Overview

What do you do if you are a reluctant soldier, having been shot at, seen your friends killed, and can no longer even remember what your own mother looks like? As a combat soldier fighting your way across Europe, what is the plan when you come across a Holocaust train full of suffering humanity that shocks you to your core, even after you think you have seen it all? And what happens when you get to meet the survivors face to face, two generations later? 'After I got home I cried a lot. My parents couldn't understand why I couldn't sleep at times.'-Walter 'Babe' Gantz, US Army medic From the author of 'The Things Our Fathers Saw' World War II eyewitness history series In this book, the true story behind an iconic photograph taken at the liberation of a DEATH TRAIN deep in the heart of Nazi Germany―brought to life by the history teacher who discovered it, and went on to reunite HUNDREDS of Holocaust survivors with the actual American soldiers who saved them! 'I grew up and spent all my years being angry. This means I don't have to be angry anymore.'-Paul Arato, Holocaust Survivor THE HOLOCAUST was a watershed event in history. Drawing on never-before published eye-witness accounts, survivor testimony and memoirs, wartime reports and letters, Matthew Rozell takes us on his journey to uncover the stories behind the incredible 1945 liberation photographs taken by the soldiers who were there. He weaves togethera chronology of the Holocaust as it unfolds across Europe and goes to the authentic sites of the Holocaust to retrace the steps of the survivors and the American soldiers who freed them. His mission culminates in joyful reunions on three continents, seven decades later. Rozell offers his unique perspective on the lessons of the Holocaust for future generations, and the impact that one person, a teacher, can make. 'I survived because of many miracles. But for me to actually meet, shake hands, hug, and cry together with my liberators―the 'angels of life' who literally gave me back my life―was just beyond imagination.'-Leslie Meisels, Holocaust Survivor -Featuring testimony from 15 American liberators and over 30 Holocaust survivors -73 photographs and illustrations, many never before published -10 custom maps -502 pages-extensive notes and bibliographical references 'People say it cannot happen here in this country; yes, it can happen here. I was 21 years old. I was there to see it happen!'-Luca Furnari, US Army Included: BOOK ONE-THE HOLOCAUST BOOK TWO-THE AMERICANS BOOK THREE-LIBERATION BOOK FOUR-REUNION 'It's not for my sake, it's for the sake of humanity, that [you] will remember.'-Steve Barry, Holocaust Survivor

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9781948155090

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Reviews

Buy this book. Read it. Share it. It's worth the time and expense to lose yourself in something that never should have happened. You owe it to yourself to immerse yourself in this journey. The story of the end of the Holocaust and the Nazi regime told from a very different and precise angle. First-hand accounts from Jewish survivors and the US soldiers that secured their freedom. Gripping. If you have any trepidation about reading a book on the Holocaust, this review is for you. [Matthew Rozell] masterfully conveys the individual stories of those featured in the book in a manner that does not leave the reader with a sense of despair, but rather a sense of purpose. Extraordinary research into an event which needed to be told. I have read many books about the Holocaust and visited various museums but had not heard reference to this train previously. The fact that people involved were able to connect, support and help heal each other emotionally was amazing. This was a fantastic book! The only one I've read where rescuers and survivors meet! I have recommended it to others before I even finished it! It is a MUST--Very well written, the author describes his research of one of the most tragic period of the modern era. The encounter between American soldiers and the Jewish prisoners on a train to death is especially moving. Reading the testimonies of the survivors as well as those of the liberators is amazing and very accurate. Mr. Rozell has done intensive work and managed to bring the survivors and the liberators to meet after more than fifty years--just before it would have been too late. Incredible research went into this book.Thoroughly enjoyed reading this and so sad to know we are soon to lose this entire generation. So hope we never forget them and what they all went through.What a blessing the author is to have written this and brought these people together after so many years. What healing this has given the survivors and military men. A wonderful story into humanity and the love of history. Teachers and their lessons are so valuable to our youth. Matthew Rozell is to be commended for his passion to the truth in history. I learned so much from reading his book. Mr. Rozell travels 'back to the future' of people who were not promised a tomorrow; neither the prisoners nor the troops knew what horrors the next moment would bring. He captures the parallel experience of soldiers fighting ruthless Nazism and the ruthless treatment of Jewish prisoners. Reading this story is exceptionally rewarding because it is not only a history lesson; the author tells the story through not only the annals of history, but by personally engaging with the characters of the story, in real time. This is a story and a personal journey and well worth the read. As an Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker I am always looking for good stories; stories that move the heart as well as the mind. This book does that in spades. From the first page to the last it rivets you to the passion of the author's journey and to the story of the people of whom he writes about. This story is a shining example of the good that people can do to help their fellow man. It is a story of a man who has followed his heart and mind to accomplish great things for others. -Michael J. Edwards, Searching For Augusta (PBS)

Author Information

MATTHEW ROZELL is an award-winning history teacher, author, blogger and speaker. He has been featured as the ABC World News 'Person of the Week' and has had his work filmed for CBS News, NBC Learn, the Israeli Broadcast Authority, the New York State United Teachers, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Most recently, he is the recipient of the New York State Education Department's Yavner Teaching Award for Distinguished Contributions to Teaching the Holocaust and Human Rights. Visit his blog at TeachingHistoryMatters.com.

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