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The Search for Major Plagge: The Nazi Who Saved Jews
When The Search for Major Plagge was published last spring, the world finally learned about a unique heroand about one American doctor's extraordinary journey to tell Karl Plagge's story.Part detective story, part personal quest, Michael Good's book is the story of the German commander of a Lithuanian work camp who saved hundreds of Jewish lives in the Vilna ghetto including the life of Good's mother, Pearl. Who was this enigmatic officer Pearl Good had spoken of so often?After five years of researchinterviewing survivors, assembling a team that could work to open German files untouched for fifty years, following every lead he could, Good was able to uncover the amazing tale of one man's remarkable courage. And in April 2005 Karl Plagge joined Oskar Schindler and 380 other Germans as a Righteous among Nations, honored by the State of Israel for protecting and saving Jewish lives during the Holocaust.This expanded edition features new photographs and a new epilogue on the impact of the discovery of Karl Plaggeespecially the story of 83-year-old Alfons von Deschwanden, who, after fifty years of silence, came forward as a veteran of Plagge's unit. His testimony is now part of this growing witness to truth.
271 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2005
130 people are currently reading
339 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
August 12, 2013
I am not sure when if ever a book has impacted me so much. I was moved with joy and love to tears for my fellow human beings by this book. The author, Michael Good, of this book who was born in the US in the 1950's, listening to his mother and grandfather stories of being Jews from Vilna (then Poland now Lithuania). At the start of World War II the population of Vilna a city of 200,000 including 70,000 Jews. By the end of war only about 1,200 Jews survived. In the amidst the horror a German officer acts with honour and compassion for his fellow human beings to save hundreds of Jews. Major Plagge's actions save Michael maternal grandparents and his mother's life. This book is story of Michael's quest to understand why Plagge acted as he did and memorialize his actions.
It also a fascinating study of the impact of the Holocaust on both Jews survivors and Germans. Both groups were racked with guilty. But most of all this book is about a average person, who finding himself in hell acted with kindness and dignity to save humans and by that act made beauty.
"The terrible history of the Holocaust can teach human beings around the world. We all must worry about ourselves, how we conduct ourselves, and who we follow. For perhaps one day we will confront terrible choices, and we must hope that we will be able to find a righteous path."
Michael Good form "The Search for Major Plagge..."
I highly recommend this fascinating book. I hope for a world where nobody will ever have to make such choices again as Major Plagge faced.
It also a fascinating study of the impact of the Holocaust on both Jews survivors and Germans. Both groups were racked with guilty. But most of all this book is about a average person, who finding himself in hell acted with kindness and dignity to save humans and by that act made beauty.
"The terrible history of the Holocaust can teach human beings around the world. We all must worry about ourselves, how we conduct ourselves, and who we follow. For perhaps one day we will confront terrible choices, and we must hope that we will be able to find a righteous path."
Michael Good form "The Search for Major Plagge..."
I highly recommend this fascinating book. I hope for a world where nobody will ever have to make such choices again as Major Plagge faced.
February 8, 2013
Michael Good will lead you to ''ponder humanity’s dual nature—our propensity to act violently out of fear and bigotry, juxtaposed against our often unexpected capacity for acting with nobility and moral courage.'' This story of the author's search for the facts behind his mother's rescued life from a Polish concentration camp and the German Nazi officer credited with doing so will both encourage you and disgust you. It's not just the typical villainizing of the evil Nazi Germans, but an even deeper look into the nature of all who either watched, aided or benefited from the extermination of a defenseless people.
The book is well written for the author's first attempt. The only criticism I have of the book is that it seems to start and stop in strange places. It seems there could have been a unifying story line more along the lines of a screen play which integrates the stories the author discovers after the story of his mother concludes.
Nevertheless, I highly recommend this book if you have any interest in this era or in the way people treat each other. Whatever you do, do not put the book away until you read the letters that Major Plagge wrote to the attorney in the appendix of the book. Brilliant!
