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The Envoy: The Epic Rescue of the Last Jews of Europe in the Desperate Closing Months of World War II
December 1944. Soviet and German troops fight from house to house in the shattered, corpse-strewn suburbs of Budapest. Crazed Hungarian fascists join with die-hard Nazis to slaughter Jews day and night, turning the Danube blood-red. In less than six months, thirty-eight-year-old SS Colonel Adolf Eichmann has sent over half a million Hungarians to the gas chambers in Auschwitz. Now all that prevents him from liquidating Europe's last Jewish ghetto is an unarmed Swedish diplomatic envoy named Raoul Wallenberg.
The Envoy is the stirring tale of how one man made the greatest difference in the face of untold evil. The legendary Oscar Schindler saved hundreds, but Raoul Wallenberg did what no other individual or nation managed to He saved more than 100,000 Jewish men, women, and children from extermination.
Written with Alex Kershaw's customary narrative verve, The Envoy is a fast-paced, nonfiction thriller that brings to life one of the darkest and yet most inspiring chapters of twentieth century history. It is an epic for the ages.
The Envoy is the stirring tale of how one man made the greatest difference in the face of untold evil. The legendary Oscar Schindler saved hundreds, but Raoul Wallenberg did what no other individual or nation managed to He saved more than 100,000 Jewish men, women, and children from extermination.
Written with Alex Kershaw's customary narrative verve, The Envoy is a fast-paced, nonfiction thriller that brings to life one of the darkest and yet most inspiring chapters of twentieth century history. It is an epic for the ages.
326 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2010
104 people are currently reading
3333 people want to read
About the author
Alex Kershaw
22 books972 followersAlex Kershaw is the author of the widely acclaimed best sellers Against All Odds, The First Wave, The Bedford Boys, The Longest Winter, The Few, #TheLiberator, the basis for the Netflix drama, and Escape from the Deep, as well as biographies of Jack London, Raoul Wallenberg and Robert Capa. His latest book is Patton's Prayer, published May 2024.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 197 reviews
February 19, 2017
This story is heartbreaking. Raoul Wallenberg was a Swedish diplomat in Budapest during WW II who saved 100,000 Jews from the gas chambers. I had never heard of him until I picked up this book. He was a truly remarkable man.
A quote that I thought to share:
"Although most well-informed people have heard of Wallenberg today, many, including Jews, know less about him than about Oscar Schindler, who saved far fewer people and in any case profited from their forced labor.”
A quote that I thought to share:
"Although most well-informed people have heard of Wallenberg today, many, including Jews, know less about him than about Oscar Schindler, who saved far fewer people and in any case profited from their forced labor.”
August 26, 2015
I found The Envoy browsing the library shelves. The subject matter being WWII, it jumped into my hands. What a fascinating book! I had heard the name Wallenberg but I honestly knew nothing about him or his work or really what went on in Hungary during WWII at all. It took me a bit longer than I expected to finish simply because some of the material was difficult to read and I found myself needing to take occasional emotional breaks and bury myself in Jane Austen or Emily Dickinson for a bit.
That being said, it was a compelling read and gave me much food for thought and I'm so glad I stumbled onto this book.
That being said, it was a compelling read and gave me much food for thought and I'm so glad I stumbled onto this book.
May 10, 2021
What can I say about this book? This book is soo rich in history and so moving you simply must read it!!!
September 25, 2021
I like reading Alex Kershaw because he always presents a very captivating story. What struck me was how he presented a story that I knew little about. Especially the main character Raoul Wallenberg who I knew little about. Raoul Gustaf Wallenberg was a Swedish architect, businessman, diplomat, and humanitarian. He saved thousands of Jews in German-occupied Hungary during the Holocaust from German Nazis and Hungarian Fascists during the later stages of World War II. He risked his life saving so many Hungarian Jews from the cruel and devastating hands of Adolf Eichmann who was one of the most pivotal actors in the implementation of the “Final Solution" in Hungary. I kept thinking when reading this book about how anyone could be so cruel to another person but there is page after page of atrocities that were committed on innocent people. The only thing I wish Kershaw would have done was dig deeper into what happen to Raoul after the Soviets arrested him after the war and his mysterious disappearance.
