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The Short, Strange Life of Herschel Grynszpan: A Boy Avenger, a Nazi Diplomat, and a Murder in Paris
A Washington Post Notable Book of the Year
"Reading this excellent, thought-provoking biography, one is all too easily reminded of Camus’s 1942 novel, The Stranger ." ―Philip Kerr, Wall Street Journal 8 pages of photographs
"Reading this excellent, thought-provoking biography, one is all too easily reminded of Camus’s 1942 novel, The Stranger ." ―Philip Kerr, Wall Street Journal 8 pages of photographs
368 pages, Paperback
First published May 6, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
May 9, 2015
Won through goodreads.
I knew very little about Herschel Grynszpan going into reading this book. I volunteered for a little while at the Holocaust Memorial Center here in Michigan and at the end of their hall leading up to the war and the Holocaust they have a display and video about Kristallnacht that briefly discusses Herschel as well. That's about all I knew about him, his motives, and what happened to him - that is, very little at all.
This book was really interesting. It gave background to why Herschel went to the German Embassy in Paris and shot a man. The family dynamics involved in his being in Paris and why he ultimately went to the Embassy are amazing. How this and his background were used by the Nazis to justify Kristallnacht and how his trial progressed are just fascinating to read about; some of it is so ridiculous it would be funny if it weren't so serious. No one really knows what happened to Herschel and so the book does stall a bit at the end when discussing all the theories about what happened to him. However, the last chapter dealing with why Herschel isn't remembered like other Jews who stood up to the Nazis is really interesting and has a lot of things to consider from his conflicting reports of why he did what he did, to his changing stories, to how various people view his act.
I wasn't blown away by this book, it didn't have me needing to know what happened next, or it could've been five stars. It tells a very interesting story about someone who people know very little about and who ought to be better known. I highly recommend it.
I knew very little about Herschel Grynszpan going into reading this book. I volunteered for a little while at the Holocaust Memorial Center here in Michigan and at the end of their hall leading up to the war and the Holocaust they have a display and video about Kristallnacht that briefly discusses Herschel as well. That's about all I knew about him, his motives, and what happened to him - that is, very little at all.
This book was really interesting. It gave background to why Herschel went to the German Embassy in Paris and shot a man. The family dynamics involved in his being in Paris and why he ultimately went to the Embassy are amazing. How this and his background were used by the Nazis to justify Kristallnacht and how his trial progressed are just fascinating to read about; some of it is so ridiculous it would be funny if it weren't so serious. No one really knows what happened to Herschel and so the book does stall a bit at the end when discussing all the theories about what happened to him. However, the last chapter dealing with why Herschel isn't remembered like other Jews who stood up to the Nazis is really interesting and has a lot of things to consider from his conflicting reports of why he did what he did, to his changing stories, to how various people view his act.
I wasn't blown away by this book, it didn't have me needing to know what happened next, or it could've been five stars. It tells a very interesting story about someone who people know very little about and who ought to be better known. I highly recommend it.
August 22, 2013
In 1938, a young angry German-Polish Jew strolled into the Germany embassy and shot a mid-level diplomat. A few days later, an old fashioned pogrom, previously planned, broke out in Germany. Thus we have Kristallnacht. At this point the young Jew disappears into obscurity. For the English speaking world, Kirsch now rescues him from obscurity.
Herschel Grynszpan, the young man in question, receives the full biographical treatment. From his school report cards to his aimless youth and then his migration to Paris, its all here. In some respects, there's too much. There's really no need to describe his Parisian daily life most of which is conjecture. Beyond the fascination with the trivial, Kirsch attempts to set Grynszpan's life in the context of Holocaust studies specifically the question of heroism, resistance and victim hood. And once you get past the lead up to the assassination, the discussion of heroism and Grynszpan make it worth reading to the end. Not to mention, trying to track down the eventual and mysterious demise of Grynszpan. By setting Grynszpan in the context of the late 30s, Jewish resistance, French legal jurisprudence, and German policy, Kirsch writes something more than a whatever "happened to " book.
Herschel Grynszpan, the young man in question, receives the full biographical treatment. From his school report cards to his aimless youth and then his migration to Paris, its all here. In some respects, there's too much. There's really no need to describe his Parisian daily life most of which is conjecture. Beyond the fascination with the trivial, Kirsch attempts to set Grynszpan's life in the context of Holocaust studies specifically the question of heroism, resistance and victim hood. And once you get past the lead up to the assassination, the discussion of heroism and Grynszpan make it worth reading to the end. Not to mention, trying to track down the eventual and mysterious demise of Grynszpan. By setting Grynszpan in the context of the late 30s, Jewish resistance, French legal jurisprudence, and German policy, Kirsch writes something more than a whatever "happened to " book.
