Refuge In Hell: How Berlin's Jewish Hospital Outlasted the Nazis – A Story of Personal Sacrifice and Triumph

by Daniel B. Silver

In 1945, when the Red Army liberated Berlin, they found in the Nazi capital a functioning Jewish hospital. In Refuge in Hell, Daniel B. Silver explores the many quirks of fortune and history that made the hospital's survival possible. His engrossing account of this little-known slice of history "reads like a novel imbued with the richness of a strong narrative and the depth of compelling characters" (Forward).
Not since Schindler's List has there been such a wrenching story of personal sacrifice and triumph. Silver's narrative centers on the intricate machinations of the hospital's director, Dr. Lustig, a German-born Jew who managed to keep the Gestapo at bay throughout the war, in part because of his power over his staff and patients and his finely honed relationship with the infamous Adolf Eichmann.

Genres: Nonfiction, Holocaust, History, Historical, World War II

311 pages, Paperback

First published September 17, 2003

Reviews

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This well-researched and exciting account of the unbelievable survival of a Jewish hospital in Berlin during the Nazi era was enlightening and thought-provoking. Gathered mostly from survivor interviews, the history of the hospital and its people was an education in perseverance, bravery, and (many times) inexplicable providence. I was awed by the dedication of the nurses in the face of unimaginable insecurity, fear, and persecution. Likewise, the life of the hospital’s director, Dr. Walter Lustig is a true quandary, punctuated with as many diabolical instances as moments of true altruism. Overall, I am deeply grateful to the author for his research and for sharing this amazing story with the English-speaking world.

[Rebecca McPhedran · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the true story of an obscure Jewish hospital in Berlin, that miraculously survived Nazi occupation. Some 800 Jewish individuals owe their survival to this hospital, and the doctors, nurses and labourers who kept it running.
Silver doesn't do a quick overview of the holocaust, and it's major players(which I liked). He keeps it simple, with descriptions of some of the major players within the hospital. I felt the director, one Walter Lustig, to be one of the most confusing, and interesting individuals. He was charged with making sure the hospital ran well. This included a very close relationship with the Gestapo, and the RSHA. He was a very controversial person, because he was the one who had to make decisions about deportations, and administrative duties.
Silver does an amazing job of showing how this man, and many of the hospital workers were conflicted about their position, but their main goal was always survival. An amazingly sad, and yet uplifting book, about a small group of people, who were willing to do anything to survive.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was the subject of an NPR interview a few years ago. I bought it because I wanted to know how a Jewish Hospital in Berlin could survive anywhere in the Germany of the Hitler years. The book goes a long way to answer that question for which there is no rational explanation, especially when you consider that an SS office was lodged in one of the hospital's buildings!

There were horrible events, such as being forced to cull the hospital staff who were sent to concentration camps or shot. Cause/effect had very little to do with these cullings; whim, psychotic whim probably, comes closest to an explanation. On the other hand, the miracle of anybody who was Jewish surviving openly in Berlin was what made me want to read it, not unlike the motive for wanting to see "Schindler's List".

[Sabrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

If done by the right director and producer, this little known "miracle" would be an amazing movie!

[Caren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fascinating, well-researched account presents an incredible, yet little known fact about the Holocaust. The Jewish Hospital in Berlin was the only Jewish institution in all of Germany to remain open and functioning throughout the years of the "Final Solution". It served as a ghetto, a prison, a "waiting room" for Jews being deported, and a hospital where members of the remnants of the Jewish community could be treated. The medical staff of doctors and nurses was made up of "full Jews" and "mischlinge", those Jews with mixed Jewish and Aryan ancestry. How it operated, how and why it was allowed to remain open by the supervising Nazis, and the probing questions that surrounded its existence were the areas of focus explored by author Daniel B. Silver. The story of how Silver initially set out to learn about the hospital and from whom is, in itself, worthy of a book.

The survival stories, the testimonies gathered by Silver decades after the Holocaust, and the conflicting accounts and characterisations by the residents, the staff, and the administration of this remarkable facility, all leave the reader with as many questions as Silver attempted to answer. I most particularly respected his open-minded approach to the information he gathered, on many occasions allowing the reader to draw her own conclusions from what the research had garnered. Most controversial was the head of the hospital, Dr. Walter Lustig, about whom many questions still exist regarding the possibility of his being a Nazi collaborator, despite being Jewish himself. Notably, the author did not shy away from any of the incidents of betrayal that he discovered among the staff or residents, particularly regarding the reporting of those Jews hiding underground, away from the eyes of the Nazis and administrators.

What emerges clearly is the insanity of the Nazi racial ideology in the categories of "mischlinge" that were defined and which determined the level of persecution or relative freedom allowed to the person regarding his/her residency within the hospital or likelihood of deportation. Silver analyses the possible motivations and behaviours of staff and Nazis in their interactions, resulting in an utterly remarkable account and the reader's desire to know more. The author discusses why the story of the hospital has been largely ignored, despite the extensive study of the Holocaust within both the German and the Jewish communities. A fascinating read!

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative But Dry

I found this book to be educational in that despite having read a fair amount of books on the Holocaust, I had no idea that particular Jewish hospital existed -- nor would I have imagined that at least SOME of the Jewish people survived by being there.
I did not know of Dr Lustig and I can't say that reading about him and his duties in the hospital left me thinking he was someone trustworthy for the people there. While he DID have unenviable tasks as part of his official duties, I do feel that he seemed indifferent and at times hostile, dangerous and self serving.
So many people were mentioned in the book that I found it hard to keep track at times but we were just given slivers of their circumstances anyway. To me the book seemed focused on rules, regulations and red tape so to speak as both the Nazis and the Jewish people had their own agendas. For the Nazis, unspeakable evil perpetrated against all "undesirables" -- primarily everyone Jewish and for the Jewish and others, their only goal was the obvious which was to survive.
Spelling mistakes occurred in the book as well but that may, at least in some instances be attributable to language and translation issues.

[Gale · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book reads like a novel, though it is based on research. It gives a very clear view not only of the life of the hospital, and what it meant for it to continue functioning throughout the second world war, but for this granddaughter of two full Jews deported from Berlin in February 1943 the best record anywhere of what life must have been like for my dear grandparents.

It is heartbreaking and importantly well researched making it a very valuable document. I can never thank the author enough for writing it.

[Marsha Bentley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Different History Lesson of Survival

For WWII History buffs, this book is fascinating. Well worth reading. The bravery, luck, miracle of those Jews who were able to work at the Jewish hospital gave many of them life during the Holocaust.

[Mindi Stanley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating book.

[Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a difficult read. Not always easy to follow. It is written differently than other books I read. The story is very surprising and very disturbing for expected information. And even more disturbing for information that I was not expecting.

[Salem · Rating 5 out of 5]

I reviewed Refuge in Hell here.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was shocked when I read this book. The Jewish Hospital in Berlin was just amazing!