The Jewish Resistance: Uprisings against the Nazis in World War II

by Paul Roland

A vast number of Jewish people refused to go passively to their deaths at the hands of the Nazis in World War II. In fact they put up heroic resistance. Prisoners at Sobibor and Treblinka in Poland organized successful revolts, while at Auschwitz prisoners sacrificed their lives to dynamite the crematorium. Beyond the barbed wire, hundreds of Jews were active in the French underground and thousands fought with the partisans in other occupied countries as well as forming their own guerrilla groups. One and a half million more served in the Allied armed forces. In the Warsaw ghetto before the uprising, Jewish tailors sabotaged a consignment of German military uniforms by sewing the trouser legs together and stitching the buttons on backwards, despite knowing that the repercussions would be terrible. Futile acts like this were preferable to doing nothing. If they were to die, they would die with dignity as human beings and not as sub-humans as their would-be Aryan masters wished to classify them. A fascinating but little known chapter of history. Stories of amazing courage in the face of incredible odds.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Judaism, Holocaust, War, Historical

192 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2018

About the author

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Roland

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

The myth that Jews walked like calves to the slaughter without fighting back is just that -- a myth. Here, Roland documents various acts of resistance and rebellion from Berlin to Brussels to Algeria to Minsk and Sobibor. At times, it's a taste of Inglorious Bastards with the armed resistance planting secret bombs and conducting midnight raids. Other times, the rebellions were acts of utter desperation, weaponless, against an Army that had overrun all of Western Europe in just a few short weeks. In the Warsaw ghetto, as Leon Uris chronicled in Mila 18, held out against the Third Reich far longer than the entire Polish Army had and with far fewer weapons and no help from their Polish neighbors who betrayed them every chance they got. Roland tells this story - or these various stories - in an easy-to-read manner, but it doesn't lack for details and doesn't lack for bravery against all odds.

[Aggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Growing up, World War II history was one of my favourites to learn about. I don't know if it's because my homeland, Poland, was deeply involved at that time or what but to this day, I still am very interested in anything related to that time in history. Despite all the books I have read about it (and what I was taught in public school), this was my first time reading about any type of organized resistance during WWII. This book was a good introduction to this topic as it briefly explains a few of the Jewish resistance groups/fighters that we know about - I'm sure there were many more that we never learned about as there may have been no survivors left. These were very brave men and women.

The book ended with this really great quote by Yehuda Bauer, a Czech-born Holocaust historian: The horror of the Holocaust is not that it deviated from human norms; the horror is that it didn't. What happened may happen again to others, not necessarily Jews, perpetrated by others, not necessarily Germans. We are all possible victims, possible perpetrators, possible bystanders.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a compact one-stop-shop for basics on the Jewish resistance in WW2...but it's nothing more than a good taster. It really could be expanded into an astonishingly detailed work, but I do appreciate the cynical warts-and-all attitude, not afraid of ticking off supposed "allies". It just makes me want so much more...

[Louise Fry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found it interesting and dynamic read it was very interesting to learn of the jewish resistance and revolts as that is something that I mainly do not get to read about when looking at the story of the book and this something which I found I learnt a lot more about world war 2 that I previously did not know about. Furthermore I found I learnt more about the overall different camps around Europe and specifically learnt about what what happened in Eastern Europe more which was interesting.
another fantastic read from this author - after reading secret lives of nazi's by him a couple of months ago would not hesitate to read from him again.

[Book Him Danno · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those interested in the Holocaust history this is a must read book. With this multiply stories and documents that bring to light many stories people have never heard before of resistance all over Europe as well as North Africa The stories cover acts of devotion, desperation and full acts of rebellion.
These stories are easy to read written plain and simple. The stories will remind everyone who picks up a copy of what really happened and how people will do anything to survive.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this breath taking story that is a must read for anyone who loves history.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

*thank you to Netgalley and Arcturus Digital for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

3 stars.
I am quite interested in the Holocaust so this book was pretty much a great match for me. There was alot I didn't know as most of the Holocaust books I read are people's personal stories about being sent away to the death camps so this was a nice welcome to yet another side to the devastating time in history. I appreciated the photos that were added. This book I would recommend to those who are generally interested in the topic as others probably won't enjoy it quite as much.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over the years I have read many books, both fiction and non-fiction, regarding the Holocaust and with every book I continue to be shocked, appalled and heartbroken. It is completely outside of my understanding, and the understanding of most of us, how such atrocities could ever have occurred.