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October 16, 2014to look into further/ hunt down the deals
September 24, 2021
Redundant in places but definitely researched in depth and informative.
November 24, 2014
GOODREADS GIVEAWAY WINNER!!!!!!!!!!!
The Short, Strange Life Herschel Grynszpan first attracted me because I had never heard of Herschel before. When I had first found it in the giveaway listing, I checked it out after a little examination because I was intrigued; what Herschel did gave the Nazis the justification of Kristallnacht. And the fact that he has been almost excluded from History was something that puzzled me.
The book, however, did not live up to my expectations.
First, I think that the Chronological section the author provided in the back of the book would have been put to better use if it had been offered in the beginning. The timeline, I think, would have been helpful to keep track on where things fell along the timeline of History. On top of that, maps of Europe and detailed maps of Berlin and Paris would have been helpful, because the author spends a lot of time naming streets and official addresses, but there is no reference for his readership so that they can see the full picture unless they spend their own time looking it up, which I don't think is right. Readers should not be expected to do all the work.
Secondly, the Author, though knowledgeable, forgets I think at times that he isn't just writing for an academic audience but for the public, which means that some things need to be explained in more detail in case the point that he's trying to make is something nobody has heard of before. There were several times where I had to look up information to supplement my reading because the author had not explained it. He also used French words intermittently without explaining what they were, as if the public should be aware that MM means Mademoiselle. On top of that, he seemed to have almost a love affair with the word Gennickschuss, and I almost just want to go through the text and count how many times he uses the word.
His use of Historical information and sources was impressive, though at times I felt as if he was just inserting as many sources as he could into the work so that he could meet some quota. And there were large sections that I felt could have been removed from the book while still keeping its integrity. After all, the book is about Herschel, not 4 other Jews who took revenge against their Nazi persecutors.
I almost did not want to finish it 60 pages into the book, but I persevered because I felt that a review was only right since I subjected myself to this by entering the drawing. The book gets 2 stars because I did begin to become intrigued only when the book, however, reached it's 3rd and final act. And however unimpressed I was with his prose, I did feel that he convinced me that Herschel should be commended as a courageous hero because he committed an act of counter-violence long before others were even ready to admit that Nazi Germany was willing to go to great lengths to eradicate the Jews and because, 3 years later, he willingly destroyed the Nazi's attempt at creating a show trial by creating a certain story, not for his own benefit, but so that the Jews of occupied Europe would not suffer because of it.
However, I'm not so sure that I felt this way because of the compelling story or because I read about his remarkable life.
I certainly wont be reading anything else from this author though, unfortunately. There are many other things I'd rather devote my time to.
The Short, Strange Life Herschel Grynszpan first attracted me because I had never heard of Herschel before. When I had first found it in the giveaway listing, I checked it out after a little examination because I was intrigued; what Herschel did gave the Nazis the justification of Kristallnacht. And the fact that he has been almost excluded from History was something that puzzled me.
The book, however, did not live up to my expectations.
First, I think that the Chronological section the author provided in the back of the book would have been put to better use if it had been offered in the beginning. The timeline, I think, would have been helpful to keep track on where things fell along the timeline of History. On top of that, maps of Europe and detailed maps of Berlin and Paris would have been helpful, because the author spends a lot of time naming streets and official addresses, but there is no reference for his readership so that they can see the full picture unless they spend their own time looking it up, which I don't think is right. Readers should not be expected to do all the work.
Secondly, the Author, though knowledgeable, forgets I think at times that he isn't just writing for an academic audience but for the public, which means that some things need to be explained in more detail in case the point that he's trying to make is something nobody has heard of before. There were several times where I had to look up information to supplement my reading because the author had not explained it. He also used French words intermittently without explaining what they were, as if the public should be aware that MM means Mademoiselle. On top of that, he seemed to have almost a love affair with the word Gennickschuss, and I almost just want to go through the text and count how many times he uses the word.
His use of Historical information and sources was impressive, though at times I felt as if he was just inserting as many sources as he could into the work so that he could meet some quota. And there were large sections that I felt could have been removed from the book while still keeping its integrity. After all, the book is about Herschel, not 4 other Jews who took revenge against their Nazi persecutors.
