Compromismo (Touching a Nerve)
On a summer day in 1944 My mother was herded from a cattle car Along with the rest of its human cargo Which had been transported from Belgrade To the concentration camp at Bergen-Belsen She…
Category: Khurbn
The Roles That Made It Possible
Neither superhuman nor subhuman Neither God Nor animal Nor monster. But always simply Additional kinds of humans: The bomb droppers The capo The body burners The throat slashers The exterminators in the forest The scalpers…
Shema, Primo Levi
You who live secure In your warm houses Who return at evening to find Hot food and friendly faces: Consider whether this is a man, Who labours in the mud Who knows no peace Who…
On Segev’s The 7th Million: The Israelis and the Holocaust
The following is a short summary and commonplace passages with comments on Tom Segev’s book, The 7th Million: The Israelis and the Holocaust. It’s one of the many books I examined when writing my first…
J. A. Topf & Sons
Someone had an idea Someone mentioned it to a colleague Someone sent a memo to the higher-ups Someone gathered a group of movers and shakers Someone got the engineers on board Someone set production goals
The Nazis Come To Power by Hedy Epstein
I was eight years old when Hitler came to power on 30 January 1933. I knew that my parents and other family members had hoped that this wouldn’t happen. They were hoping Paul von Hindenberg…
Hedy & Heine
The year after Mev died I read a lot of literature– Poetry, novels, plays One volume I took refuge in Was a bi-lingual edition of Heine’s Songs of Love & Grief I have a favorite…
Taking a Stand: A Reflection on Elie Wiesel and Hedy Epstein
These days I am thinking of two Holocaust survivors. I met with one today: 86 year-old Hedy Epstein and I had lunch at Blackberry Cafe in Clayton. The other is receiving an honorary doctorate tomorrow…
Analogies
If past behavior is any guide, Elie Wiesel must be having a fit. I’m not thinking here of the great loss to his Foundation from the audacious and criminal pilfering of Bernie Madoff. No, I…
Questions for Elie Wiesel
Elie Wiesel—Holocaust survivor, author of Night, 1986 Nobel Peace laureate, adviser to American presidents, acclaimed humanitarian—is speaking at Saint Louis University on Tuesday 1 December 2009 at 7:00 p.m.. What follows are some questions students and…