My full review can be found at: https://leftontheshelfbookblog.blogsp...

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finally found a book, that describes the jewish people fighting back. That they where not like sheeps going to slaughther.

There are so many peoples stories that are never going to be told. But the ones we get are the ones we need to protect and share with the population. This book really shines light on some of those brave jews, that still keep fighting, even after everything they had to live through.

These kind off books are very important right now, consider whats going on in the world.

Always remember the holocaust, because we have to make sure no one ever is going to go through what the jews did.

[Cashie · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I grew up, I read the stories of The Diary of Anne Frank, Night, and the fictitious story Number the Stars. I believed (based on limited knowledge) that all Jewish people during WWII had been defenseless victims. This book proves that that assumption was completely wrong. Many of these stories end in tragedy, but the overarching, empowering theme of courage in the face of insurmountable odds is incredible to behold.
The only thing I wish was that it had more detail about some of these resistances. That being said, I understand that this was more of an overview than an in-depth research book. It definitely is a good starting point for me to explore these events in history further.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

A brief overview of some history that is not well known. I learned some new stuff. Roland comes off as a bit militant, but to no ill effect. He wants to emphasize that there is a side to the Holocaust not often portrayed (one where Jews actively resist their extermination). He is also seems to be responding to current trends that portray other participants (everyday Germans, Poles, French, etc) in a more sympathetic light. Roland makes no bones about how those peoples willingly supported the actions against the Jews (especially the Poles).

[Yvonne Aburrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very important to witness the Jewish resistance to the Nazis, both because of the bravery of the resistance and because there is a persistent and pernicious myth that the Jews went passively to the slaughter. Far from it. There were tens of thousands of Jewish partisans and there was resistance within the concentration camps and extermination camps. There are many individual and collective stories of brave resistance, even in hopeless situations, in this book. A must-read.

[Cai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great look into how the Jewish fought back, greatly disproving the myth that they had not tried to retaliate or defend themselves.

Incredible displays of creativity and quick thinking using the resources they had when isolated in Ghettos and Camps.

Some truly heartbreaking stories as well, most of all being Mr Doktor and the Orphans.

Overall an incredible book that is a must read for anyone interested in WW2 history.

[Evelyn Switzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much of what we learned about the Jews in WW2 is wrong. Neighbors did help them and they didn't go along as sheep to their deaths. This book is about those who went against the law to save others and fight. When I read one of these books I think about how our education system cheats us on the History in this world. This is a good book and so worth your time friends.

[Paige Vincent · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great simple read on the Jewish Resistance during WWII. When someone thinks of this war, they often only think of the Germans killing the Jews, but there are few books that recount the resistance and the fight the Jewish people displayed.

A wonderful and in a way, great introduction, to all the Jewish Resistance did for their people!

[Craig Pearson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Any book I cannot finish will never get more than three stars.My problem here is the writing was very bland and uninspiring. The Jewish resistance story should have been an exciting and edge of your seat reading but, alas, no. Individual and group exploits were covered but without emotional detail.

[Gary Leibl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paul Roland has done an excellent job of dispelling the myth that Jews went to their deaths like sheep. I would recommend this book to my friends and I would also suggest that schools have this book on their reading lists for Holocaust remembrance week.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very informative piece about the Jewish people and some of the struggles they faced in WWII. The information really made you think and was very well presented. It was an enlightening read and made you think as you go along with the information. Worth the read to broaden your knowledge.