"The Envoy" is a readable, detailed, and moving work that shows humanity at its most bestial and most sublime. Kershaw vividly demonstrates how prejudice and hatred can lead even cultured and educated people to commit unspeakable atrocities; how a lucky few miraculously survived to recount their amazing experiences, although the trauma they suffered would remain with them for the rest of their lives; and how one courageous and daring man, with the help of other like-minded individuals, brazenly defied the Nazi juggernaut and followed the dictates of his conscience to help so many.
"The Envoy" is a readable, detailed, and moving work that shows humanity at its most bestial and most sublime. Kershaw vividly demonstrates how prejudice and hatred can lead even cultured and educated people to commit unspeakable atrocities; how a lucky few miraculously survived to recount their amazing experiences, although the trauma they suffered would remain with them for the rest of their lives; and how one courageous and daring man, with the help of other like-minded individuals, brazenly defied the Nazi juggernaut and followed the dictates of his conscience to help so many.
May 3, 2013
The mid 20th Century produced very few living saints...Dietrich Bonhoeffer was one...the other was Raoul Wallenberg. Alex Kershaw has written a searing and ugly tale about the dark times in Hungary during WW II. The only beams of light were the actions of a heroic Swedish diplomat named Raoul Wallenberg. Wallenburg swept into Budapest and saved hundreds of Jews being transported to the death camps. He faced down the Nazis day in and day out. He granted Swedish citizenship to the doomed and saved them from extermination. He constanly was in danger...but he was singleminded in his approach.He saved lives...the war grinded to a halt...the Russians invaded Hungary...and Wallenberg was never seen again.
He apparently was sent to the gulags of the USSR and died many years later. Apparently, because no one is really sure but the Russians...and they never told. The Swedish authorities knew he was alive...but wanted their neutrality too badly to rock the boot. This saintly man was allowed to disappear.
Kershaw captures the times,the fear and the heartache in this story that needs to be told and told and told. A must read.
He apparently was sent to the gulags of the USSR and died many years later. Apparently, because no one is really sure but the Russians...and they never told. The Swedish authorities knew he was alive...but wanted their neutrality too badly to rock the boot. This saintly man was allowed to disappear.
Kershaw captures the times,the fear and the heartache in this story that needs to be told and told and told. A must read.
February 10, 2014
I,had heard of Raoul Wallenberg many years ago, but I never had read anything about him or his mission.I found this edition on one of my many treks through the list of thrift stores I visit to look for books(addicted like everyone else).I thought this would be a good read but it was more than I hoped.Alex Kershaw has done a great service to the legacy of one of many hero's of the war.The daily struggles he endured with the SS, Adolph Eichmann,Arrow Cross etc to help the Jews of Budapest try to escape the gas chambers.Some failures but tens of thousands escaped. Its sad the way that the story ends here was a man who did so much and was lost in Soviet Union.A true hero in the ranks of Herr Schlinder,Sir Nicholas Winton and many more.Read it you will not be disappointed.
March 2, 2019
Este libro es uno de esos libros que debes bajar para procesar la información que el autor está dando. Cuando empiezas a apasionarte por un tema histórico, como es mi caso, con la segunda guerra mundial, a veces nos centramos mucho en ciertos aspectos, e ignoramos, o dejamos a un lado otros datos importantes, otros hechos históricos que también deben ser escuchados.
A veces los libros llegan a ti de una manera que no creeíste, y este fué el caso.
Una lectura super recomendada para aprender sobre un actor internacional del que poco se conoce y cómo este permeo el destino de los últimos judíos en Europa.
A veces los libros llegan a ti de una manera que no creeíste, y este fué el caso.
Una lectura super recomendada para aprender sobre un actor internacional del que poco se conoce y cómo este permeo el destino de los últimos judíos en Europa.
January 2, 2012
I just returned from the Holocaust museum in Washington D.C. and was pleased to see a display devoted to Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat and the man responsible for rescuing tens of thousands of Jews. Kershaw is a tremendous historian and vividly contrasts the saintly Wallenberg with the devilish Eichmann in this work. Here is one of the greatest humanitarian stories to come out of World War II as well as a startling exposition of human depravity.
September 3, 2013
Another wonderful book by a wonderful author! I loved this great biography about an amazing man!
Raoul Wallenberg is an inspiration, to all people, to stand up for what is right! I highly recommend this book to everyone! I love the way Alex Kershaw give first hand accounts and real diary entries etc... I have not ran into any of his books that were dry. He is a great communicator.
I particularly like the how he tells the end of their stories. After I read the book there were no questions like, "I wonder what ever happened to so-and-so?" A complete history from cover to cover!
Raoul Wallenberg is an inspiration, to all people, to stand up for what is right! I highly recommend this book to everyone! I love the way Alex Kershaw give first hand accounts and real diary entries etc... I have not ran into any of his books that were dry. He is a great communicator.
I particularly like the how he tells the end of their stories. After I read the book there were no questions like, "I wonder what ever happened to so-and-so?" A complete history from cover to cover!
August 15, 2013
Well researched and written book about a WWII hero who deserves more credit.
March 14, 2021
The heroic story of Raoul Wallenberg, who is credited with saving the lives of over 100,000 Jews in occupied Hungary during WW2.
August 14, 2016
Imagine you have to grab your family and run out the door of your home with just the clothes on your back to escape the men coming to take you to Auschwitz. Imagine you look out the window and see your fiancée being led away by thugs on a forced march to the border. Imagine being forced to strip to your underwear and march in freezing weather to the banks of the Danube to be shot in the back of the head and dumped in the river. Imagine being forced into a cattle car on a train that will take you to your death when a slight, soft-spoken but immensely brave Swedish diplomat appears on the platform and starts to bring a few back from oblivion:
Per Anger also recalled seeing Wallenberg approach hundreds of Jews gathered on a platform. He shouted that those with Swedish passes should join him. But several heavily armed Arrow Cross guards stepped into his path, placing bayonets to his chest. Wallenberg walked away. A few minutes later, he returned with a group of Hungarian soldiers and gendarme officer whom he’d earlier bribed with cigarettes and several bottles of rum.
Wallenberg set up a table, opened his briefcase, and, then took out what he called his “black book of life”—a register of protected Jews. He called out the most common Jewish names and handed out replacement passes as quickly as he could. His young assistant Johnny Moser, meanwhile, moved among the Jews, whispering under his breath: “Raise your hands “
Of course we can’t imagine that, can we? Alex Kershaw comes through again, bringing the story of Raoul Wallenberg, that brave young man who risked all and saved many thousands of Jews in Hungary from Eichmann and his ilk. Hungary had the last large population of Jews in Europe and the Germans were intent on finishing the Final Solution, even if they were losing the war. This is the story of the last year of the war. Follow a number of Jewish men, women and children through the horror of Nazi and Hungarian “Arrow Cross” brutes trying to deport or kill the Jews of Hungary. Wallenberg is the central figure but not the only one. The story is compelling and horrific. A few brave men try ever harder to save lives. This book primarly tells Wallenberg’s story as best as can be known. Unbelievably, Wallenberg disappears into the Soviet prison system, never to emerge. The story of how he was abandoned even by his own government is sad and disgraceful. The final chapters of the book deal with how survivors fared after the war and how Eichmann was finally brought to justice. Strong 4 Stars for the fourth Kershaw book I have read—all strong stories well-told.
The survivors carry on and a few try to pass on the story of what they experienced:
It was our sacred duty to speak for those who perished and, above all, to try to teach love, acceptance, and tolerance to the young through the lessons of the Holocaust in order to stem the rising tide of hatred everywhere in the world.”
Vera has since spent much of her free time doing precisely that. She still urges her audiences to remember that “we are all human beings. Only after this, do we belong to educational, ethnic, political, racial, religious, or social groups. If we accept that which unites us, our common humanity, the reasons that divide us should not matter.”
(I may not take that cruise along the Danube after all. This book will leave a bitter taste for doing that)
Per Anger also recalled seeing Wallenberg approach hundreds of Jews gathered on a platform. He shouted that those with Swedish passes should join him. But several heavily armed Arrow Cross guards stepped into his path, placing bayonets to his chest. Wallenberg walked away. A few minutes later, he returned with a group of Hungarian soldiers and gendarme officer whom he’d earlier bribed with cigarettes and several bottles of rum.
Wallenberg set up a table, opened his briefcase, and, then took out what he called his “black book of life”—a register of protected Jews. He called out the most common Jewish names and handed out replacement passes as quickly as he could. His young assistant Johnny Moser, meanwhile, moved among the Jews, whispering under his breath: “Raise your hands “
Of course we can’t imagine that, can we? Alex Kershaw comes through again, bringing the story of Raoul Wallenberg, that brave young man who risked all and saved many thousands of Jews in Hungary from Eichmann and his ilk. Hungary had the last large population of Jews in Europe and the Germans were intent on finishing the Final Solution, even if they were losing the war. This is the story of the last year of the war. Follow a number of Jewish men, women and children through the horror of Nazi and Hungarian “Arrow Cross” brutes trying to deport or kill the Jews of Hungary. Wallenberg is the central figure but not the only one. The story is compelling and horrific. A few brave men try ever harder to save lives. This book primarly tells Wallenberg’s story as best as can be known. Unbelievably, Wallenberg disappears into the Soviet prison system, never to emerge. The story of how he was abandoned even by his own government is sad and disgraceful. The final chapters of the book deal with how survivors fared after the war and how Eichmann was finally brought to justice. Strong 4 Stars for the fourth Kershaw book I have read—all strong stories well-told.
The survivors carry on and a few try to pass on the story of what they experienced:
It was our sacred duty to speak for those who perished and, above all, to try to teach love, acceptance, and tolerance to the young through the lessons of the Holocaust in order to stem the rising tide of hatred everywhere in the world.”
Vera has since spent much of her free time doing precisely that. She still urges her audiences to remember that “we are all human beings. Only after this, do we belong to educational, ethnic, political, racial, religious, or social groups. If we accept that which unites us, our common humanity, the reasons that divide us should not matter.”
(I may not take that cruise along the Danube after all. This book will leave a bitter taste for doing that)
January 27, 2015
In early 1944, Raoul Wallenberg, a young Swedish diplomat, arrived in Budapest, Hungary. His mission was to save as many Jewish lives as possible. For nearly a year Wallenberg worked tirelessly to save Jews from being sent to Auschwitz concentration camp.
His actions infuriated Adolf Eichmann and the Hungarian Arrow Cross, who were determined to make sure every Jew in Hungary was exterminated. Wallenberg’s courageous actions placed his life in grave danger, but he refused to let threats deter him.
As the Russian army neared the outskirts of Budapest, Wallenberg and his driver set out to meet with the Russian commander. After leaving the city, their car was intercepted by Russian military police who “escorted” them to Moscow. Wallenberg was never seen again.
From interviews with Jewish survivors, other diplomats who worked in Budapest, diaries, records, and documents written by Nazi authorities, author Alex Kershaw provides a comprehensive account of the last desperate months before the fall of Budapest.
This unforgettable, fast paced book with its vivid descriptions makes the reader feel as if you are there. Raw and heart wrenching, this nonfiction book reveals how one man truly made a difference in the world.
Most people are familiar with the efforts of Oscar Schindler and the tens of thousands of lives he saved. Raoul Wallenberg, who was quiet and unassuming, saved more than 100,000 lives. His dignity and respect for the lives of all individuals are an example to us all.
The Envoy has been labeled a “masterpiece” and a “major contribution to Holocaust literature”. Kudos to Alex Kershaw for bringing Raoul Wallenberg’s story to life.
His actions infuriated Adolf Eichmann and the Hungarian Arrow Cross, who were determined to make sure every Jew in Hungary was exterminated. Wallenberg’s courageous actions placed his life in grave danger, but he refused to let threats deter him.
As the Russian army neared the outskirts of Budapest, Wallenberg and his driver set out to meet with the Russian commander. After leaving the city, their car was intercepted by Russian military police who “escorted” them to Moscow. Wallenberg was never seen again.
From interviews with Jewish survivors, other diplomats who worked in Budapest, diaries, records, and documents written by Nazi authorities, author Alex Kershaw provides a comprehensive account of the last desperate months before the fall of Budapest.
This unforgettable, fast paced book with its vivid descriptions makes the reader feel as if you are there. Raw and heart wrenching, this nonfiction book reveals how one man truly made a difference in the world.
Most people are familiar with the efforts of Oscar Schindler and the tens of thousands of lives he saved. Raoul Wallenberg, who was quiet and unassuming, saved more than 100,000 lives. His dignity and respect for the lives of all individuals are an example to us all.
The Envoy has been labeled a “masterpiece” and a “major contribution to Holocaust literature”. Kudos to Alex Kershaw for bringing Raoul Wallenberg’s story to life.
October 25, 2012
This book sets up two archrivals--the heroic Raoul Wallenberg and his nemesis, Final Solution master Adolph Eichmann, intertwined with the stories of several Jewish families in World War II Hungary and especially Budapest, then following them as much as possible after the war. Kershaw gives a little more information about the Wallenberg mystery than I've read in other sources. Overall this is a fine book on an aspect of World War II and Holocaust history,one of the better-written entries at this time when so little new or better-explained information is being published on this exhaustively investigated subject. Recommended as a good integration of information about Wallenberg, Eichmann, and the situation in Budapest during the last years of the war, giving that synergisitic whole a better treatment than the sum of its parts (such as biographies of Wallenberg or Eichmann alone).
July 7, 2013
I really wanted to know the story of Raoul Wallenberg. He is thought to have saved over 100,000 Jews during the Holocaust. The first third or so was not engaging but it picked up after that. Overall it is a quick short read if you are interested in his life/what people have discovered about his death as of 2009.
June 27, 2015
Incredibly sobering. A reminder of what man is capable of when they reject God. Also a great example of the impact one man who stands for right can have.
December 9, 2022
The Envoy is the stirring tale of how one man made the greatest difference in the face of untold evil
This is the story of Raoul Wallenberg, Swedish Diplomat during WWII. Wallenberg is credited with saving 100,000+ Hungarian Jews from the evil of the Nazi's. Hungary was the last European Country with a substantial Jewish population. It became the Nazi's obsession to liquidate them all.
This is not a story for everyone, Alex Kershaw tells it like it was, and it is very unnerving and very vivid. The type of book I can only read in pieces each day. Still, a book for those who believe, as I do, that the atrocities that occurred at the hands of Hitler can never be forgotten.
Alex Kershaw's telling of this brave man's story proves the line "one man can make a difference".
This is the story of Raoul Wallenberg, Swedish Diplomat during WWII. Wallenberg is credited with saving 100,000+ Hungarian Jews from the evil of the Nazi's. Hungary was the last European Country with a substantial Jewish population. It became the Nazi's obsession to liquidate them all.
This is not a story for everyone, Alex Kershaw tells it like it was, and it is very unnerving and very vivid. The type of book I can only read in pieces each day. Still, a book for those who believe, as I do, that the atrocities that occurred at the hands of Hitler can never be forgotten.
Alex Kershaw's telling of this brave man's story proves the line "one man can make a difference".
February 28, 2011
A dramatic retelling of the 1944 Holocaust in Hungary with the emphasis on the efforts of Raul Wallenberg and other diplomats, Swiss as well as Swedish, to rescue the Jews of Budapest. Kershaw bases this book not only on extensive research into the official records of the period, including those of the Swedish foreign office and the recently available KGB files on Wallenberg, but, more significantly, on extensive interviews he conducted with survivors, with the people that Wallenburg rescued. These oral histories are extremely vivid, heart-breakingly poignant. While they are probably not completely reliable as to factual details - no oral history is, being subtly altered in the retelling, are expanded, changed by subsequent information, experience - they do convey the emotional reality of the time, the horror, the despair. The stories these survivors tell are truly unforgettable, and Kershaw gives full biographies of these, "the rescued" - relates their post-Holocaust lives - lives that clearly demonstrate exactly how much good Wallenburg saved. And the author also brings up-to-date the investigation into Wallenburg's disappearance, providing much new information, particularly about the Swedish response, about the deliberate decision of Swedish ambassador in Moscow, Soderblom, not to press Stalin for more information on Wallenburg, his indication to Stalin that the matter was not of much significance to Stockholm, and the subsequent willingness of Swedish foreign ministry to follow this policy, thus abandoning Wallenberg to his fate, doing so out of fear of postwar Soviet ambitions. And Kershaw details the heroic efforts of the Wallenburg family to find him, efforts that are still ongoing, but now only to discover his fate. Kershaw offers his own plausible theory of what fate might have been - believes that Wallenberg was executed by the KGB because he refused to "turn", refused to become a Soviet agent. While this is certainly plausible, no one, at that time and place, needed an excuse, good or bad, to kill. Wallenburg might have been just another one of the thousands murdered in Hungary by the Soviets. Among these murdered, and deservedly so, were the members of the Arrow Cross, the Hungarian Fascist organization, "the Hungarian Nazis". Kershaw casts a bright light on this group and on its role in that country's genocide - it did most of the actually killing, was responsible for most of the horror. Because the Arrow Cross men were liquated by the Red Army, they are now mostly forgotten, mostly relegated to the footnotes, but their brutal deeds needs to be remembered - and Kershaw preserves them here. Reading any book about the Holocaust is depressing. All of them, even this one, fill the reader with a profound despair about the human condition, but at least when the reader closes the cover of this book, he is left with a scintilla of hope, a feeling, however weak and tentative it may be, that there actually might be some righteous among us.
