Memoirs of a Warsaw Ghetto Fighter
- Book Review,
by Kazik
From Publishers Weekly
As a courier protected by his gentile looks and false indentity papers, and as a leader of the daring group of 500 poorly armed, untrained men and women of the Jewish Fighting Organization (ZOB), the author, known as Kazik, helped stave off the Nazi liquidation of the Warsaw Ghetto for a month in 1943, an operation the Germans expected to complete within three days. This affecting account recalls the terror and danger of the period and how, after the battle for the ghetto was lost, 19-year-old Kazik led the escape of fighter-survivors through the sewers to safe houses on the Aryan side or to a nearby forest. He later fought with the Polish underground in their unsuccessful 1944 uprising against the Germans to free Warsaw. He and his family now live in Israel. Photos not seen by PW. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
YA?Readers share the horrific account of the Nazi destruction of Warsaw's Jewish Ghetto as told by Kazik (Simha Rotem). Kazik was a 19-year-old freedom fighter who helped resist the Nazi takeover and helped smuggle the surviving Jews out of the ghetto through the sewers of Warsaw. Most died, as did the teenage heroes and heroines who had the strength and conviction to fight to the death for freedom. He "conveys things as I saw them," leaving readers to reflect on the times and the courage of the Jews. Kazik writes to honor those gone and help those remaining to appreciate freedom.?Linda Vretos, West Springfield High School, Springfield, VACopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Book News, Inc.
At age 19, Rotem (also known as Kazik) led surviving Jews out of the ruins of the Warsaw Ghetto through the sewers and spent the rest of the war helping to care for those who remained in Warsaw. His story provides a detailed account of his activities as head courier for the ZOB--the Jewish Fighting Organization, which planned and executed the Warsaw Uprising. B&w photos. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.
Book Description
This riveting memoir, a primary source for the NBC miniseries Uprising, tells the story of the Jewish resistance fighters in the Warsaw Ghetto who defy the Nazis against impossible odds. Kazik (played by Stephen Moyer in the film) and his fellow Jews smuggle in arms and explosives, perform acts of resistance, hold off the Nazi army for almost a month, and rescue the few surviving Jews after the Ghetto is destroyed. Kazik spends the rest of the war helping Jews who still remain in Warsaw, joining the Poles during their ill-fated uprising against the Nazis, and assisting the Polish underground. This shattering tale of courage will change forever the image of how Jews fought and survived during the Holocaust.
Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Hebrew
From the Back Cover
"A moving record of the greatest heroism and a chronicle of humanity's darkest hour." —Adam Le Bor, The Times (London) "This memoir is the most gripping account of wartime guerilla survival against all the odds that I have ever read. It is impossible to put the book down."—Robert Carver, The Scotsman "It had me transfixed. I could do nothing else until I finished it and could think of nothing else after I put it down." —Chaim Bermant, Literary Review
About the Author
Kazik (Simha Rotem), who now lives in Israel, was an adviser to the mini-series Uprising and was the 1997 recipient of the Raoul Wallenberg Medal, given to those who have made extraordinary accomplishments toward liberty and human values. It is his voice saying, "I remember . . . when I said to myself, 'I am the last Jew, I am going to wait for morning, I am going to wait for the Germans,'" that ends Claude Lanzmann's film Shoah.
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