The book is well written for the author's first attempt. The only criticism I have of the book is that it seems to start and stop in strange places. It seems there could have been a unifying story line more along the lines of a screen play which integrates the stories the author discovers after the story of his mother concludes.
Nevertheless, I highly recommend this book if you have any interest in this era or in the way people treat each other. Whatever you do, do not put the book away until you read the letters that Major Plagge wrote to the attorney in the appendix of the book. Brilliant!
August 22, 2012
This was an impulse buy as a Kindle Daily Deal and I'm so glad I got it. It was super interesting and really easy to read. I was expecting a 'history' book (a la 'Schindler's List') and instead I got a book by a man whose mother had been personally a part of the group of Jews that Major Plagge had saved. The man himself was not actually aware of the story until 1999 when he took his wife and children and his parents on a trip back to the Lithuanian city where they had come from before the Holocaust. Because of this perspective, the story unfolded more like a novel (and in some cases, truth is stranger than fiction - some of the things that happened during the events of the story wouldn't be believed if they had been in a movie) - it was really interesting and a really enjoyable read (as much as a read about the Holocaust can be enjoyable). Plus, it's always good to read about people who, in the midst of such horrible things going on around them, are able to try to do good in spite of everything.
October 25, 2022
Michael Good's book gave me some insights expected and unexpected: that there were those who were part of the Nazi war machine who opposed and resisted the effort to eradicate the Jewish population was not new to me. What was new was the fact that this took place in the Wehrmacht and effectively included a large portion of a military contingent was new information. It caused me to think how how such a nexus came into being and how malleable we are. Plagge's ideals seemed to infuse into the unit without direct cultivation. I suspect that the same soldiers who went along with Plagge would, in another context, gone the other way.
Good also mentions the difference between the experience of the Jewish population of Vilna under the Soviet occupatiojn and the subsequent Nazi occupation. This is an subject about which I know little and plan to explore.
Kudo's to Good for writing that got the points across and got to the point while allowing me to look into his family in such a way that I could relate to what was being reported in a way that affected me personally.
Good also mentions the difference between the experience of the Jewish population of Vilna under the Soviet occupatiojn and the subsequent Nazi occupation. This is an subject about which I know little and plan to explore.
Kudo's to Good for writing that got the points across and got to the point while allowing me to look into his family in such a way that I could relate to what was being reported in a way that affected me personally.
October 19, 2020
This is a very powerful book and contains things that are so hard to read and then try to comprehend that humans (and I use that term loosely) could do these things. It is amazing that the survivors could find the good in anything after all that they endured. But they do, and the fact that their son searched so long and hard to recognize the one small ray of goodness in all this horror is a triumph. I have avoided books about the Holocaust because I felt too weak to even read about these atrocities but I am so glad I read this.
November 12, 2022
I've recently read a few books on the holocaust and turned to this one to get a different perspective. It is amazing to read a positive story from the unrelenting horror that killed millions, but this book manages that feat. Besides the story of Major Plagge, the bigger and more redemptive story is about the survivors and others who came together to bring this story to light. Well-worth the time to read even if it is only a pinprick of light in the overall period of darkness, terror and horror. Recommended.
January 21, 2022
A hero doesn’t always do outstanding, obvious, headlining things. Sometimes he’s just an ethical man with a conscience and a little bit of power, who is willing and able to move pieces without causing waves and influence people without attracting suspicion. Major Plagge is the prime example of what Gandhi said: be the change you want to see in the world. Anybody can do it, in whatever situation, big or small.
July 20, 2012
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It reads as a memoir and was overly detailed at a few spots but overall it was a fascinating look at the horrors perpetrated by the Nazis against the Jews. Told from both nazi and Jewish survivors and their descendants...eye opening.
January 30, 2013
A compelling story of a family's quest to honor the German officer who saved the mother's life in the Vilna work camp during WWII. More a story of what one man can do in the. history. face of overwhelming evil. It is good to see this piece of history.