I almost did not want to finish it 60 pages into the book, but I persevered because I felt that a review was only right since I subjected myself to this by entering the drawing. The book gets 2 stars because I did begin to become intrigued only when the book, however, reached it's 3rd and final act. And however unimpressed I was with his prose, I did feel that he convinced me that Herschel should be commended as a courageous hero because he committed an act of counter-violence long before others were even ready to admit that Nazi Germany was willing to go to great lengths to eradicate the Jews and because, 3 years later, he willingly destroyed the Nazi's attempt at creating a show trial by creating a certain story, not for his own benefit, but so that the Jews of occupied Europe would not suffer because of it.
However, I'm not so sure that I felt this way because of the compelling story or because I read about his remarkable life.
I certainly wont be reading anything else from this author though, unfortunately. There are many other things I'd rather devote my time to.
May 15, 2013
Herschel Grynszpan (AKA Grünspan or Gruenspan) is the name associated with the pretext for Kristallnacht—the occasion of concerted violence by Nazis throughout Germany and Austria against Jews and their property between November 9–10, 1938. The word literally means ‘night of crystal’ in German, referring to the broken glass produced by the smashing of windows. Grynszpan's crime which sparked such a massive retaliation? The murder of a low-level German diplomat who may or may not have had allegiances other than the Third Reich. Grynszpan himself professed repeatedly he acted alone (although the other details of his story changed constantly) amid speculation that he was an agent of either "World Jewry" or the Nazis (Hannah Arendt argued this position, with no real proof, in her book Eichmann in Jerusalem).
Oh, and the murdered diplomat and Grynszpan may or may not have been having a desperate little fling. (Fun fact: the Yiddish word for a homosexual male is faygeleh—literally, little bird— and is of German derivation, not English)
The murk of all these details is well-documented by way of a lengthy bibliography and frequent end notes. Still, an index would be of utmost use to scholars and researchers. & having the Chronology section appear following the table of contents (instead of prior to the End Notes would make more sense to me).
To give you an idea of how forgotten Grynszpan is by the world at large, know that his surname is not recognized in Google Chrome's auto-spellcheck but Kristallnacht is. Grynszpan has a fairly lengthy Wikipedia page which is essentially the cliff's notes version of this book, albeit drawing upon only a fraction of the works which Kirsch uses (Kirsch's work has not yet been used in the wiki article).
The final two chapters got a little too repetitious. I had lost some interest by the middle but kept reading out of curiosity. Like a character in a Kafka novel, Grynszpan literally becomes lost in the muddle of bureaucracy. Maybe he was executed without trial. Or maybe he escaped and assumed a new identity, as the author Lutz van Dijk posits in his novel Der Attentäter. Or maybe he killed himself in the office of his lover (thus the lack of an actual trial, despite the big to-do that was made in its preparations) as one variant of the story goes . . .
But why have so many of the details of this episode become forgotten by history? Kirsch advances the idea that the rumors of Grynszpan's homosexuality caused his memory to be repressed.
While there are other books which address curious case of Grynszpan, this is the first entirely about him to appear in English.
Oh, and the murdered diplomat and Grynszpan may or may not have been having a desperate little fling. (Fun fact: the Yiddish word for a homosexual male is faygeleh—literally, little bird— and is of German derivation, not English)
The murk of all these details is well-documented by way of a lengthy bibliography and frequent end notes. Still, an index would be of utmost use to scholars and researchers. & having the Chronology section appear following the table of contents (instead of prior to the End Notes would make more sense to me).
To give you an idea of how forgotten Grynszpan is by the world at large, know that his surname is not recognized in Google Chrome's auto-spellcheck but Kristallnacht is. Grynszpan has a fairly lengthy Wikipedia page which is essentially the cliff's notes version of this book, albeit drawing upon only a fraction of the works which Kirsch uses (Kirsch's work has not yet been used in the wiki article).
The final two chapters got a little too repetitious. I had lost some interest by the middle but kept reading out of curiosity. Like a character in a Kafka novel, Grynszpan literally becomes lost in the muddle of bureaucracy. Maybe he was executed without trial. Or maybe he escaped and assumed a new identity, as the author Lutz van Dijk posits in his novel Der Attentäter. Or maybe he killed himself in the office of his lover (thus the lack of an actual trial, despite the big to-do that was made in its preparations) as one variant of the story goes . . .
But why have so many of the details of this episode become forgotten by history? Kirsch advances the idea that the rumors of Grynszpan's homosexuality caused his memory to be repressed.
While there are other books which address curious case of Grynszpan, this is the first entirely about him to appear in English.
May 6, 2013
At long last, my review on SLJ:
KIRSCH, Jonathan. The Short, Strange Life of Herschel Grynszpan. 352p. bibliog. chron. index. notes. Liveright Publishing. May. 2013. Tr $27.95. ISBN 9780871404527.
