Nazi Hunter: The Wiesenthal File

Rating:
Summary: Destined to become a classic amongst Holocaust literature!
Review: "Nazi Hunter; The Wiesenthal File" is an extraordinary book about an extraordinary man. The biography of Simon Wiesenthal is likely to become a classic amongst Holocaust literature. Seldom does one come across a book as moving and factual as this.

Simon Wiesenthal, now aged over 93 years, spent over four and a half years in Nazi concentration camps. David Levy here presents Weisenthal's story of his experiences during that era and his subsequent tireless pursuit of bringing to justice so many Nazi war criminals.

The book movingly documents how Wiesenthal regularly, personally, witnessed the systematic execution of fellow Jews, who were killed for no other reason than being Jewish. Murdered indiscriminately in cold blood by people who clearly took real pleasure and delight in killing Jews.

One of the first such incidents detailed in the book is where Simon Wiesenthal, together with about forty other professional Jewish men, were placed in a courtyard at Lvov. Here each Jew was forced to stand alongside a crate, facing a wall with his hands crossed & held behind his neck. Each Jew was then shot one at a time, by a single bullet in the back of the neck by a Ukrainian executioner, who after each murder treated himself to wine and food from a table placed in their midst. The body of the dead Jew then being cast into the crate.

The author tells how the massacre continued until it came close to Wiesenthal's turn, when the sound of church bells filled the air. The shooting stopped immediately. Being 'good' Catholic's the Ukrainian executioners immediately responded to the church bells calling them to Mass, leaving the prisoners locked away for the atrocities to continue later.

The author explains how Weisenthal evaded death on this occasion but Simon soon ended up in the ghetto and from there to the concentration camp at Janowska.

The author describes in detail the conditions at Janowska, where living on minuscule rations and undergoing hard labour, took a devastating toll on Simon's companions. The book describes how those considered 'sick' were subjected to a 'fresh air cure'. This entailed them all lying outdoors all night in the freezing sub-zero conditions. Any who moved or stood up were shot by sentries. Those who remained on the ground froze to death by morning. Many taking the 'quick' way out and standing up...the sentries immediately obliging...shooting them dead in cold blood.

The conditions at Janowska are further described in terms of how escapes were treated. The entire, immediate family of any escapee being collected from the ghetto and imprisoned in solitary confinement for three days without light or food. When the remorse stricken escapee surrendered, he was then mercilessly beaten to death in the presence of his family. If the escapee did not return or surrender, the entire family & children were then shot dead......

The depth and detail in this book is incredible. Far too much to cover here satisfactorily.

Detailed accounts are provided of Wiesenthal's pursuit of Adolf Eichman, Joseph Mengele, Franz Stangl & other Nazi war criminals. This is an incredible, priceless examination and account of the work of one of the most remarkable figures of the 20th century, one of the survivors.

With the exception of his wife, Simon Wiesenthal's whole immediate family were exterminated by the Nazi regime. To understand the man and his mission, you need to read this marvellous book. So highly recommended !!!

Rating:
Summary: A great addition to Holocaust literature
Review: Alan Levy does an excellent job documenting both the life of Weisenthal and of the killers he hunted. One of the most striking points is the change in the ideas and attitude of these war criminals from the pre- to post- war period. The continued complicity of governments in hiding these fugitives until today is unbelievable as is the existence of clandestine organizations such as Odessa, which directly assist them.

One of the most interesting parts of the book I found was about Kurt Waldheim and the struggle that former military personal have with admission of their involvement with the German army. Living in Europe, it is easy to assume the collective guilt of the older generation of Germans and Austrians, but much harder to imagine the choices they faced both during and after the war. We get to imagine it from both the side of master and slave in the course of this book. I am currently living in a former Communist country, where Stb agents (Czech KGB) and Communist party members were some of the first to profit from the change to capitalism, so I can clearly imagine in some ways how the post-war period was for both Germany and Austria. The inclination to forget the past and move on is great, and yet, at least here, the same "leaders" have managed to change outfits with such little protest. It is 12 years since the fall of communism and there have been so few investigations here of the crimes of former government officials, that the situation seems comic. The people of Czechoslavakia just as the Germans did before them, want to forget, and yet justice will only be done when people with Simon Weisenthal's courage and drive become involved.