December 7, 2020
This is one of the best books I have read about the Holocaust. I like that it addresses German people with a conscience who had a difficult time during the 1930s and 40s.
March 27, 2012
Knowing the author makes this book significant to me, but he tells a story everyone should hear!
December 21, 2022
A fascinating book in need of an editor. There was so much repetition of information that I skimmed the last third. If I were an historian, it might be different; I'd dig into the arguments about what each little bit of exhumed material meant.
That said, the opening 1/3 was terrific and the chapter called Holocaust gave a different lens into that horror - not the camps, but the leadup to a ghetto and the insanity that hit the general populace. It was interesting to hear of a "good" Nazi - one who saved many Jews. And I wasn't aware of the killing grounds in Ponary Lithuania, outside Vilna.
The book was worth it for reinforcing that whole evil time.
That said, the opening 1/3 was terrific and the chapter called Holocaust gave a different lens into that horror - not the camps, but the leadup to a ghetto and the insanity that hit the general populace. It was interesting to hear of a "good" Nazi - one who saved many Jews. And I wasn't aware of the killing grounds in Ponary Lithuania, outside Vilna.
The book was worth it for reinforcing that whole evil time.
June 5, 2023
This book is arranged in a chronological order with powerful storytelling delivery. It feels like you're witnessing the tragedy itself and the pains from the survivors! this is one of the marvelous masterpiece to ever exist. The author managed to engage with the reader by stating all of the logical questions in order to understand one man's thoughts during the war era with the help of wonderful people around him. You'd be surprised by the stories.
February 14, 2022
This is an important book perhaps even more important now than when it was written, in light of the extremism in the world now.
Dr. Good does an amazing job examining his family’s horrifying experiences, their strength and resilience and the different angles/perspectives of making heroic choices.
Dr. Good does an amazing job examining his family’s horrifying experiences, their strength and resilience and the different angles/perspectives of making heroic choices.
May 7, 2022
Enjoyed this book very much! Nice quick read, but also very rewarding. While a very sad story of the Jewish losses during the war, also a nice story of some decency amongst the horror -- Major Plagge. Great job to the Good's for unwinding this mystery and sharing it with all of us.
July 23, 2023
Enlightening
This straightforward and detailed research reveals a tragic, but enlightening story of a German officer who strove to save people during the holocaust. Many testimonies of the grateful people he helped.
This straightforward and detailed research reveals a tragic, but enlightening story of a German officer who strove to save people during the holocaust. Many testimonies of the grateful people he helped.
August 25, 2025
Audiobook
September 11, 2012
This was a good book about a family's search for the man to whom they owed their lives during WWII. A Jewish family who lived in the U.S. went back to their home city, Vilna, which was in Lithuania in the 1980's to show their own grandkids what they went through. They also went to find some information about the man to whom they were indebted. Their son was inspired to take the search beyond what they found in Vilna, to the Internet as well as to his parents' friends and family members who had survived the Holocaust for more information on Major Plagge so as to give credit to a good man even though it was so many years later.
The story of Plagge is the story of a German who got caught up in the early years of the Nazi party, thinking they could return Germany which had been ravaged by WWI and depression, to its former glory and standing. Plagge quickly became disillusioned with the thuggery of the Nazi Party and their anti-Semitism, and began not to participate in the Party any longer. Then when he was drafted into the war effort, he was forced into the situation of making choices of how he was going to handle being in charge of Jewish workers under him. He decided to actively use his position as much as possible to save these peoples' lives without drawing undue attention to himself. This he did in so many ways which are listed in this well-researched book.
Plagge also managed to keep all the men who served under him alive and safe, which is another miracle. Many of them knew what their 'boss' was up to but kept silent. Some of them also helped the Jews in other ways which is talked about in the book.