Adult/High School–On November 7, 1938, a 17-year-old Polish Jew named Herschel Grynszpan entered the German Embassy in Paris and shot and killed a low-level diplomat named Ernst vom Rath. Within days, in an incredibly convoluted knot of conspiracy and counter-conspiracy theories, Grynszpan’s act was variously portrayed as the heroic action of a lone Jew outraged at Nazi atrocities; a crime of passion wrought of a failed homosexual affair; a set-up by the Nazis who supposedly wished to do away with a less-than-enthusiastic party member; and, most ominously of all, proof of the Nazi’s belief in the “International Jewish Conspiracy” and an excuse for the notorious events of Kristallnacht two days later. Kirsch deftly cuts through these layers of interpretation to provide readers with an account of Grynszpan’s brief life–first in Hanover, then in Paris–his incarcerations in Paris and Berlin, and the vast array of meanings with which his life has been invested. In the process, the author offers a unique perspective on the crucial period between the Nazi Party’s rise to power in 1933 and its decision to introduce the Final Solution sometime in 1941. Ultimately, Kirsch argues that Grynszpan should be seen as a tragically unsung hero of the Jewish resistance. Whether readers agree with Kirsch or not, the questions raised make this book essential reading for lovers of history, and the figure of the misunderstood adolescent hero should resonate with teens.–Mark Flowers, John F. Kennedy Library, Vallejo, CA
http://blogs.slj.com/adult4teen/2013/...
KIRSCH, Jonathan. The Short, Strange Life of Herschel Grynszpan. 352p. bibliog. chron. index. notes. Liveright Publishing. May. 2013. Tr $27.95. ISBN 9780871404527.
Adult/High School–On November 7, 1938, a 17-year-old Polish Jew named Herschel Grynszpan entered the German Embassy in Paris and shot and killed a low-level diplomat named Ernst vom Rath. Within days, in an incredibly convoluted knot of conspiracy and counter-conspiracy theories, Grynszpan’s act was variously portrayed as the heroic action of a lone Jew outraged at Nazi atrocities; a crime of passion wrought of a failed homosexual affair; a set-up by the Nazis who supposedly wished to do away with a less-than-enthusiastic party member; and, most ominously of all, proof of the Nazi’s belief in the “International Jewish Conspiracy” and an excuse for the notorious events of Kristallnacht two days later. Kirsch deftly cuts through these layers of interpretation to provide readers with an account of Grynszpan’s brief life–first in Hanover, then in Paris–his incarcerations in Paris and Berlin, and the vast array of meanings with which his life has been invested. In the process, the author offers a unique perspective on the crucial period between the Nazi Party’s rise to power in 1933 and its decision to introduce the Final Solution sometime in 1941. Ultimately, Kirsch argues that Grynszpan should be seen as a tragically unsung hero of the Jewish resistance. Whether readers agree with Kirsch or not, the questions raised make this book essential reading for lovers of history, and the figure of the misunderstood adolescent hero should resonate with teens.–Mark Flowers, John F. Kennedy Library, Vallejo, CA
http://blogs.slj.com/adult4teen/2013/...
May 20, 2013
The story of how Herschel Grynszpan left his home in Hanover and entered the stage of World History in Paris on 7 November 1938 is a fascinating one that merits research and dedication. This book however contains no original work whatsoever. It does contain a certain obsession with the Nazi's favourite method of execution: the 'Genickschuss' as the author explains not once, not twice but at least five times.
The author has lazily copied what others have written, including their mistakes. Consequently the book contains several glaring errors. For example: Calcutta was not a place of exile for Ernst vom Rath and the first mention of a homosexual motive was at the RSHA in Berlin in 1940, not in 1941. Mr Kirsch does not even seem to be aware of the facts that the German State Archives are no longer held at Potsdam.
Anyone seriously interested in the story of Herschel Grynszpan and Kristallnacht should skip this book and stick with Gerald Schwab, outdated though his thesis may be.
The author has lazily copied what others have written, including their mistakes. Consequently the book contains several glaring errors. For example: Calcutta was not a place of exile for Ernst vom Rath and the first mention of a homosexual motive was at the RSHA in Berlin in 1940, not in 1941. Mr Kirsch does not even seem to be aware of the facts that the German State Archives are no longer held at Potsdam.
Anyone seriously interested in the story of Herschel Grynszpan and Kristallnacht should skip this book and stick with Gerald Schwab, outdated though his thesis may be.