April 3, 2018
Raoul Wallenberg is not a name that is as widely associated with saving Jews during World War II. At least outside the Jewish community. Author Alex Kershaw does a superb job of spotlighting Wallenberg and the last of the millions of European Jews who met their deaths in cruel and devastating fashion, along with the thousands who were spared.
Reading Kershaw's books is like listening to him present a captivating story. It's difficult not to realize how the author was impacted in researching and writing this important work. I'm a fan of Kershaw's unique telling of interesting and powerful (and somewhat lesser known) aspects of World War II (most recently with "Avenue of Spies" - a title I also highly recommend).
Finally, Adolf Eichmann was ever-present in Hungary during these last remaining years of World War II as he continued to finish the ghoulish job that he started. It was illuminating to read about his ruthless acts specific to the Hungarian "yellow stars," and eventual attempt at escaping to South America. Just days before reading this book, I saw a special TV news report on Eichmann's court proceedings and portions of the court room being on exhibit in a Holocaust museum.
There are very few of Wallenberg's relatives still with us to make future generations aware of the man's humanitarian contribution. Fortunately, thanks to Kershaw, Wallenberg's story is just that much more known as a result of this book.
Reading Kershaw's books is like listening to him present a captivating story. It's difficult not to realize how the author was impacted in researching and writing this important work. I'm a fan of Kershaw's unique telling of interesting and powerful (and somewhat lesser known) aspects of World War II (most recently with "Avenue of Spies" - a title I also highly recommend).
Finally, Adolf Eichmann was ever-present in Hungary during these last remaining years of World War II as he continued to finish the ghoulish job that he started. It was illuminating to read about his ruthless acts specific to the Hungarian "yellow stars," and eventual attempt at escaping to South America. Just days before reading this book, I saw a special TV news report on Eichmann's court proceedings and portions of the court room being on exhibit in a Holocaust museum.
There are very few of Wallenberg's relatives still with us to make future generations aware of the man's humanitarian contribution. Fortunately, thanks to Kershaw, Wallenberg's story is just that much more known as a result of this book.
July 12, 2023
This is my first Kershaw book, and it will not be my last. This is history written at its best.
In the closing months of World War II, Hungary offered the last remaining sanctuary for Jews on the European Continent. To exterminate them, Germany invaded Hungary, sending in Adolf Eichmann to orchestrate their deportation to the death camps.
Determined to save as many Jews as possible, Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg volunteered to be sent to Hungary, to take on Eichmann and the Nazis. What follows is a story of brilliance, determination, and heroism of the highest order.
This was a book that at times I didn't want to put down, and at other times I wanted to throw across the room. There is a mystery in this book, and the author teases it out in a most maddeningly and delightful way. Three-quarters of the way through, it took all my will power to keep from reading the last chapter, and then return to finish the book.
It is also deeply disturbing and sad. The sheer, raw numbers of Jews killed by the Nazis, and later by fascist Hungarians, is overwhelming. Yet, it is a story worth reading. Wallenberg's efforts were not in vain. Stories of the survivors, rescued by Wallenberg, are interwoven throughout the account. It is shocking that their story, and his, took so long to tell. Kershaw deserves high praise for telling the story so truthfully, and well. This is a book I will likely read again, and heartily recommend.
In the closing months of World War II, Hungary offered the last remaining sanctuary for Jews on the European Continent. To exterminate them, Germany invaded Hungary, sending in Adolf Eichmann to orchestrate their deportation to the death camps.
Determined to save as many Jews as possible, Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg volunteered to be sent to Hungary, to take on Eichmann and the Nazis. What follows is a story of brilliance, determination, and heroism of the highest order.
This was a book that at times I didn't want to put down, and at other times I wanted to throw across the room. There is a mystery in this book, and the author teases it out in a most maddeningly and delightful way. Three-quarters of the way through, it took all my will power to keep from reading the last chapter, and then return to finish the book.
It is also deeply disturbing and sad. The sheer, raw numbers of Jews killed by the Nazis, and later by fascist Hungarians, is overwhelming. Yet, it is a story worth reading. Wallenberg's efforts were not in vain. Stories of the survivors, rescued by Wallenberg, are interwoven throughout the account. It is shocking that their story, and his, took so long to tell. Kershaw deserves high praise for telling the story so truthfully, and well. This is a book I will likely read again, and heartily recommend.
February 10, 2013
There are many books that tell the harrowing story of the World War 2 Holocaust and most deal with the ordeals of the concentration camps. This one deals more specifically with the fate of Hungarian Jews and in particular the situation in Budapest. Their terrors did not end with the drive of the German SS to exterminate the Jewish race. On the German withdrawal they suffered at the hands of the Hungarian fascist Arrow Cross who were even more bloody and crazy than the SS. Even the subsequent liberation by Russian troops brought further terror upon the poor Hungarian Jews. Throughout this period the extraordinary efforts of a Swedish diplomat, Raoul Wallenberg, saved countless Jewish lives. Showing extraordinary courage he faced danger head on and placed his own life at risk to save Jewish lives. The book also deals with events after 1945 when he was forsaken by his own country because it was politically expedient for Sweden to curry favour with Russia. The Envoy is a book which lives on after you have finished reading it with its contrasts of mass inhumanity and Wallenberg's extraordinary sacrifice and goodness.
June 6, 2016
Incredible story of one of WWII's greatest heroes--a man many believe saved as the lives of as many as 100,000 Hungarian Jews. And yet how many people have heard of Wallenberg?
This is an interesting and well-written book. The story is suspenseful and compelling.
**spoiler alert**
You can't help but wonder how the work of Oscar Schindler became well-known, yet Wallenberg's far greater achievements remain obscure. More to the point, why not a movie called Wallenberg's List? The answer is the terrible ending. This true story of unparalleled heroism ends in Soviet squalor. Yes--Soviet. After cheating death at the hands of the Nazis, the amazing Swedish diplomat was swallowed up by the conquering Soviet army and swept into the gulag, never to be seen again. This horrible outcome made for a good book. But this is not the kind of heartwarming conclusion a movie needs. It's far too cynical--even if it is true.
Great book.
This is an interesting and well-written book. The story is suspenseful and compelling.
**spoiler alert**
You can't help but wonder how the work of Oscar Schindler became well-known, yet Wallenberg's far greater achievements remain obscure. More to the point, why not a movie called Wallenberg's List? The answer is the terrible ending. This true story of unparalleled heroism ends in Soviet squalor. Yes--Soviet. After cheating death at the hands of the Nazis, the amazing Swedish diplomat was swallowed up by the conquering Soviet army and swept into the gulag, never to be seen again. This horrible outcome made for a good book. But this is not the kind of heartwarming conclusion a movie needs. It's far too cynical--even if it is true.
Great book.
May 25, 2012
Alex Kershaw delivers again with a fast paced and confronting look at the plight of the Hungarian Jews and the efforts of one man to save as many as he could. Raoul Wallenberg is a name I had not come across before, now that I have I believe this man needs to be honored and remembered. By making sure this man does not get lost in the mist of history is important to remind us of what he fought for and to ensure it never happens again. Hats off to the author for bringing this incredible story to light in such a enthralling way.
April 30, 2017
A account of the holocaust in the normal grisly context. The book clears up what happened to Raoul Wallenberg while he was in the hands of the Soviets. It also reminds the reader of the evil of Eichmann. Despite all the reading I have done on the holocaust the book fills in or refreshes details. It rips my heart out to study the holocaust, but too much is being forgotten by the later generations and we must never forget.
May 31, 2013
Just started reading this Kershaw book. I know it will be a 4 or 5 star when I finish. Alex Kershaw knows how to write nonfiction. Read most of his books and now I'll read another this week.
March 10, 2018
"I heard someone say that a man has made at least a start in understanding the meaning of human life when he plants shade trees under which he knows he will never sit." Ronald Reagan, eulogizing Raoul Wallenberg.
It's been a while since I read a book that could make me cry in so many different places for so many different reasons. One of my favorite aspects of reading Alex Kershaw is that the stories he tells do not end with the events. His book continues past the narrative of a wars context, grounding the events within the world. This book is nothing if not a harrowing, hopeful, humble story of survival against odds and enemies, despite its bittersweet tale.
To watch years pass by on a page, in search of this lost hero of salvation -- the year of my father's birth, my mothers, their marriage, my brothers birth, my own, even my childhood...was very hard to process and handle, for it reminded me of the nearness of history. In the darkness, humanity can be so cold, but when light is present, there is nothing but an abundance of warmth.
