Tag Archives: world war II

Book Review: The Commandant of Lubiczek

The Commandant of Lubizec: A Novel of The Holocaust and Operation ReinhardThe Commandant of Lubizec: A Novel of The Holocaust and Operation Reinhard by Patrick Hicks

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Holy moly what a book. I have read many books about the Holocaust but I think this is the first time I realized a difference between a death camp and a concentration camp.

The camp written about in the book, Lubizec, is a fictional death camp. As I started reading, I thought the book was non-fiction even though I hadn’t heard of Lubiczek before. However, it’s a work of fiction based up on the camps Belzec, Sobibor and Treblinka.

Written in a documentary style, the story is told from the viewpoint of one of only seven men to survive mass murders over over 700,000 people, Chaim Zischer.

This detailed, fictional account of a Nazi death camp is one that should be read. I worry that people will forget the atrocities that happened in these camps as the population grows older and the survivors finally pass away.

I would highly recommend this book. I couldn’t put it down.

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Book Review: Last Train to Istanbul

Last Train to IstanbulLast Train to Istanbul by Ayşe Kulin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was originally attracted to this book because Istanbul is the number one spot in the world I want to visit. I don’t think I knew that it was about World War II. I do love reading stories set in WWII and this book is EXCELLENT!

The story tells of two sisters and a family in Turkey. The older sister marries a diplomat who is extremely involved in trying to keep Turkey out of WWII. The younger sister falls in love and marries a Jewish man. They then leave their families to live in France where they don’t feel the negative reaction of their families.

As Hitler’s SS starts pervading their lives in France, Selva’s husband is taken by them and put on a train full of other Jews that are saved and returned. But they are then caught up in the resistance to eventually brings a trainful of Jewish people to safety in Istanbul.

I loved this story. The family relationships, the friendships that were formed, the way the tale wove through the era. I highly recommend this book. I could not put it down and was even reading it in the check out at the grocery! 🙂

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