March 11, 2014
What a book! Just finished reading THE SHORT STRANGE LIFE OF HERSCHEL GRYNSZPAN: A BOY AVENGER, A NAZI DIPLOMAT, AND A MURDER IN PARIS by Jonathan Kirsch about an important event in history that has been ignored until Kirsch brings it back to dramatic life with all of its mysterious turns and twists that read like a page-turning novel.
What a book! Just finished reading THE SHORT STRANGE LIFE OF HERSCHEL GRYNSZPAN by @[1306572901:2048:Jonathan Kirsch] about an important event in history that h...
What a book! Just finished reading THE SHORT STRANGE LIFE OF HERSCHEL GRYNSZPAN by @[1306572901:2048:Jonathan Kirsch] about an important event in history that h...
June 24, 2013
This book could have been half the number of pages and still told the story. The historical facts about pre-war Germany and France were interesting, but the story about Herschel and his motives was overly embellished and dragged on. Easier to read about him on the internet I'm sure. Not recommending this book.
August 14, 2013
This boy was definitely a subject worth researching, and I'm glad that there is a book about him. It was mostly an interesting read, although a bit long-winded and repetitive. It is curious that Herschel's story isn't more widely known, and I can't help but think it would make a great film.
May 21, 2013
Q&A with the author now available: http://www.erikadreifus.com/2013/05/f...
February 21, 2019
I’m glad I read this book. It’s an odd story. The book almost feels too long for the story. But it’s an interesting story and it’s well told. When the young man at the center of this story kills a Nazi diplomat the story begins. And it goes some pretty strange places. What was the truth of why the young man did this? Why did he not walk away when the French gave him a chance to after the Germans occupied France? And what ended up happening with him. The murder became the excuse the Nazis used to begin Kristallnacht. It’s a micro look at an interesting story that we often only hear the macro versions of. The author feels like the young man has never gotten his due. With this book, I suppose he has.
April 19, 2025
Herschel Feibel Grynszpan was born in Hanover in 1921. His parents were Polish Jews who had immigrated to Germany several years before his birth. Herschel's education was cut short due to the discrimination that Jewish students were facing in the pre-war years. The family was deported in 1938. Herschel found himself becoming an assassin, murdering Ernst vom Rath, which led to his arrest by French police. The story of Herschel was dramatic, and I was really invested in what happened to him and his family during and after the war. This book was really good, and I hate that I waited so long to read it.
February 12, 2018
A very interesting time in History and of course a sad child story, no matter his 17 years. However there's a deep misunderstanding whether his acting server to the group and meant something positive. No matter, I liked the book.
August 22, 2020
It can be difficult to find a new angle on Nazi atrocities and resistance to them. Kirsch has found an intriguing tale about a forgotten hero and presents it in a factual but thrilling narrative. He weaves in the reason why Grynszspan has been forgotten with sensitivity.
December 20, 2023
This is the second-best book in English on the life of Herschel Grynszpan, Schwab being the first. Kirsch has made Herschel's life very accessible, showing us, a person, a boy behind the historical dimension. He has done excellent research on the twists and turns of Hershel's narrative
June 15, 2018
Fascinating story.
September 22, 2021
Interesting book - but not for everyone. I've gotten so I like history more than I used to.
January 8, 2023
Pretty much a documentary on this little known Holocaust story. I am Jewish and also read a lot of Holocaust information so found it very interesting.
July 25, 2013
A fascinating story of a 17 year old Jewish avenger and the Nazi regime that lead him to murder. This is a longer than normal review, and mostly an overview of the story the book is about.
Herschel Grynszpan grew up a Jew in Nazi Germany, but escaped to France in 1936 to live with hi aunt and uncle. A series of events leads to him to the German Embassy, where he shot and killed an Embassy official, Ernst vom Rath, to avenge the atrocities done to the Jews.
The news of the murder spread quickly with lots of people finding his story engaging. American radio broadcaster and journalist Dorothy Thompson, the second most influential woman in America in 1939, was sympathetic to Herschel. Her radio program about him lead to over $40,000 in donations, enabling the hiring of top quality lawyers for his case. British composer Michael Tippett composed an oratorio in Herschel's honor, titled A Child of Our Time.
Herschel sat in prison waiting as the trial was delayed over and over again. In September 1939, after France declared a state of war with Germany, the trial was put on the back burner, as his lawyers and the trial's judge were call upon to serve in the army. Herschel urged the new judge to move ahead with trial, as he had been in prison for two years, and he was afraid if the war was over quickly, people would care less about the trial and he's be more likely to be found guilty.
As Germany took control of Paris, the prison guards transferred the prisoners, including Herschel to prisons in southern France. But since no one really wanted the responsibility of housing him in their prison, they kept sending him off to the next prison south of them, usually forcing him to walk from town to town. He would show up at the next prison, begging to be let in and fed.