The book was a bit slow and repetitive in some places...but it definitely was one that should be read so good people everywhere will realize the power a single good person can have in a situation like this. Like the author said, if more good people had decided to follow Plagge's decision process and do as he did, the Holocaust never would have happened, nor the war.
The story of Plagge is the story of a German who got caught up in the early years of the Nazi party, thinking they could return Germany which had been ravaged by WWI and depression, to its former glory and standing. Plagge quickly became disillusioned with the thuggery of the Nazi Party and their anti-Semitism, and began not to participate in the Party any longer. Then when he was drafted into the war effort, he was forced into the situation of making choices of how he was going to handle being in charge of Jewish workers under him. He decided to actively use his position as much as possible to save these peoples' lives without drawing undue attention to himself. This he did in so many ways which are listed in this well-researched book.
Plagge also managed to keep all the men who served under him alive and safe, which is another miracle. Many of them knew what their 'boss' was up to but kept silent. Some of them also helped the Jews in other ways which is talked about in the book.
The book was a bit slow and repetitive in some places...but it definitely was one that should be read so good people everywhere will realize the power a single good person can have in a situation like this. Like the author said, if more good people had decided to follow Plagge's decision process and do as he did, the Holocaust never would have happened, nor the war.
July 25, 2012
It is hard for me to give this book a rating of only three stars. Certainly the theme, a man delving into the history of his family as they experienced the holocaust on a level that many of us hope to never see, is worthy of five stars. The theme remains relevant today as we saw this happen again in Bosnia, Rwanda, the Congo, Sudan,and Iraq. The author's pursuit of the truth is work worthy of four stars. Sadly, his writing lets this book down. I found much of the writing to be dry and repetitive, restating information he had shared previously. Interestingly, the epilogue presents us with a much crisper writing style, the best writing in the book.
I don't want to discourage anyone from reading this. I think we have to constantly think about how a civilized nation can descend into this type of barbarism. As much of the story is told through the perspective of his family, and in particular his mother, the cruelty is put in front of us in a way that cannot be ignored. While I have read much about WWII and the rise of the Nazis, the information Mr. Good shares with us is almost shocking in its detailing of how the genocide was conducted.
I got this book as part of the Amazon "Daily Deal" program where they reduce the price of a book by 80% for one day for the Kindle edition. While some of the free books available may have higher ratings, I have found the writing to be much better in these offerings than the free ones. Perhaps we feel impelled to give higher ratings to something we don't have to pay for or maybe we are more critical of those that we do pay for.
I don't want to discourage anyone from reading this. I think we have to constantly think about how a civilized nation can descend into this type of barbarism. As much of the story is told through the perspective of his family, and in particular his mother, the cruelty is put in front of us in a way that cannot be ignored. While I have read much about WWII and the rise of the Nazis, the information Mr. Good shares with us is almost shocking in its detailing of how the genocide was conducted.
I got this book as part of the Amazon "Daily Deal" program where they reduce the price of a book by 80% for one day for the Kindle edition. While some of the free books available may have higher ratings, I have found the writing to be much better in these offerings than the free ones. Perhaps we feel impelled to give higher ratings to something we don't have to pay for or maybe we are more critical of those that we do pay for.
June 22, 2013
I was interested in this book for 2 reasons. One, I am a history teacher and I teach about the Holocaust, and two, my son was living in Lithuania when I came upon this book. I found it very interesting and gained a new appreciation for the difficult circumstances many Germans faced when the Nazis came to power. It was refreshing to hear of a Nazi leader who was also a Jewish sympathizer and risked his own safety to aid Jews. He ran a plant and made life as pleasant as he could for the Jews under his authority. Major Plagge also insisted on keeping a Jewish worker's family at the plant because he claimed they worked better. The author is a descendant of Holocaust survivors because of the heroism of Major Plagge and fought successfully to have him recognized by the Israeli government as one who assisted and saved Jews. The book is interesting as a man's sincere desire to honor someone he saw as an ally to his people, but is not particularly well-written. However, I enjoyed learning more about the Jewish plight and Nazi war effort outside of Germany.
