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This Has Happened: An Italian Family in Auschwitz
Five years after her return home from Auschwitz, Piera Sonnino found the courage to tell the story of the extermination of her parents, three brothers, and two sisters by the Nazis. Discovered in Italy and never before published in English, this poignant and extraordinarily well-written account is strikingly accurate in bringing to life the methodical and relentless erosion of the freedoms and human dignity of the Italian Jews, from Mussolini's racial laws of 1938 to the institutionalized horror of Auschwitz. Through Sonnino's words, memory has the power to disarm these unspeakable evils.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
August 26, 2017
Italy is my adopted country and it sometimes pains me that it was allied to the Nazis - usually this happens when the subject of the war is raised and the discomfort of my Italian friends becomes palpable. It’s a legacy they still live with. On the other hand all of us from countries that weren’t allied to the Nazis can discuss the subject without any troubling ancestral guilt. We can count ourselves lucky in England that we were never occupied by the Nazis and so never found out how much latent hatred existed in our country for the Jews. But we did gratuitously bomb to dust the beautiful city of Dresden; the Americans dropped two atomic bombs on Japan; it was the Vichy government and not the Nazis that introduced the race laws in France and the right wing French press who first stirred up anti-Semitic hatred; there are horrible stories about how Poles treated Jews and we all now know what a monster Stalin was. Arguably the worst thing the Italians did in the war was drop mustard gas on Eritrea. Yet no one’s ashamed of that. It’s barely mentioned. Italians are ashamed of adopting Hitler’s race laws and therefore assisting in the Holocaust. I’m not sure if anyone has ever done a comparative study of how these race laws were greeted by the populaces of various occupied countries. There’s a lot of evidence that in Italy they were met without any enthusiasm, without the bullying war whooping they received in other European countries. No evidence Jewish shops were attacked or Jewish individuals in any way abused. I know 85% of the Jews in Italy survived the war. And this was largely because of the help they received from the Italian populace, strangers who often barely had the means to support themselves and risked death by assisting Jews. A greater percentage survived in Italy than in France and a much larger percentage than in most of the other occupied countries. I can’t help feeling this should be a source of pride to Italians; that they should no longer have to squirm when the war is mentioned. Sometimes government policy is completely out of touch with public feeling.
Piera Sonnino was arrested with her entire family – mother, father, three brothers and two sisters. They were all taken to Auschwitz. Her mother, father and eldest brother were all gassed immediately. Piera and her two sisters were transported to various work camps. Only Piera survived. Piera narrates her story with heartbreaking eloquence.
Piera Sonnino was arrested with her entire family – mother, father, three brothers and two sisters. They were all taken to Auschwitz. Her mother, father and eldest brother were all gassed immediately. Piera and her two sisters were transported to various work camps. Only Piera survived. Piera narrates her story with heartbreaking eloquence.
November 26, 2014
Absolutely heartbreaking on many levels.
The story of the Sonnoni family is tragic and not only because of their treatment in Auschwitz and other camps. This family was unprepared in so many ways, so disconnected from what was happening in the world around them, that they missed many opportunities to maybe, just maybe, suffer less heartbreak and death.
Ultimately, the Sonnoni's were betrayed for money. This led to their demise. Yet, as said by Giacomo Papi, a journalist who wrote the epilogue in the book, "...those characteristics of modesty, dignity and shame that kept her family from putting up even the most tenuous resistance....can be transformed into resignation, into silence and immobility". This is the saddest and biggest heartbreak of this story: that things could, just maybe, even possibly, have turned out differently.
So many things were left out: how did Anna survive? Why did the sisters enter their home, knowing the family was arrested? Why did the family not run to Switzerland? Why....oh, so many things throughout this book.
The Sonnini's suffered as no family should suffer and their story needed to be told.
The story of the Sonnoni family is tragic and not only because of their treatment in Auschwitz and other camps. This family was unprepared in so many ways, so disconnected from what was happening in the world around them, that they missed many opportunities to maybe, just maybe, suffer less heartbreak and death.