Levy goes to great lengths to highlight the Weisenthal coda defining the difference between a war criminal and personnel who were aware and complicit during the time war crimes were occurring. Weisenthal placed a great deal of emphasis on both truth and morality in his work, but the author shows balance in pointing out that he didn't always get it right.

This is a great read and a book that is hard to put down. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A great addition to Holocaust literature
Review: Alan Levy does an excellent job documenting both the life of Weisenthal and of the killers he hunted. One of the most striking points is the change in the ideas and attitude of these war criminals from the pre- to post- war period. The continued complicity of governments in hiding these fugitives until today is unbelievable as is the existence of clandestine organizations such as Odessa, which directly assist them.

One of the most interesting parts of the book I found was about Kurt Waldheim and the struggle that former military personal have with admission of their involvement with the German army. Living in Europe, it is easy to assume the collective guilt of the older generation of Germans and Austrians, but much harder to imagine the choices they faced both during and after the war. We get to imagine it from both the side of master and slave in the course of this book. I am currently living in a former Communist country, where Stb agents (Czech KGB) and Communist party members were some of the first to profit from the change to capitalism, so I can clearly imagine in some ways how the post-war period was for both Germany and Austria. The inclination to forget the past and move on is great, and yet, at least here, the same "leaders" have managed to change outfits with such little protest. It is 12 years since the fall of communism and there have been so few investigations here of the crimes of former government officials, that the situation seems comic. The people of Czechoslavakia just as the Germans did before them, want to forget, and yet justice will only be done when people with Simon Weisenthal's courage and drive become involved.

Levy goes to great lengths to highlight the Weisenthal coda defining the difference between a war criminal and personnel who were aware and complicit during the time war crimes were occurring. Weisenthal placed a great deal of emphasis on both truth and morality in his work, but the author shows balance in pointing out that he didn't always get it right.

This is a great read and a book that is hard to put down. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Riveting...Then Boring
Review: First of all, I'd like to state the book (most of it) was quite riveting. Levy begins with a look at Wiesenthal's experience as a young Jew in pre-war Europe. He later chronicles Simon's life during the war in the camps and his search for his family after the war. The stories make for fascinating reading. Then, Levy writes how Simon got into the business of Nazi hunting.

The chapters describing the hunts for Adolf Eichmann (and the rivals between Mossad and Wiesenthal), Josef Mengele, and Franz Stangl were absoluting quality reading. After the chapters on these three Nazis, and the brief chapter on the concentration camp guards, the book takes a different path and describes the ordeal of Raoul Wallenberg. Although Wallenberg was not a Nazi, but a humanist dedicating to saving the lives of Jews, I had to ask myself what this chapter was doing in the book. Nevertheless, it was quite fascinating to read about the ordeal Wallenberg faced and to read what actually happened to him during the war, and especially, after the war.

At this point, you can quit reading the book. The next chapters dealt with Bruno Kriesky and Kurt Waldheim. I didn't have a clue who Bruno was. (I believe he became chancellor of Austria during the '70s). Why was he in this book? As far as I can tell, it was due to Simon and Bruno not liking each other. Bruno was a Jew who claimed that he was not a Jew and tried to distance himself from Jews during the war. He didn't kill any Jews, so why have his story in this book? It's wasted space.

As far as Waldheim is concerned, the jury appears to be out as far as his guilt is concerned. There never seems to be direct evidence pointing to Waldheim as to whether he was responsible for killing partisans (or at least KNEW some killings took place)
in Yugoslavia. Waldheim's superiors (during the war) say that he did not have the authority to kill or order killings; a sargaent who reported to Waldheim said that he did. Some say he was present at the time the killings took place; others said he was not. Some say that as part of intelligence, and as a lowly lieutenant, Waldheim would not have known about partisan killings. Others said how did he not know? If no one knows the truth, why read it about in this book? Even the Yugoslavian government has refused to prosecute. So, I may ask, why fill 150 pages of this book if there is no conclusive evidence that Waldheim is guilty? The later part of these chapters were very boring. The book was about hunting murderous NAZIS, not about people who were ashamed of being Jewish or about German Army officers.

The book should have included the hunt for Nazi Klaus Barbie and other Nazis who eluded capture for many years. Then, I would have rated this book 4 stars. But, to include chapters on Bruno Kriesky and Kurt Waldheim? A real time waster.

Rating:
Summary: wonderful, a story of justice
Review: THis book is a good one for anyone interested in Jewish Self-defense. Wiesenthal is a legend. Having survived the Holocaust he became a great Nazi-Hunter. Documenting the crimes of the holocaust and seeking to track down the thousands of Nazi butchers responsible. He dedicated his life to the pursuit of justice, keeping the memory of the Jewish dead alive as his sources tracked to globe looking for Nazis, who were hiding like rats in Latin America. This is an important work. Too often is the Holocaust viewed in a vacume. We hear little about the pursuit of justice or the pre-Holocaust era. Here is the story of the pursit of justice and the story of the notorious Nazi butchers like Mengele, Eichman and Stangl.

This book is also an investigation of the disappearance of Raoll Wallenberg and the questions of guilt of others associated with the Nazis.

A good read. Very pro-Wiesenthal. Enlightening as Wiesenthal has also investigated many other interesting things related to Jewish history, like the presence of Rabbis on COlumbus's voyage.

Rating:
Summary: wonderful, a story of justice
Review: THis book is a good one for anyone interested in Jewish Self-defense. Wiesenthal is a legend. Having survived the Holocaust he became a great Nazi-Hunter. Documenting the crimes of the holocaust and seeking to track down the thousands of Nazi butchers responsible. He dedicated his life to the pursuit of justice, keeping the memory of the Jewish dead alive as his sources tracked to globe looking for Nazis, who were hiding like rats in Latin America. This is an important work. Too often is the Holocaust viewed in a vacume. We hear little about the pursuit of justice or the pre-Holocaust era. Here is the story of the pursit of justice and the story of the notorious Nazi butchers like Mengele, Eichman and Stangl.

This book is also an investigation of the disappearance of Raoll Wallenberg and the questions of guilt of others associated with the Nazis.

A good read. Very pro-Wiesenthal. Enlightening as Wiesenthal has also investigated many other interesting things related to Jewish history, like the presence of Rabbis on COlumbus's voyage.

Rating:
Summary: a good read, lively
Review: Wiesenthal, the very name conjurs up so many feelings and reactions. But few know the truth about his life, his beleifs and his crusades. THis book details the many aspects of this towering personality. His interest in the Jews that travelled with columbus, the disappearence of Wallenberg and of course his tireless pursuit of Nazi murderurs. Clearly a supporter of this great man, Levy details the hunts and lives of the Nazi butchers. An interesting account. All that I found missing was any details about the building of the Wiesenthal organization and details about the other Nazis rounded up.

THis is a book about justice. Too often we dont acknowledge the feelings of revenge. Here is a man who understood that he would dedicate himself to hunting Nazis, tracking them, forcing them to flee from place to place, just as the Jews fled from Place to place when hiding from their persecuters. Read this book, it is a must for any holocaust collection.

Rating:
Summary: a good read, lively
Review: Wiesenthal, the very name conjurs up so many feelings and reactions. But few know the truth about his life, his beleifs and his crusades. THis book details the many aspects of this towering personality. His interest in the Jews that travelled with columbus, the disappearence of Wallenberg and of course his tireless pursuit of Nazi murderurs. Clearly a supporter of this great man, Levy details the hunts and lives of the Nazi butchers. An interesting account. All that I found missing was any details about the building of the Wiesenthal organization and details about the other Nazis rounded up.

THis is a book about justice. Too often we dont acknowledge the feelings of revenge. Here is a man who understood that he would dedicate himself to hunting Nazis, tracking them, forcing them to flee from place to place, just as the Jews fled from Place to place when hiding from their persecuters. Read this book, it is a must for any holocaust collection.