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jmarryott23's review against another edition
5.0
Emotionally devastating - it’s hard to believe someone could go through this and live to tell the tale. And it’s particularly timely when so many among us do not care for all lives equally.
cheeriodoggo's review against another edition
5.0
I'm in Holocaust academia. I'm not sure how I have never read this one; I think I got caught between publication dates, as this was published for the first time in English relatively recently.
I do not work with Treblinka very often, but I am very impressed with this piece. The shortness and lack of detail is a choice by Rajchman, which I think many reviews here do not realize. While I do not work with Treblinka, I do spend a lot of time with Trebliinka's sister camp, Sobibor, and the two camps had the same commander at different points in the war (Franz Stangl) and the similarities between the camps are very obvious. One of those similarities being that the handful of survivor's from each camp is very much in poor head space.
The book is short because the author struggles to relive the trauma and, in my opinion, the length speaks to this in the healthiest way possible. There is not much about the escape, nor do you learn about many others who are also in the camp (the author simply refers to all the SS guards as "the murders" with only a few exceptions).
I'm quite fond of this one and will be adding it to my recommendations in the future. It's short. I read the entire thing over dinner. It doesn't hold back. It doesn't over-detail (it does the exact opposite, which as stated, as a detriment to some readers). But you get what you need and want from it. Rajchman bore witness; this book was published posthumously and that should be kept in mind while reading.
It isn't going to expand your knowledge of the Holocaust if you know nothing about it, but if you have a basic idea, it will at least give you a different perspective that is quite profound.
I do not work with Treblinka very often, but I am very impressed with this piece. The shortness and lack of detail is a choice by Rajchman, which I think many reviews here do not realize. While I do not work with Treblinka, I do spend a lot of time with Trebliinka's sister camp, Sobibor, and the two camps had the same commander at different points in the war (Franz Stangl) and the similarities between the camps are very obvious. One of those similarities being that the handful of survivor's from each camp is very much in poor head space.
The book is short because the author struggles to relive the trauma and, in my opinion, the length speaks to this in the healthiest way possible. There is not much about the escape, nor do you learn about many others who are also in the camp (the author simply refers to all the SS guards as "the murders" with only a few exceptions).
I'm quite fond of this one and will be adding it to my recommendations in the future. It's short. I read the entire thing over dinner. It doesn't hold back. It doesn't over-detail (it does the exact opposite, which as stated, as a detriment to some readers). But you get what you need and want from it. Rajchman bore witness; this book was published posthumously and that should be kept in mind while reading.
It isn't going to expand your knowledge of the Holocaust if you know nothing about it, but if you have a basic idea, it will at least give you a different perspective that is quite profound.
turtlemagix's review against another edition
5.0
This was a super intense read, as is anything that involves the holocaust. It's a short book but still extremely powerful.
aliteraryescape's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
vaderbird's review against another edition
4.0
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
biktokai86's review against another edition
4.0
How can a human being, be so cruel. I would say this book is kind of different from others I've read on the topic. For some reason it reads more humane. It goes into more detail on the labour that treblinka workers had to do and experience. It is harsh, cruel, maybe not for everyone. As always I cannot start to grasp and understand the cruelness of Nazis and the suffering of the victims, mainly Jews.
noraottaway's review against another edition
4.0
“Astonishingly, the brute beasts were able to make use of everything. Leather, paper, cloth – everything of use to man was of use to these beasts. It was only the most precious valuable in the world – human life – that they trampled beneath their boots.”
From “The Hell of Treblinka” by Vasily Grossman
From “The Hell of Treblinka” by Vasily Grossman
pelachick's review against another edition
5.0
This book is a must read. The book is short and should be read in one sitting if possible. Rajchman's words are distant at times as if he is a neutral observer. At other times, he is poetic in his descriptions. Lose yourself in this book. Identify with the author for a brief period while reading the book. This is on par with Elie Wiesel's Night.
hayliebeth's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
geekylou's review against another edition
3.0
This was sad to read about what happened to the Jews in Treblinka and is something that should always be taught to people so nothing like this ever happens again. The only downside to this book is the length, it was very short.