Eventually France handed him over to Germany, and while they were wanting to hold a show trial, the date kept on being put off due to the war. What exactly came of Herschel as the war went on may never be known. His last known communications with his parents was in 1940, and German documents lead researchers to believe he was alive until at least 1942. Many rumors surround his death, with no clear story of how he died.
His short life was full of twists, scandal, mystery, and provided the Nazi regime with pretax for the escalation in the persecution of the Jews.
I've read a lot of books about the Holocaust, but from this book I learned more about the time in Nazi Germany before the concentration camps as well as Germany's political relations with other European countries, specifically France. The book is heavy on history with a little juicy inside information here and there. I think anyone who enjoys reading about history would find this book gripping.
Herschel Grynszpan grew up a Jew in Nazi Germany, but escaped to France in 1936 to live with hi aunt and uncle. A series of events leads to him to the German Embassy, where he shot and killed an Embassy official, Ernst vom Rath, to avenge the atrocities done to the Jews.
The news of the murder spread quickly with lots of people finding his story engaging. American radio broadcaster and journalist Dorothy Thompson, the second most influential woman in America in 1939, was sympathetic to Herschel. Her radio program about him lead to over $40,000 in donations, enabling the hiring of top quality lawyers for his case. British composer Michael Tippett composed an oratorio in Herschel's honor, titled A Child of Our Time.
Herschel sat in prison waiting as the trial was delayed over and over again. In September 1939, after France declared a state of war with Germany, the trial was put on the back burner, as his lawyers and the trial's judge were call upon to serve in the army. Herschel urged the new judge to move ahead with trial, as he had been in prison for two years, and he was afraid if the war was over quickly, people would care less about the trial and he's be more likely to be found guilty.
As Germany took control of Paris, the prison guards transferred the prisoners, including Herschel to prisons in southern France. But since no one really wanted the responsibility of housing him in their prison, they kept sending him off to the next prison south of them, usually forcing him to walk from town to town. He would show up at the next prison, begging to be let in and fed.
Eventually France handed him over to Germany, and while they were wanting to hold a show trial, the date kept on being put off due to the war. What exactly came of Herschel as the war went on may never be known. His last known communications with his parents was in 1940, and German documents lead researchers to believe he was alive until at least 1942. Many rumors surround his death, with no clear story of how he died.
His short life was full of twists, scandal, mystery, and provided the Nazi regime with pretax for the escalation in the persecution of the Jews.
I've read a lot of books about the Holocaust, but from this book I learned more about the time in Nazi Germany before the concentration camps as well as Germany's political relations with other European countries, specifically France. The book is heavy on history with a little juicy inside information here and there. I think anyone who enjoys reading about history would find this book gripping.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 28, 2025
An excellent factual life of the boy whose assassination of a German embassy official provided the excuse for kristalnacht. Grynszpan did not cause kristalnacht nor did he launch the holocaust. Thankfully Kirsch avoids any of those kinds oversimplifications which, unintentionally maybe, end up actually providing excuses for what the Nazis did. Kristalnacht would have happened with or without poor Herschel. Everyone forgets that his act was a desperate response to the barbarous treatment of thousands of Jews who lived in Germany but were not recognised as nationals by the German government and were rounded up and abandoned in front of the Polish border (Poland didn't recognize them as nationals either - there were an awful lot of stateless people in Europe with the collapse of empires after WWI and the formation of nation states. One of the first acts of the new nation states of Europe was to declare that thousands of people, even though they and their families had lived someplace for generations, were not proper members of the nation). It was an act to draw attention to the plight of thousands of persecuted Jews, including his own parents and siblings. That all it did was bring more suffering to innocent Jews was one of many cruel ironies. Another is that indifference of the world remained total.
This book carefully goes through what is known and unknown. It is interesting after so long in the shadows he has in the past decade or so attracted a number of biographers. He has also attracted some good novelists. Actually I think it is through fiction that Herschel comes most strongly to life and of all the recent treatments I can not recommend strongly enough the hauntingly beautiful 'Everyone Has Their Reasons' by Joseph Matthews. It is beautifully written and shines a light most strongly on the nightmare his life was as an undocumented refugee in Paris. Unwanted, unloved an object of mistrust and suspicion and always living in the shadows attempting to justify himself but finding he constantly failed to meet the criteria of those help - to young, to old; to educated, not educated; to Jewish, not Jewish enough; what nobody recognised was that he had a right to live and be happy just as himself. I strongly recommend Kirsch's book but Matthews even more.
This book carefully goes through what is known and unknown. It is interesting after so long in the shadows he has in the past decade or so attracted a number of biographers. He has also attracted some good novelists. Actually I think it is through fiction that Herschel comes most strongly to life and of all the recent treatments I can not recommend strongly enough the hauntingly beautiful 'Everyone Has Their Reasons' by Joseph Matthews. It is beautifully written and shines a light most strongly on the nightmare his life was as an undocumented refugee in Paris. Unwanted, unloved an object of mistrust and suspicion and always living in the shadows attempting to justify himself but finding he constantly failed to meet the criteria of those help - to young, to old; to educated, not educated; to Jewish, not Jewish enough; what nobody recognised was that he had a right to live and be happy just as himself. I strongly recommend Kirsch's book but Matthews even more.
July 18, 2016
I won't blame you if you don't know who Herschel Grynszpan was. I know I sure didn't. But back in 1938 he was on the front page all over Europe and the United States. One of the most prominent journalists in the US at the time, Dorothy Thompson (called the second most powerful woman in the USA, after first lady Eleanor Roosevelt), started a defense fund for him. Because of what he did, his action was the impetus for the unleashing of the fury of Nazi Germany called "Kristalnacht", when across Germany and Austria any Jewish business was fair game for the mobs to vandalize, steal, and destroy, and Jews were rounded up for public humiliation, and hundreds of synagogues were burned to the ground. It was the beginning of the end for the Jews of the Reich, and afterwards there would be no doubt of just what the Nazis were capable of doing.
But what is it that this 17 year old Jewish kid did? Why isn't he more well known? Why isn't his act celebrated more across the Jewish diaspora as the first act of defiance versus the Nazi Goliath? And finally, what ever happened to him?
His story is fascinating, and includes hints of espionage, homosexuality, and mystery. No lesser luminary than Hannah Arendt had a strong opinion on the boy whom Eichmann himself had interviewed in Berlin. This is the perfect summer, beach read for those who like history and controversy - was he a hero? Or a narcissist? Or both?
But what is it that this 17 year old Jewish kid did? Why isn't he more well known? Why isn't his act celebrated more across the Jewish diaspora as the first act of defiance versus the Nazi Goliath? And finally, what ever happened to him?
His story is fascinating, and includes hints of espionage, homosexuality, and mystery. No lesser luminary than Hannah Arendt had a strong opinion on the boy whom Eichmann himself had interviewed in Berlin. This is the perfect summer, beach read for those who like history and controversy - was he a hero? Or a narcissist? Or both?
November 21, 2015
This is the story of the actions of a seventeen year old Jewish amateur assassin who murdered a low level Nazi diplomat in the build up to the second would war. It is mostly unknown except by scholars of the subject and of the infamous progrom known as the kristallnacht which followed. The story is interesting but suffers from a paucity of factual evidence (other than of the initial crime itself). The author does a reasonable job of explaining the many contentious myths and fabrications by all parties involved including the subject himself and the motives and rationale of each of the participants. This, in itself, is an interesting aspect of the story and many of these conflicting narratives continue to this day.
However, there are a few issues with the writing. It is very repetitive - the same anecdotes retold, the same definitions explained over again and the gratuitous smattering of the same few Yiddish word tend to get annoying. This is especially true of the German term Genickschuss (execution by a shot to the back of the head) which is needlessly repeated to a sickening degree throughout. There are also some quotes that seem to be thrown in simply to have the name of a famous author, scholar or personality included without any real purpose.
However, there are a few issues with the writing. It is very repetitive - the same anecdotes retold, the same definitions explained over again and the gratuitous smattering of the same few Yiddish word tend to get annoying. This is especially true of the German term Genickschuss (execution by a shot to the back of the head) which is needlessly repeated to a sickening degree throughout. There are also some quotes that seem to be thrown in simply to have the name of a famous author, scholar or personality included without any real purpose.
June 2, 2016
(Note: I received a free copy of this book through Goodreads First Reads.)
Herschel Grynszpan was a German Jewish teenager who escaped to France in the 1930s (but had to leave behind the rest of his family); one day in 1938 he walked into the German embassy and shot a Nazi diplomat. The Nazis made great propaganda use of his act, and a few days later they unleashed the pogrom of Kristallnacht.
The problem I had with this book: although Grynszpan's story is interesting on its own, it never feels like its historical impact was very great. As the author makes clear, the Nazis had been preparing for something like Kristallnacht months beforehand; and it was part of a campaign of harassment and terror against German Jews which had been escalating for years. Any claim that Grynszpan's actions caused Kristallnacht is pure pretext.
Rather than treating this as an event of historical significance, then, it's best to approach Grynszpan's story as a case study of the depths of despair and anxiety to which Nazi anti-Semitism drove its victims. On that basis, it's a solid read for people with an interest in Holocaust history.
Herschel Grynszpan was a German Jewish teenager who escaped to France in the 1930s (but had to leave behind the rest of his family); one day in 1938 he walked into the German embassy and shot a Nazi diplomat. The Nazis made great propaganda use of his act, and a few days later they unleashed the pogrom of Kristallnacht.
The problem I had with this book: although Grynszpan's story is interesting on its own, it never feels like its historical impact was very great. As the author makes clear, the Nazis had been preparing for something like Kristallnacht months beforehand; and it was part of a campaign of harassment and terror against German Jews which had been escalating for years. Any claim that Grynszpan's actions caused Kristallnacht is pure pretext.
Rather than treating this as an event of historical significance, then, it's best to approach Grynszpan's story as a case study of the depths of despair and anxiety to which Nazi anti-Semitism drove its victims. On that basis, it's a solid read for people with an interest in Holocaust history.
September 3, 2013
I won this book with Goodreads as a First Reads. I know this sounds wrong (?) but I have always been intrigued by this time in history. Any article I could find about the Holocaust would be devoured quickly with great interest. I love the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC and think that everyone should at some point be able to see it and never forget what it represents. With that being said, I did not know this story until I read this book. With all my research, I do not know how I did not learn about this unique story. I will be honest and say at the beginning of the book I got a little confused by all the background information, and I had to read a few pages twice, but in the end I loved all the background info. It helped set up the story and get the reader in the right frame of mind. All in all, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others. I already have a friend who I have told about the book and is planning on reading it. I found it informative, but not boring and filled with a little mystery. Highly recommend this book to anyone who loves history!
April 24, 2016
Within the first few chapters, the author's thesis becomes clear. Herschel Grynszpan, who has been relegated to the dusty footnotes of Holocaust study and history, deserves to be recognized as a resistance fighter. In the same vein as the Warsaw ghetto fighters, Herschel took decisive action against the Nazi regime by assassinating a low level diplomat at the German embassy in Paris in November 1938. Why he has been largely forgotten is a matter that Kirsch dives into very well. There are multiple reasons for this oversight, larger historical events, confusing motives, and a bit of homophobia being among the reasons. By no means is Herschel a textbook hero. He was a very complicated young man with some complexes and a habit of lying. Nonetheless, I am glad that Kirsch wrote this book so that more people will know his story, and give him the recognition he so craved in his short life. I highly recommend for anyone interested in Holocaust studies. It will be particularly interesting to those interested in Jewish resistance to the Nazi German regime.
August 19, 2014
I learned a lot about the Nazi's policies and actions toward their Jewish population from this book that I didn't know before. I wasn't aware that Germany expelled it's entire population of Polish Jews in 1938, which is what led Herschel Grynszpan to the German embassy with a revolver in his pocket. It was also fascinating to learn that we actually have no idea how or when Grynszpan died, though there are many theories and speculations. It was very interesting to see all the history of this time period (roughly 1936-1940) from the perspective of one Jewish boy and his story (among the millions of Jews who have their own stories to tell).
August 13, 2013
With the "The Short, Strange Life of Herschel Grynszpan," author and critic Jonathan Kirsch dives into the events leading up to Kristallnacht a savage pogrom in Nazi Germany in which more than 200 Jews were killed, 1,300 synagogues were burned and 7,500 Jewish-owned shops were attacked. This book brings to life the story of the Jewish teenager who inadvertently sparked the event. Kirsch tells a remarkable story, deeply researched and compellingly drawn.
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April 20, 2015
Part of LMU Jewish Book Club.
Author shared with us and was wonderful.
One of the serious discussions was rebellion vs murder. Wonderful disussion.
I am persuaded by Kirsch that Herschel G has been given a raw deal in history and even by some distinguished figures in the 30's 40's and 50's. No one disputes that Hershel G killed the German diplomat in Paris. That's about the only area of agreement. Please read this book. Herschel G should be as known a name as any during the Nazi period.
Author shared with us and was wonderful.
One of the serious discussions was rebellion vs murder. Wonderful disussion.
I am persuaded by Kirsch that Herschel G has been given a raw deal in history and even by some distinguished figures in the 30's 40's and 50's. No one disputes that Hershel G killed the German diplomat in Paris. That's about the only area of agreement. Please read this book. Herschel G should be as known a name as any during the Nazi period.
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