Product Description

Between the years 1942 and 1943, under the code name Operation Reinhard, more than one and a half million Jews were gassed in the concentration camps of Belzec, Sobibor, and Treblinka, located in Nazi-occupied Poland. Jewish survivors of the operation numbered fewer than 200. Yitzhak Arad reveals here the complete story of Operation Reinhard for the first time. Using sources previously overlooked, such as German and Polish official records and testimonies from Nazi war criminal trials, Arad records the history of the Belzec, Sobibor, and Treblinka death camps from their construction in 1941 to their destruction in 1943.He describes the camps' physical layouts, the process of extermination used, and the actions of the SS men and Ukrainian guards who operated the camps. Arad tells the tale of the death camps' inmates - though many of their lives lasted but a few hours following their arrival - the underground organizations, the revolts and escapes, and the details concerning the day-to-day survival of those spared instant death in the gas chambers. Arad's work retrieves the experience of Operation Reinhard's victims and survivors from obscurity and bears eloquent witness to the tragedy which was theirs. Yitzhak Arad, Chairman of Yad Vashem, Holocaust Remembrance Authority, is a lecturer in Jewish History at the University of Tel Aviv and author of "Ghetto in Flames: Story of the Vilna Ghetto".

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #27191 in Books
• Published on: 1999-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

Review
"Drawing on a wealth of evidence ... [Arad] lets the terrible record speak for itself... Mr. Arad reports as a controlled and effective witness for the prosecution... Mr. Arad's book, with its abundance of horrifying detail, reminds us of how far we have to go." New York Times Book Review " ... some of the most gripping chapters I have ever read... the authentic, exhaustive, definitive account of the least known death camps of the Nazi era." Raul Hilberg

Customer Reviews

A compelling and involving portrayal of facts.
"My God!" is the phrase that should stand on its own for this despicable era in mankind's history. The author uses statements from original camp survivors to build a completely readable and engrossing insight into the functions of a death camp - as configured by the Nazi regime. The fluent use of original statements realises an almost story like approach to the subject. When dealing with the prisoner rebellions and escape attempts, this approach has you on the edge of your seat eager to read on. This is definitely one of the best, purely factual descriptions of those events.

Gripping, terrifying yet compelling
I have read hundreds of books about the holocaust over the years and yet this book still managed to hold my attention - I could not put it down! The author has thoroughly researched his topic and gives an informative, detailed account of Operation Reinhard, the extermination of Polish Jewry. The book impartially details the full history of the 3 death camps, stories from the prisoners who were incarcerated there and the personnel who worked within them. This book is an absolute 'must read' as it accurately describes the extent of the perfectly oiled killing machine that was devoted to destroying a whole race of human beings. Little is known about Operation Reinhard, the holocaust often being synonimous with Auschwitz. This book is a real testimony to all the people who lost their lives in these camps, which were purposely built for human destruction.

The Disbelief of it All
Although everyone is familiar with what occurred in the most famous slave labour/ death camp of the Nazi empire, myself included, I knew very little about the camps which this book makes its subjects. After the shock of the first few chapters wore off I found myself utterly astonished that such barbarism could happen. After reading this book these camps had surpassed Auschwitz in my mind as places of horror mainly because they were purpose built to murder humans and nothing else, no salve labour camps here just the chambers for all.
Arad deals with the subject with honesty and clarity and makes the book a rewarding read if one is able to make it past the horror of it all.
The most chilling piece was the assertion from an SS commander that they should not burn the victim's corpses but instead leave plaques stating that they, the Germans, had the strength of character to carry out such a monumental task. That one statement helped me understand the mentality of the National Socialist more than any other I had read to that point.