November 25, 2014
Given how hard it is for me to read about the Holocaust, I was inspired by author Michael Good (the child of two survivors), who confronted his fears and looked into what happened to his family during the war. The story of how he tracked down information about the man who saved his parents is quite interesting, but the best part of the book is learning about Major Plagge himself. He was a person like most of us, good but not an obvious hero, and unsure how to deal with the evil he saw all around. He lost his faith ("God was silent") but not his moral compass. What this ordinary man managed to do is extraordinary, and we all can learn from him. I was tremendously moved by the few letters of his that are reprinted in the book.
June 21, 2012
Why do I feel a need to read books about the Nazi/Holocaust era? I am not German or Jewish, and have no personal connection to the Holocaust and yet since I was a very young girl I have always felt drawn to books on the subject. Maybe it's because I cling to the hope that I will find goodness in a most tremendous evil act and that is what I found in "The Search for Major Plagge: The Nazi Who Saved Jews".
Major Plagge took risks (for the slave laborers) throughout his command of the HKP labor camp, which saved hundreds of lives, a hero of humanity.
Major Plagge took risks (for the slave laborers) throughout his command of the HKP labor camp, which saved hundreds of lives, a hero of humanity.
July 22, 2012
I thought this book would be interesting since I had read so many other books from this time period and event in history. I gave it a chance and read a little over 100 pages. It never got good to me. The author just wrote about his research to find this guy. The beginning was more about their experience in the labor camps, but tied in with their recent trip to Lithuania to find Major Plagge. Honestly...it was boring...I kept thinking it would get better, but it never did. Oh well...
May 11, 2015
Even though the backdrop of this true story is the Holocaust, this is an ultimately uplifting story of a Nazi Wehrmacht officer who managed to save countless Jews during WWII. Part of the book tells the story of how Major Plagge was able to help the Jews under his control, and the rest of the book deals with the author's search for his family and details of the man himself, as well as the long journey to have Plagge honored by The Righteous Among Nations in Israel.
January 15, 2015
I know this book has been around for awhile but I got it as a Kindle daily deal am glad I did. With all the horrible stories of the Holocaust, it was nice to read that there were at least some people like Major Plagge who tried to save the Jewish prisoners under his care. The author's search for information about the man his mother had told him had saved her life was inspiring. A light in the midst of a very dark time.
April 17, 2008
Michael Good finds Major Plagge. He was a German officer who is given credit now for saving many Jews during the war. It is well worth the difficulty in reading about the horrors...that we all wish would never have happened. Major Plagge's story is worth knowing and adding to the list of heroes from that era.
July 16, 2010
This is a book written by the twin of my childhood best friend. I had always known that her parents had escaped the Nazis, but didn't remember a lot of details.
It is just almost surreal of what these people went through. Though it is a story about horrors it is also a story of hope.
Under Major Plagge, 25% of the Jews survived, vs 3% otherwise.
A great story for anyone.
It is just almost surreal of what these people went through. Though it is a story about horrors it is also a story of hope.
Under Major Plagge, 25% of the Jews survived, vs 3% otherwise.
A great story for anyone.
June 23, 2012
While a very interesting story with an amazing subject, I found there to be a large amount of unnecessary repetition. Reads more like a memoir than a historical text-not necessarily a problem, but the influx of opinion may not have unbiased historical rigor. Would recommend for the story and approachability.
June 23, 2014
Although somewhat repetitive, I enjoyed reading the journey taken to discover this admirable man and what he did during World War II. It is a story that deserved to be told. I particularly liked the inclusion of translations of first-hand documents which shed light on the deeds and motives of Major Plagge.
August 27, 2012
This is a very good example if how to write about personal accomplishments in a humble way. I learned about Poland/Lithuania during the war and personal stories of holocaust survivors. I felt the triumph of the author when his goals were realized.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews