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Heroes of the Holocaust: Ordinary Britons Who Risked Their Lives to Make a Difference by Lyn Smith
coops456's review against another edition
4.0
In 2010, Britain made a very belated official recognition of the lifesaving efforts made by a small number of its citizens in the face of the Nazi killing machine.
27 Britons were named Heroes of the Holocaust and awarded medals - many posthumously - for their service to humanity during one of its darkest times. This book tells their widely varying stories, from the Berlin embassy man who went to huge lengths to ensure the pre-war exit of up to 10,000 Jewish people to safety, to the mother raising her family in Nazi-occupied Holland who sheltered a Jewish youth sent to her by the local Resistance.
By its very nature, this is not an easy read, yet it reinforces my belief that where there is evil, there is also goodness to be found. Most of all, it leaves one thinking "What would I do?"
27 Britons were named Heroes of the Holocaust and awarded medals - many posthumously - for their service to humanity during one of its darkest times. This book tells their widely varying stories, from the Berlin embassy man who went to huge lengths to ensure the pre-war exit of up to 10,000 Jewish people to safety, to the mother raising her family in Nazi-occupied Holland who sheltered a Jewish youth sent to her by the local Resistance.
By its very nature, this is not an easy read, yet it reinforces my belief that where there is evil, there is also goodness to be found. Most of all, it leaves one thinking "What would I do?"
shelly_kate's review against another edition
4.0
This book gives a powerful and emotional insight on what happened before and during World War II. You get a glimpse of how people strive to survive amidst such brutalities, and how there are people who are kind enough to help them. These heroes did these despite all the possible dangers they would have faced, with a few of them actually having died doing these generous acts. However, the stories also showed how people act when they are given a sense of superiority, and how crowd mentality can be very dangerous, especially in the case of the Germans.
This is a highly recommended read not only for historic buffs, but also for those interested on how the human mind works when placed in very dire situations.
This is a highly recommended read not only for historic buffs, but also for those interested on how the human mind works when placed in very dire situations.
hisdarkmaterials's review against another edition
4.0
Great read. Really informative without bogging you down. At times hard to read in places as any book about the Holocaust is. Would recommend to all, very powerful and inspiring stuff.
joanne_gallacher's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
3.0
emreads709's review against another edition
4.0
Heroes of the Holocaust is an interesting take on Holocaust non fiction. It focuses on the 27 people who were awarded a medal by the British government in 2010 for feats of bravery and heroism during the Second World War to assist victims of the Holocaust.
The book so divided into the areas of the world which these individuals operated which makes the book an easy read although it is oftentimes uncomfortable due to the subject matter.
It was a very engaging read although it felt that you barely scratched the surface of the individuals who were intensely brave in circumstances where most people did very little.
Evil triumphs when good men do nothing and these men and women did everything they possibly could. In a sense it is a honour to read about them.
The book so divided into the areas of the world which these individuals operated which makes the book an easy read although it is oftentimes uncomfortable due to the subject matter.
It was a very engaging read although it felt that you barely scratched the surface of the individuals who were intensely brave in circumstances where most people did very little.
Evil triumphs when good men do nothing and these men and women did everything they possibly could. In a sense it is a honour to read about them.
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