Final Letters: From Victims of the Holocaust

by Reuven Dafni, Yehudit Kleiman (Editor)

Presents letters written by Jewish inmates of camps, ghettos, and prisons during the Holocaust, in an effort to transmit some information about their fate to their relatives and friends

Genres: Holocaust, Nonfiction, History

1 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1991

Reviews

[LeeAnna Weaver · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of letters from victims of the Holocaust. Many of them penned as the writer faces certain death. How did these fragile missives survive to be published? As intimate as the letters are, sharing last thoughts of love and often regret, they should be widely read. We cannot afford to let these devastating words be erased by time.

[Louise]

very interesting book full of letters written by parents and reletives. Would recommend.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a book that put together by author Yad Vashem.
it's full of letters from the victims of the Holocaust.
it's also the book that i noticed as soon as i walked into Dr. Van Horn’s class
i was really curious and want the urge to read the book
as soon as the class end,
i went up to Dr. Van Horn and borrow the book from her.

i haven't finish the book yet.
but i read about 90 percent of it already.
all of the letters were written by the victims of Holocaust
WWII was my favorite period of time in history
And I am very obsess with the Holocaust
There is something about that world event made me really curious
I don’t know how many times I’ve read The Diary of Anne Frank

Reading this book really helps me understand the miserable life of the victims
Many of the letters really make me tears
Many of them were written in the last minute of their life
It’s really hard to put all of their feelings into one letter.
It’s like they wrote many of them in a hurry too.
Most of them did not reach their destinations
But a few of them were fortunate enough reach their destinations.


Many of the letters really make me tear up
I can see the passion love for their love ones.
It’s hard not to cry while reading those sad letters
Many of the words truly touched my heart

One of the boys was led into the forest and dug a big hole
As soon as they finish digging the hole
The German shot them on the spot.
Basically, they were forced to dug their own grave.
It’s really hard to imagine the cruelty of the German
It’s like they have no humanity at all.
I wonder how those veterans lived with those guilt through the rest of their lives.

This is a great historical book
Personally, I think it’s really important for the children to understand
What was going on in the history.
It may seems violence and glorious, but…
Unfortunately, this kind of thing is part of the history.

I really enjoyed reading the book and
I really thank Dr. Van Horn for lending me the book
I may go purchase a copy for myself. Really….

[Meaghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of letters and notes written by Holocaust victims, most but not all of them Jews, shortly before their deaths. Some are proper letters that were mailed to relatives in other countries (chiefly America and Palestine), some are postcards sent from camps, and some are just scraps. A few were actually thrown from the cattle cars en route to the extermination camps, and Good Samaritans found them and mailed them. Each letter is prefaced with a little note about who wrote it, their ultimate fate (if known), and sometimes photos.

The content of the letters varies. While many of them are explicit farewells, in some cases the authors were unaware that they were being sent to their deaths. One letter at the end of the book describes, in the most graphic terms, sexual abuse of Jews perpetrated by Germans and Lithuanians.

I would recommend this as a supplement to other Holocaust documents, like diaries and so on. It really doesn't stand very well on its own: it's too slim and lacking in context.

[Dana Burgess · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Tens of thousands of our fellow nationals have already left the country almost barefoot and naked. Now our turn has come" (pg 25)

"There is no escape. Tonight or at the latest tomorrow it will be our turn. At seventeen I have to face certain death." (pg 45)

"I am just begging you to find our only child if possible and to take care of her." (pg 67)

Letters sent to loved ones, left in churches and other buildings and tossed from the trains in the hope of someone finding them and posting them. Most are resigned, some are hopeful, all are heart wrenching. Some from Jews, some from sympathetic Gentiles, some from parents and some from sons and daughters. Only the last two or three hold any details of the atrocities perpetrated on these people, and these letters made me, literally, sick to my stomach. My 18 year old wants to read this short and incredibly powerful book and I find myself wanting to hide it from her: wanting to protect her. And still it goes on. Genocide continues in various countries throughout the world. There are no words.

[Gail Hedlund · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is amazing to think how some of these letters ever survived to be read much les published! Some of the letters were just dropped by Jews who were being forced from their homes in hopes o reaching loved ones to let them know their plight. This was a vey short read, but a powerful one when you consider the odds of these letter ever seeing the light of day, much less to be read in California in 2014. AMAZING!!!

[Judi · Rating 5 out of 5]

How does one rate or review letters, sometimes written not long before they died? I was so struck by the bravery and stoicism of these people and some of their letters absolutely broke my heart. \od bless those who passed these letters on...sometimes YEARS later.

[Ashley Stark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes I felt like I was invading their privacy because some letters were very personal.

[Micebyliz]

Too much for words.