[Yara Trevethan]

Me llamo Yara Trevethan. Durante un tiempo trabajé para Editores Mexicanos Unidos. He visto en Internet que han publicado traducciones a mi nombre que yo no hice, como esta. Por favor tengan en cuenta que esta editorial no tiene mucho control de calidad. Repito, esta traducción no es mía.

[Ronald Padavona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahonda en algo poco conocido, la resistencia y resiliencia de los Judíos hacia el exterminio que se estaba realizando hacia ellos.

Es una lástima que ahora ellos estén haciendo lo mismo con el pueblo P........

Para conocer la historia, es un excelente libro.

[z · Rating 2 out of 5]

Para nada mi tipo de libro, si bien no fue malo malo se me hizo suuuuuuper pesado y denso. Lo único que puedo rescatar fue que si rompió mi cliché de que los judíos no tuvieron ningún intento de revelarse.

[Bob Stenberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a very good overview of Jewish resistance, but a little more details would have been nice.

[Sydney M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked how the chapters were split up in this book, and how each one covered many different topics, people, and places. I learned so much about the Jewish resistance from this book - things I had never known before. It was amazing to hear about so many brave women as well. I feel as though sometimes we only hear about the male war hero’s but reading about Little Wanda, irena sendler , Hannah Senesh, and faye schulman was amazing.

[Lina Zidneser · Rating 3 out of 5]

La historia contada de una forma entendible.

[Suzanne V · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating information but mostly just hints at rather than delves into the stories. I spent a lot of time on Google getting the story as I wished it told in the book.

[Art Chamberlain · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lots of distressing and terrible information, but the writing and organization was flawed and made it tough going.

[Kai Sacco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best writing, but a good intro to Jewish resistance fighters and their uprisings during WWII.

[Grant · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Ruppert Baird · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rife with obvious errors, misspellings, and mathematical errors, as well as occasionally lacking context, it seems to me the book was written for elementary school libraries.

There are some very interesting if unknown incidents, and they are covered as well as can be expected, especially considering the dearth of information available. But the obvious errors are grating. Perhaps the worst example is the comment that David Frankfurter"had been taught to obey the 13th commandment - 'Thou Shalt Not Kill...'" How many people know that there are only TEN Commandments? Everyone? This is general knowledge. The commandment "Thou Shalt Not Murder" is the 8th Commandment in the Torah.

The number of French Jews who perished is also inconsistent (numbers given are either 60% of the total, or 70% depending on the page). Additionally, there's inconsistent numbers stated for the toll in the Warsaw Ghetto.

Misspelled names are also a worry, with Teitelboim versus Teitelbaum as listed in other historical texts and documents.

And, references to the International Brigade (singular) in the Spanish Civil War, rather than the no fewer than EIGHT International Brigades (plural) who served in Spain's Republican Army.

And other errors.

While the effort to recognize unknown battles and resistance by Jewish guerillas and partisans is admirable, the errors sadly remove a certain authority. Perhaps newer editions in the future can correct these errors.

[Neil · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book features the incredible true stories of many brave hero’s who fought against the evil nazi regime in world war 2. What I learnt from this book was incredible and inspiring yet frustrating and angering at times. It made me wonder how the nazis could be so evil and inhuman. It made me realize just how brutally unfair life is for some and how my problems are so small. It made me realize how privileged so many of us are and how we take our blessings for granted. The content of this book was incredible, but the reason I gave it a 3 star review was because the way in which it was written. I found that the writer tried packing as much information as he could in as few pages as possible, because of this, there wasn’t much insight on the lives of the hero’s but rather only what they had done. I found that the book was written much like a high school or university textbook rather than a well crafted, storytelling, piece of literature. I’d recommend this book to someone who wants to take a quick crash course on the subject but to anyone who really wants to know more about the lives of these people and their experiences rather than reading dates and names for 183 pages I’d definitely recommend you look elsewhere.

[Sanexiah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would have been way better with more details such as the names of the resistants instead of just referring to some as ‘the most important leader of X’. A lot of the content also felt way too generic because details & context were omitted.