Ultimately, the Sonnoni's were betrayed for money. This led to their demise. Yet, as said by Giacomo Papi, a journalist who wrote the epilogue in the book, "...those characteristics of modesty, dignity and shame that kept her family from putting up even the most tenuous resistance....can be transformed into resignation, into silence and immobility". This is the saddest and biggest heartbreak of this story: that things could, just maybe, even possibly, have turned out differently.
So many things were left out: how did Anna survive? Why did the sisters enter their home, knowing the family was arrested? Why did the family not run to Switzerland? Why....oh, so many things throughout this book.
The Sonnini's suffered as no family should suffer and their story needed to be told.
July 23, 2023
As I understand it, the woman who wrote this did so not long after the events happened, but she wrote it for her family's use and knowledge. According to the afterward, they found this manuscript and published it AS-IS.
The issue here for the reader is that this story was not sold to move anyone in any particular way, and the fact that it is flawless, well told, and STILL completely compelling is possibly more of a testament to how important oral history is for the purposes of learning. Please do not misunderstand me, I am NOT saying that any stories of survivors are for profit, I am saying they fall prey to a book editor and a publicist like any other writer.
I could be wrong, but this family was more affluent, more resourceful, and had more time to plan out the emergency. They suffered no less, of course, in the end, but one amazing thing to me is that the father crumbled, the women were stronger, and there was less interest in describing how they handled Judaism in the midst of despair, which is the usual fare in these stories.
This author uses the story of a human being treated like garbage to get the theme across of how the Germans made the Jews feel. I mean literally, a human in this story is tossed onto a garbage pile and left there for her sister to see rot every day. So for the interesting slant of it being a raw story with not much forethought, this book is a good one to add to a repertoire of Jewish stories of woe from WWII.
The issue here for the reader is that this story was not sold to move anyone in any particular way, and the fact that it is flawless, well told, and STILL completely compelling is possibly more of a testament to how important oral history is for the purposes of learning. Please do not misunderstand me, I am NOT saying that any stories of survivors are for profit, I am saying they fall prey to a book editor and a publicist like any other writer.
I could be wrong, but this family was more affluent, more resourceful, and had more time to plan out the emergency. They suffered no less, of course, in the end, but one amazing thing to me is that the father crumbled, the women were stronger, and there was less interest in describing how they handled Judaism in the midst of despair, which is the usual fare in these stories.
This author uses the story of a human being treated like garbage to get the theme across of how the Germans made the Jews feel. I mean literally, a human in this story is tossed onto a garbage pile and left there for her sister to see rot every day. So for the interesting slant of it being a raw story with not much forethought, this book is a good one to add to a repertoire of Jewish stories of woe from WWII.
April 8, 2008
This is a slim memoir, enhanced by a forward and epilogue written by scholars which explain the historical context. The author, Piera Sonnino, wrote it for the benefit of her daughters and never intended it for publication. One of her children had it translated and published years after her death.
It is a fairly typical Holocaust memoir, distinguished mainly by three things: the Italian family that is the subject (not many stories about Italian Holocaust victims out there), the author's dignified, refined genteel tone, and the fact that, unlike in many such books, a lot of information is provided as to what happened to Piera after liberation. I would recommend as a solid addition to Holocaust collections.
It is a fairly typical Holocaust memoir, distinguished mainly by three things: the Italian family that is the subject (not many stories about Italian Holocaust victims out there), the author's dignified, refined genteel tone, and the fact that, unlike in many such books, a lot of information is provided as to what happened to Piera after liberation. I would recommend as a solid addition to Holocaust collections.
January 23, 2011
I quite liked this book. Of course it tells the story of a family who was taken from their home to the concentration camps and of the survival of one member of the family. What I especially enjoyed was the epilogues explaining the significance of the Italian people in hiding Jews and that this country had the lowest amount of Jews taken to the camps. This was beautifully written from Piera's point of view.
October 20, 2019
This book is unlike any other account. It is written by a mom to her daughters as a matter of family record. Also included are overviews describing the historical background of Italian Jews and the culture in which they lived. Extremely emotional. Excellent. Contains a reading list for further study.
September 19, 2018
Reading Challenge 2018
Italy
Stumbled upon this book in the library while shelf surfing. Wow! Learning about Italian Jews during WWII was amazing. A new historical angle in a much studied time period.
Memoir of an Italian Jew that chronicles her family life in Italy during the implementation of Mussolinin's racial laws, being hidden by fellow Italians and finally life in Auschwitz. She was the sole survivor of her family of 8. Written as a private family history, this book was published after her death. A fascinating look at the history of antisemitism in Italy as well as the author's unique life.
Freshly overwhelming and horrifying. A first person account of the holocaust. Amazingly well written with just a few rough spots where the writing becomes unclear.
Some hints of class warfare, as might be expected from that period of history in fascist Italy. The author was never particularly religious and ultimately became a communist.
Minus one star for the commentary by Mary Doria Russell. I was glad to get this limited exposure to her work before embarking on one of her books. She was on my to-read list, but I will be removing her.
I think it is unfair how some of the modern commentary criticizes the author's family for being restrained and concerned about appearances (living in genteel poverty). I recommend reading the memoir and ignoring the commentary. Form your own opinions based on the original text.
Italy
Stumbled upon this book in the library while shelf surfing. Wow! Learning about Italian Jews during WWII was amazing. A new historical angle in a much studied time period.
Memoir of an Italian Jew that chronicles her family life in Italy during the implementation of Mussolinin's racial laws, being hidden by fellow Italians and finally life in Auschwitz. She was the sole survivor of her family of 8. Written as a private family history, this book was published after her death. A fascinating look at the history of antisemitism in Italy as well as the author's unique life.
Freshly overwhelming and horrifying. A first person account of the holocaust. Amazingly well written with just a few rough spots where the writing becomes unclear.
Some hints of class warfare, as might be expected from that period of history in fascist Italy. The author was never particularly religious and ultimately became a communist.
Minus one star for the commentary by Mary Doria Russell. I was glad to get this limited exposure to her work before embarking on one of her books. She was on my to-read list, but I will be removing her.
I think it is unfair how some of the modern commentary criticizes the author's family for being restrained and concerned about appearances (living in genteel poverty). I recommend reading the memoir and ignoring the commentary. Form your own opinions based on the original text.
April 4, 2015
A very short but moving account a woman wrote of her experience of the Holocaust for her daughters. It was published after her death because her daughters felt that her story had a lot to add to the understanding of that experience. The prologue, epilogue and afterword of this book were all very good and were great companions to the actual story. After reading this book I admire the Italians even more for being able to go around the anti-Semitic laws as much as they did and for their bravery in hiding Jews to the best of their ability. Obviously not everyone did this but from the percentage of Jews that were never captured it seems like almost everyone was protecting them.
I thought it was very well-written and moving. Piera is honest and straightforward in writing what happened to her and her family, but she makes her emotions clear. It seemed like the family was caught in a whirlwind of danger and when they were swept up in it finally it was not long before most of them were eliminated, which also shows the desperation of the Nazis to demolish the Jews towards the end of the war; they were captured only a few months before the end of the war and yet of a family of eight only one remained, and she was only barely alive when she was liberated.
I thought it was very well-written and moving. Piera is honest and straightforward in writing what happened to her and her family, but she makes her emotions clear. It seemed like the family was caught in a whirlwind of danger and when they were swept up in it finally it was not long before most of them were eliminated, which also shows the desperation of the Nazis to demolish the Jews towards the end of the war; they were captured only a few months before the end of the war and yet of a family of eight only one remained, and she was only barely alive when she was liberated.
August 19, 2017
I gave 5 stars because I find incredible that Piera could write this book in such an impeccable style and with no grammar mistakes. I cried while she described her sister death. These events really happened. How could she survive that? How could she survive the rest of her life with these atrocities in her past? I think about her and I truly believe she lived hell on earth. She is my hero because she had the courage to continue her life, create a family and her on with her existence
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 10, 2023
Pierra Sonino's memoir of her family's experiences as Jews in Italy in WWII are both matter-of-fact and deeply searing, especially when filtered through the lens of the afterword by Mary Doria Russell. Italy tended to cling tightlyn to its Jews, the result of generations of integration, intermarriage and shared cultural experience. Most of Italy's Jews escaped Germany's demands, thanks to the clever tactics of ordinary people everywhere in the country.
The Sonino family were not so fortunate. They seem to have all been social introverts, on a steadily downward trajectory in the years and months leading up to the German occupation of Italy. In recounting the family circumstances, Sonino acknowledges the efforts of neighbors to help them, which only makes the family members eventual fates more tragic. Pierra alone survived the war.
This is a gem of a book. In writing the particulars of her family experience, the author also provides a framework for honoring the many instances of humanity shown to her family, very often by persons unknown to them forever, These are memories encountered only rarely in Holocaust literature.
The Sonino family were not so fortunate. They seem to have all been social introverts, on a steadily downward trajectory in the years and months leading up to the German occupation of Italy. In recounting the family circumstances, Sonino acknowledges the efforts of neighbors to help them, which only makes the family members eventual fates more tragic. Pierra alone survived the war.
This is a gem of a book. In writing the particulars of her family experience, the author also provides a framework for honoring the many instances of humanity shown to her family, very often by persons unknown to them forever, These are memories encountered only rarely in Holocaust literature.
March 5, 2021
Written for her children and not intended for publication, Pierra and her family were arrested in Italy and sent to concentration camps. She alone survived and her children submitted her story for the world after Pierra's death. We've all heard about the freedoms taken away from Jews, the ghettos, the deportations, forced labor, starvation, death and more. But what strikes me and what I've read in book after book about this subject is their surrendering to their fate. Why did the sisters not flee when they saw the Gestapo at their house? Why did the older brothers not go to Switzerland when they had an opportunity? Because rumors of mass killing of Jews were too crazy to believe. People spreading these tales were conspiracy theorists. Their reaction was to lay low, keep silent, stay invisible. This strategy blinded them. The resistance movement in Italy was very strong. Had they been more aware, the possibility of finding safe havens or fleeing would have been known to them. Instead they were resigned to their destiny.
July 6, 2018
What if? What if? As the sole survivor of the Holocaust of her family of eight, Piera Sonnino wrestles with this question. Written as a personal family record a few years after the events, Sonnino tells a straightforward account of her family hiding from the Nazis and ultimately being betrayed and deported to their deaths.
She recalls the opportunities to escape destruction that her family missed. She must reconcile what has happened and know it was not her fault.
Sonnino records with honesty the details she recalls until what happens "has no reference in the human language." It is a nightmare without hope of waking. She allows her readers to see into her mind: hopes, fears, confusion, resignation, and regret.
At last, the final night her family is alive and together, she writes, "whatever I could say of that time, it wouldn't make sense translated into words; it would be a thin shadow of that reality. I would be stealing it from myself, from what is mine, desperately mine alone."
In the midst of the horror, Sonnino writes of the many Italians who risked their own lives to help the Sonnino family or refused to expose them, even for a reward. When a German woman gives the imprisoned sisters tea and bread to help one sister recover from sickness, Sonnino writes, "But we experienced also the other side of Germany, the real one, the one not corrupted by Hitlerism." I am greatly encouraged by Sonnino's ability to differentiate between Nazis and Germans.
Reading about the Holocaust is hard. I am sickened by the unspeakable horrors people like Piera Sonnino have endured. Yet I am compelled to read, to remember, and to honor the memory of those who suffered.
She recalls the opportunities to escape destruction that her family missed. She must reconcile what has happened and know it was not her fault.
Sonnino records with honesty the details she recalls until what happens "has no reference in the human language." It is a nightmare without hope of waking. She allows her readers to see into her mind: hopes, fears, confusion, resignation, and regret.
