-Ww2 relationships between the Allied forces (as seen in the splitting of Germany), as well as the organisation and undertaking of justice (such as the inconsistent punishment of the Nazis, and the inconsistent care, acceptance and support of their victims).
Notably, Seel's memoir also highlights the trials and tribulations that homosexuals still face today, specifically the oppression, persecution and discrimination that they are subjected too, and subsequently, how this treatment has drastic and devastating ramifications on them and their loved ones (such as homosexuals being pressured in to heterosexual marriages and procreation).
Lastly, and personally, I want to thank Pierre Seel for his outstanding bravery and remarkable humanity in proudly and defiantly representing both homosexual victims of the Nazi persecution, and thus adding the, sadly, much-needed evidence and credibility to the factual claims made by many of the Nazis persecution of homosexuals, but also Seel's memoir and Seel himself are vital testaments to the experiences and existence of LGBTQ+ individuals and groups within our societies throughout history showing not only that we've always existed, but how we've been treated in the most inhumane ways and still resisted, rebelled, survived and thrived through it all too!
Thank you Mr Seel! Thank you!
rohnstrong's review against another edition
dark
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
An incredible story of Pierre Seek and his journey through concentration camps, war trenches, and being ping-ponged around Europe.
It was an intense read and one I’ll come back to for research.
It was an intense read and one I’ll come back to for research.
yossikhe's review against another edition
5.0
I have read a lot of literature about the Holocaust but I had never come across a Homosexual’s testimony. As every Holocaust story, it is upsetting and heart-rendering. Beyond the horrors of the concentration camp, I think what Seel did with this book is tell the story about a homophobic society. After he was liberated, he had to stay in the closet for a while because of how culture perceived (and in a lot of places still perceives) gay people.
"If I do not speak, I will become the accomplice of my torturers.” Pierre Seel.
"If I do not speak, I will become the accomplice of my torturers.” Pierre Seel.
munjiru's review against another edition
4.0
This is the author’s memoir of his time in a Nazi interment camp for the crime of being homosexual and his life in the years after as a forced German citizen fighting in their army (he’s French). It was a lot. You think you’ve seen pretty much everything there is to see about how horrible people can be to each other and then you read something else and discover new depths.
Pierre was just seventeen when he was taken away from his family, ruthlessly beaten and tortured while being held at the police station and later imprisoned at the camp. In the six months he was held there, he was beaten, tortured, starved, experimented on and saw the boy he loved mauled to death by dogs. Later on, he was made to fight in the German front lines during the war and didn’t get out until he was twenty two.
Some excerpts:
>>> I have very clear memories of white walls, white shirts, and the laughter of the orderlies. The orderlies enjoyed hurling their syringes at us like darts at a fair. During one injection session, my unfortunate neighbor blacked out and collapsed: the needle had struck his ⁷heart. We never saw him again.
>>> Then the loudspeakers broadcast some noisy classical music while the SS stripped him naked and shoved a tin pail over his head. Next they sicced their ferocious German shepherds on him: the guard dogs first bit into his groin and thighs, then devoured him right in front of us. His shrieks of pain were distorted and amplified by the pail in which his head was trapped. My rigid body reeled, my eyes gaped at so much horror, tears poured down my cheeks, I fervently prayed that he would black out quickly.
>>> I was not killed.[...]I was eighteen, but I had no age. My love had died; the Nazis had left me in tatters.
Then having gone through all this and getting back home, his family was quite distant with him and he eventually convinced himself to marry to try and find some kind of peace. When that fell apart, he decided to speak up and demand reparations from the government alongside other survivors but he was frustrated every step of the way and it never really happened for him.
I can’t even begin to describe what this book made me feel and the matter of fact way he describes his experiences makes it seem that much more horrific. It’s a very short book but it weighs on you very heavily by the end of it.
Pierre was just seventeen when he was taken away from his family, ruthlessly beaten and tortured while being held at the police station and later imprisoned at the camp. In the six months he was held there, he was beaten, tortured, starved, experimented on and saw the boy he loved mauled to death by dogs. Later on, he was made to fight in the German front lines during the war and didn’t get out until he was twenty two.
Some excerpts:
>>> I have very clear memories of white walls, white shirts, and the laughter of the orderlies. The orderlies enjoyed hurling their syringes at us like darts at a fair. During one injection session, my unfortunate neighbor blacked out and collapsed: the needle had struck his ⁷heart. We never saw him again.