It's been a while since I read a book that could make me cry in so many different places for so many different reasons. One of my favorite aspects of reading Alex Kershaw is that the stories he tells do not end with the events. His book continues past the narrative of a wars context, grounding the events within the world. This book is nothing if not a harrowing, hopeful, humble story of survival against odds and enemies, despite its bittersweet tale.
To watch years pass by on a page, in search of this lost hero of salvation -- the year of my father's birth, my mothers, their marriage, my brothers birth, my own, even my childhood...was very hard to process and handle, for it reminded me of the nearness of history. In the darkness, humanity can be so cold, but when light is present, there is nothing but an abundance of warmth.
December 4, 2021
Good research novel for the efforts of Raoul Wallenberg in saving the last Jews of Budapest during WWII.
October 27, 2020
Another difficult book to read. Mr. Kershaw is one of my favorite historians. His narratives flow like David McCulloughs, telling hard stories in relatable ways. What struck me reading Raoul Wallenberg's (and his team) saving thousands of Hungarian Jews during the Holocaust is that I had never heard of him before. I did not realize the extent of European Jews fleeing to Hungary only to find persecution there. I knew nothing of the Arrow Cross thugs. I did not know this is where Eichmann served his last years of the war. The brutality of the Nazis and the Arrow Cross is still beyond my comprehension.
This book shows their pure evilness in direct contrast to the kindness and generosity of others. If you read WWII history, don't skip this book.
This book shows their pure evilness in direct contrast to the kindness and generosity of others. If you read WWII history, don't skip this book.
Read
April 27, 2011The Envoy: The epic Rescue of the Last Jews of Europe in the Desperate Closing Months of World War II, by Alex Kershaw, Narrated by George Guidall, Produced by recorded Books, downloaded from audible.com.
This is a full-length investigation of the life of Raoul Wallenberg, a member of the Swedish embassy stationed in Hungary, who made it his mission to save as many Jews from the holocaust as possible. In the last few months of the war, Eichmann saw to it that about 400,000 Jews in Hungary were sent to Auschwitz. But Wallenberg managed to hide many Jews in safe houses around Budapest. He protested the treatment of the Jews by the SS and stated that the Germans would lose the war and would pay in war crime trials for their mistreatment of people. Some of the German army was cowed by his scolding and allowed Jews to be protected from prison, but the zealots like Eichmann were unmoved. When Eichmann and his guards would gather up Jews to shoot and throw into the Danube at night, Wallenberg and his myriad of volunteers would jump in and save those they could. There are no clear estimates of how many Jews he saved, maybe as many as 20,000. But when the Russians marched in as the victors, Wallenberg was taken off to Russia as a prisoner. And no one knows what happened to him after that time. From evidence finally released by the Russians in late 1989, it appears that he died a prisoner. But the most astonishing and mystifying behavior came from the Swedes, who should have protested loudly for his return, but who seemed for many years to want to sweep him under the rug in order to retain their reputation as neutrals and not to raise problems with Russia. This is an amazing story of a man and how he is remembered by many of the people whose lives he saved.
This is a full-length investigation of the life of Raoul Wallenberg, a member of the Swedish embassy stationed in Hungary, who made it his mission to save as many Jews from the holocaust as possible. In the last few months of the war, Eichmann saw to it that about 400,000 Jews in Hungary were sent to Auschwitz. But Wallenberg managed to hide many Jews in safe houses around Budapest. He protested the treatment of the Jews by the SS and stated that the Germans would lose the war and would pay in war crime trials for their mistreatment of people. Some of the German army was cowed by his scolding and allowed Jews to be protected from prison, but the zealots like Eichmann were unmoved. When Eichmann and his guards would gather up Jews to shoot and throw into the Danube at night, Wallenberg and his myriad of volunteers would jump in and save those they could. There are no clear estimates of how many Jews he saved, maybe as many as 20,000. But when the Russians marched in as the victors, Wallenberg was taken off to Russia as a prisoner. And no one knows what happened to him after that time. From evidence finally released by the Russians in late 1989, it appears that he died a prisoner. But the most astonishing and mystifying behavior came from the Swedes, who should have protested loudly for his return, but who seemed for many years to want to sweep him under the rug in order to retain their reputation as neutrals and not to raise problems with Russia. This is an amazing story of a man and how he is remembered by many of the people whose lives he saved.
February 18, 2017
I don't believe one could read this book and come to any other conclusion that Wallenberg will be forever (and correctly) known as one of the true heroes of WWII for saving as many lives as he did.
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