At last, the final night her family is alive and together, she writes, "whatever I could say of that time, it wouldn't make sense translated into words; it would be a thin shadow of that reality. I would be stealing it from myself, from what is mine, desperately mine alone."
In the midst of the horror, Sonnino writes of the many Italians who risked their own lives to help the Sonnino family or refused to expose them, even for a reward. When a German woman gives the imprisoned sisters tea and bread to help one sister recover from sickness, Sonnino writes, "But we experienced also the other side of Germany, the real one, the one not corrupted by Hitlerism." I am greatly encouraged by Sonnino's ability to differentiate between Nazis and Germans.
Reading about the Holocaust is hard. I am sickened by the unspeakable horrors people like Piera Sonnino have endured. Yet I am compelled to read, to remember, and to honor the memory of those who suffered.
October 4, 2024
A remembrance of a family during an unbelievable time in history
I was born in 1946 I do not remember it being mentioned in school. But in later years with movies and books I learned more.
This book starts out with a short history of Italy and a build up to this time
The story is about a family that struggled to stay together. That did what they had to stay together. It worked for a while but finally turned in for the reward.
Then the book ends with a shortly history of Italy and it's people.it
Definitely a book you won't want to miss
I was born in 1946 I do not remember it being mentioned in school. But in later years with movies and books I learned more.
This book starts out with a short history of Italy and a build up to this time
The story is about a family that struggled to stay together. That did what they had to stay together. It worked for a while but finally turned in for the reward.
Then the book ends with a shortly history of Italy and it's people.it
Definitely a book you won't want to miss
March 28, 2025
Not one word is wasted
This book has a long forward and afterwards that give analysis about the author's writing. But the actual writing by the author is impacting. It's an unusual style and the author carefully selected the words she used to pull you into the hell she survived. She is the only survivor of her immediate family that survived the horror. If you only read one account of a Holocaust survivor I highly recommend this one.
This book has a long forward and afterwards that give analysis about the author's writing. But the actual writing by the author is impacting. It's an unusual style and the author carefully selected the words she used to pull you into the hell she survived. She is the only survivor of her immediate family that survived the horror. If you only read one account of a Holocaust survivor I highly recommend this one.
December 1, 2024
Probabilmente, questo è il racconto sulla Shoah che più mi ha toccato. La memoria impressa sulle pagine è certamente frutto di un processo di elaborazione lunghissimo e altrettanto doloroso, e leggerla rappresenta un privilegio. Tanto più se ha la forma intensa, brillante e incredibilmente lucida che sa darle Sonnino.
July 18, 2025
And Must Never Happen Again
I read "A Thread of Grace" several years ago and was powerfully moved by it. I especially remember the elderly ladies who were gleeful carriers in the resistance because as one said "no one pays attention to old ladies in the streets or the shops".
Much appreciated was the author of that book, Maria Doris Russell, sharing her extensive research into that book, which offered insights on how this tragic horror befell the Winning family.
We must NEVER forget
I read "A Thread of Grace" several years ago and was powerfully moved by it. I especially remember the elderly ladies who were gleeful carriers in the resistance because as one said "no one pays attention to old ladies in the streets or the shops".
Much appreciated was the author of that book, Maria Doris Russell, sharing her extensive research into that book, which offered insights on how this tragic horror befell the Winning family.
We must NEVER forget
January 16, 2019
Magnífico libro, en muy pocas páginas transmite a la perfección los sentimientos y las angustias de Piera Sonnino y su familia al ser atrapados y deportados a los campos de concentración nazis.
Merece la pena leerlo. no deja indiferente.
Merece la pena leerlo. no deja indiferente.
February 19, 2020
A devastating story, ultimately how a family succumbed to Hitlers despicable ‘final solution’. A very brave lady who wrote about her ordeal to tell her future family, that this has happened. Would recommend 4/5
October 3, 2017
"Soltanto due generazioni libere tra il ghetto di Roma e la notte di Auschwitz. Una breve parentesi. L'ondata è tornata a rinchiudersi su di noi." (p. 73)
July 22, 2018
This woman wrote her story so matter of fact. All of the things her family went through, the possibility of survival, and she can see as an adult how things could have been.