>>> Then the loudspeakers broadcast some noisy classical music while the SS stripped him naked and shoved a tin pail over his head. Next they sicced their ferocious German shepherds on him: the guard dogs first bit into his groin and thighs, then devoured him right in front of us. His shrieks of pain were distorted and amplified by the pail in which his head was trapped. My rigid body reeled, my eyes gaped at so much horror, tears poured down my cheeks, I fervently prayed that he would black out quickly.
>>> I was not killed.[...]I was eighteen, but I had no age. My love had died; the Nazis had left me in tatters.
Then having gone through all this and getting back home, his family was quite distant with him and he eventually convinced himself to marry to try and find some kind of peace. When that fell apart, he decided to speak up and demand reparations from the government alongside other survivors but he was frustrated every step of the way and it never really happened for him.
I can’t even begin to describe what this book made me feel and the matter of fact way he describes his experiences makes it seem that much more horrific. It’s a very short book but it weighs on you very heavily by the end of it.
expendablemudge's review
4.0
Rating: 4* of five
The Publisher Says: At the age of seventeen, in the arms of a thief, Pierre Seel felt his watch sliding off his wrist. So begins the astonishing chain of events that led to the Schirmeck-Vorbruch concentration camp, where Seel suffered unspeakable horrors for the sole "crime" of being a homosexual.The story of survival in the camps has been told many times, but Seel's is one of the only firsthand accounts of the Nazi roundup and deportation of homosexuals. For nearly forty years he kept his experiences -- including torture, humiliation, and witnessing the vicious murder of his lover at the hands of the Nazis -- a secret in order to cover up his homosexuality. He found a wife through a personal ad, married, and raised three children. "The Liberation", he writes, "was for others". Finally, haunted by his experiences and by the silence of others, he decided to bear witness to an aspect of the Holocaust rarely seen. As he noted, "If I do not speak, I will become the accomplice of my torturers". The result is a terrifying and heartbreaking memoir, extraordinary for its frankness and courage.
My Review: Horrible what Hate does to people, makes them bestial and vicious and base. Seel saw all of that, from his entry into the list of homosexuals kept by police to his arrest and deportation. Gay people in concentration camps were not accepted and cared for as were other prisoners, they were victimized by the others as well as the guards.
What is it that you hate so much, straight people? Christian, Jewish, Muslim people? What in your souls says "I hate" so loudly that even your big bully imaginary friend hates too?
Well, anyway, after an amazing wartime changeup and a forced conversion to straightness in the 1950s, Seel finally came to peace with himself in 1981 and, in 1994, finally wrote down the painful facts of his past.
It's not easy to read, but I wish I could make every religious person and every anti-gay bigot read it. I can't, so there's no point in going on about it. If something in you thinks that it's okay to say "sure fine be *that way* but ewww don't talk about it" then you're the reason books like this are necessary.
The Publisher Says: At the age of seventeen, in the arms of a thief, Pierre Seel felt his watch sliding off his wrist. So begins the astonishing chain of events that led to the Schirmeck-Vorbruch concentration camp, where Seel suffered unspeakable horrors for the sole "crime" of being a homosexual.The story of survival in the camps has been told many times, but Seel's is one of the only firsthand accounts of the Nazi roundup and deportation of homosexuals. For nearly forty years he kept his experiences -- including torture, humiliation, and witnessing the vicious murder of his lover at the hands of the Nazis -- a secret in order to cover up his homosexuality. He found a wife through a personal ad, married, and raised three children. "The Liberation", he writes, "was for others". Finally, haunted by his experiences and by the silence of others, he decided to bear witness to an aspect of the Holocaust rarely seen. As he noted, "If I do not speak, I will become the accomplice of my torturers". The result is a terrifying and heartbreaking memoir, extraordinary for its frankness and courage.
My Review: Horrible what Hate does to people, makes them bestial and vicious and base. Seel saw all of that, from his entry into the list of homosexuals kept by police to his arrest and deportation. Gay people in concentration camps were not accepted and cared for as were other prisoners, they were victimized by the others as well as the guards.
What is it that you hate so much, straight people? Christian, Jewish, Muslim people? What in your souls says "I hate" so loudly that even your big bully imaginary friend hates too?
Well, anyway, after an amazing wartime changeup and a forced conversion to straightness in the 1950s, Seel finally came to peace with himself in 1981 and, in 1994, finally wrote down the painful facts of his past.
It's not easy to read, but I wish I could make every religious person and every anti-gay bigot read it. I can't, so there's no point in going on about it. If something in you thinks that it's okay to say "sure fine be *that way* but ewww don't talk about it" then you're the reason books like this are necessary.