Dan Stone (2)

The Liberation of the Camps was an eye-opener for me. It is not that I thought Jews were welcomed back with open-arms after liberation. My family managed to leave right before the outbreak of the war and I know what happened to the few remaining who tried to go back to Poland. But somehow I believed the tropes about the ecstatic survivors and the joyful reunions. When I think about it this it really does not make sense. First, how could the genocide and degradation of a people lead to show more anything but an exhausting and brutal struggle especially with the complex political machinations and outright anti-antisemitism of so many countries. Second, I saw this struggle in my neighborhood in Brooklyn in the 1960's as families, survivors and others, lived their lives with the trauma of the Holocaust in their bones. I found the book highly readable and appreciated the thorough research and compelling eyewitness accounts. The information was presented clearly and concisely and widened my perspective. Thank you.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to review this book for an honest opinion show less

Good introduction to the concentration camps people know about from WWII, as well as their historical background in English and German colonies. Takes a broad view that discusses both genocidal concentration camps as well as the earlier and co-existing type of concentration camp during WWII. Toward the end of the book it includes a modern academic debate on whether regular prisons or alternative military detainment should be included in the definition, this is clearly the weakest part of the show more book, but useful for a 'state of academia' check which VSI often provides, and goes partially into the political battles over how this works in propaganda.
For a deeper discussion on genocidal camps during WWII look to Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin. show less

Quando i martoriati prigionieri dei campi di concentramento e di sterminio furono liberati, l'orrore delle atrocità naziste venne alla luce per intero. A stento si può immaginare l'enorme sollievo provato in quel momento dai prigionieri (fonte: Google Books)