January 18, 2020
True family story filled with emotion and sorrow
August 24, 2021
Imagine being the only survivor in a family of eight. A heartbreaking and well-told story about an Italian family who couldn't evade the enemy.
October 28, 2023
I learned of this book when googling Mary Doria Russell, a favorite author of mine. This book is a simple recollection of the only one of eight in an Italian family who survived the holocaust.
February 3, 2024
A heartbreaking Holocaust memoir of an Auschwitz survivor. Readers get to see his perspective as an inmate, a father and a husband to murdered victims of his family.
August 25, 2024
It still blows my mind what these families went through. I couldn't even begin to imagine.
I'm so sorry.
😞
I'm so sorry.
😞
February 16, 2025
A must read…. And may we never suffer in this way again. May the power of love prevail over Love of power!
June 16, 2025
It was O.K. It was nice to read an afterward that wrote about how Italians were different in general from the other territories the Nazis occupied in their support of Jews.
October 4, 2015
In the book "This Has Happened", the author clearly states her purpose. Piera Sonnino, talks about her extravagant history of what happened to her and her family during the holocaust. Sonnino's purpose of this book was to tell her true story about how her family got taken away by the Nazis. Sonnino is trying to share this sad story and touch many hearts around her when they read this non fiction story of her life during the years of 1941 to 1945. Sonnino wants to tell the horrors of what happened by the Nazis during the holocaust and share true facts of the terrible and excessive pain they caused to many Jewish family's.
The theme of the story "This Has Happened", is the unspeakable and frightful measures the Nazis took to extinguish the Jewish family's. Like the quote " Sonnino and her family leave Genoa and begin the year of hiding and fight that will end after they are denounced and captured." This quote shares the relationship that is connected to the holocaust. Sonnino and her family have to "hide" to hope that they might not get captured and put into concentration camps, and maybe even murdered. Her and her families profligate attempts to escape the Nazis and be free of all of it all ends in a bad excessive triumph.
The style of Sonnino's writing is written in narrative form. Sonnino's story tells of her past history and events. Sonnino's story tells of the true events that include the history of the holocaust. During her life she tells of the story about her family and how they got taken away and put into concentration camps. Sonnino tells of how her family eventually all get murdered by the terror of the Nazis. The story This has happened, goes along with how the history of her life happens through a change of radicle events.
My opinion is that the book went well with the holocaust and the distressful things that happened to a large quantity the Jewish people. When Sonnino shares the story of her life and her families that must have taken lots of courage to write the stressful and upsetting events that accrued. All in all I liked the book but there was a few things I didn't like. I didn't like how the first part of the book was kind of boring and talked a lot about historic events. The first part of the book I kind of lost interest a little. As the book went on it got more interesting and fascinating to learn about her life during the holocaust.
The theme of the story "This Has Happened", is the unspeakable and frightful measures the Nazis took to extinguish the Jewish family's. Like the quote " Sonnino and her family leave Genoa and begin the year of hiding and fight that will end after they are denounced and captured." This quote shares the relationship that is connected to the holocaust. Sonnino and her family have to "hide" to hope that they might not get captured and put into concentration camps, and maybe even murdered. Her and her families profligate attempts to escape the Nazis and be free of all of it all ends in a bad excessive triumph.
The style of Sonnino's writing is written in narrative form. Sonnino's story tells of her past history and events. Sonnino's story tells of the true events that include the history of the holocaust. During her life she tells of the story about her family and how they got taken away and put into concentration camps. Sonnino tells of how her family eventually all get murdered by the terror of the Nazis. The story This has happened, goes along with how the history of her life happens through a change of radicle events.
My opinion is that the book went well with the holocaust and the distressful things that happened to a large quantity the Jewish people. When Sonnino shares the story of her life and her families that must have taken lots of courage to write the stressful and upsetting events that accrued. All in all I liked the book but there was a few things I didn't like. I didn't like how the first part of the book was kind of boring and talked a lot about historic events. The first part of the book I kind of lost interest a little. As the book went on it got more interesting and fascinating to learn about her life during the holocaust.
October 4, 2014
The authors purpose for this book was to give her history and what she experienced throughout the holocaust growing up.The theme of this book is about an Italian family in Auschwitz concentration camp. Piera Sonnino and her family attempted to hide from the Germans for as long as possible, staying in many different huts and apartments, but unfortunately something happened where the Nazis found Piera and her family and transferred them to Auschwitz. The style of this novel was non-fiction. The writers opinion of the book was clearly displaying how hard of a time it was not just for her, but for all of her loved ones. Everything they went through, was just absolutely devastating.
This book really opens the readers eyes not just to all of the history throughout the holocaust, but also through the perspective of Piera, who was a victim. Being able to visualize what it was like for her to get transferred to Auschwitz, loose all her family, and become ill herself, really puts things into perspective.Everyone complains of things they do not have now a days, when back then, the victims of the holocaust just wanted some water after four days of nothing to eat or drink.
In my opinion, this book was pretty good, although the first couple chapters were a bit hard to get through because of all of the dates and history of her life she is displaying. Besides that, I would recommend it to anyone who is wanting to learn more about the holocaust and be able to visualize things through a victims perspective.
This book really opens the readers eyes not just to all of the history throughout the holocaust, but also through the perspective of Piera, who was a victim. Being able to visualize what it was like for her to get transferred to Auschwitz, loose all her family, and become ill herself, really puts things into perspective.Everyone complains of things they do not have now a days, when back then, the victims of the holocaust just wanted some water after four days of nothing to eat or drink.
In my opinion, this book was pretty good, although the first couple chapters were a bit hard to get through because of all of the dates and history of her life she is displaying. Besides that, I would recommend it to anyone who is wanting to learn more about the holocaust and be able to visualize things through a victims perspective.
December 10, 2013
This has happened: an Italian family in Auschwitz-Piera Sonnino
5/5 read from October-November by cloie kim
this has happened is a book about a family in Nazi period Italy. it is a really nice book, i liked it a lot. what i like about it is that it's from the account of a survivor. it also is quite ironic. how that Hitler made most people believe that he was doing the right thing. now most people associate Hitler with the devil. the irony of it is amusing in a morbid sense.i think that this is a book for people who love the morbid and triumph tales all mixed in one, i know i do. it also has the historic element in it, while holding the pretense of fantasy. it's also sorta funny. how that Hitler tried to get everyone around to his way of thinking and yet today they still hate him. in all, if you like history, morbid literature, with a ironic sense to it, with an ending of triumph, all with a feel of another world. then books like these are the one for you. it is also sad, though as all the holocaust writings are. but it just is incredible, how they survived. it questions all sense and reason and logic in a simple phrase. this has happened, this is what happens when you discriminate. this has happened and we need to be aware of the consequences our actions bring. this has happened, it would not have had we just thought. all in all, it's a good book and you should read it.
5/5 read from October-November by cloie kim
this has happened is a book about a family in Nazi period Italy. it is a really nice book, i liked it a lot. what i like about it is that it's from the account of a survivor. it also is quite ironic. how that Hitler made most people believe that he was doing the right thing. now most people associate Hitler with the devil. the irony of it is amusing in a morbid sense.i think that this is a book for people who love the morbid and triumph tales all mixed in one, i know i do. it also has the historic element in it, while holding the pretense of fantasy. it's also sorta funny. how that Hitler tried to get everyone around to his way of thinking and yet today they still hate him. in all, if you like history, morbid literature, with a ironic sense to it, with an ending of triumph, all with a feel of another world. then books like these are the one for you. it is also sad, though as all the holocaust writings are. but it just is incredible, how they survived. it questions all sense and reason and logic in a simple phrase. this has happened, this is what happens when you discriminate. this has happened and we need to be aware of the consequences our actions bring. this has happened, it would not have had we just thought. all in all, it's a good book and you should read it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews