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The Krakow Diary of Julius Feldman
- GenresHistory
111 pages, Paperback
First published April 7, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 10, 2010
The short, spare Holocaust account of a nineteen-year-old Jewish boy from Krakow. The first 78 pages of the book are a memoir of Julius Feldman's experiences from the start of the war; the final couple of pages are some diary entries from April 1943. The diary ends in mid-sentence. Little is known about Julius's fate, other than that he didn't survive the Holocaust; he was probably killed in May of 1943.
Although Julius writes calmly and unemotionally, the horror of what he went through is obvious. He lost his entire immediate family -- mother, father and younger brother -- on the same day during a major deportation in the ghetto. During that time he instructed his mother to hide under a table in a workshop, but after he left her, when the Germans called for everyone to come out of the buildings onto the street, for whatever reason she obeyed. When he returned to the spot where she'd been hiding, all he found were the marks of her tears on the table.
The book is illustrated with many black and white photographs, some from Julius's surviving relatives and some general war pictures. There are also endnotes and a timeline to help clarify the diary and place it in its proper historical context.
A decent scholarly effort, and a worthy edition to the shelf of Holocaust diary/memoirs.
Although Julius writes calmly and unemotionally, the horror of what he went through is obvious. He lost his entire immediate family -- mother, father and younger brother -- on the same day during a major deportation in the ghetto. During that time he instructed his mother to hide under a table in a workshop, but after he left her, when the Germans called for everyone to come out of the buildings onto the street, for whatever reason she obeyed. When he returned to the spot where she'd been hiding, all he found were the marks of her tears on the table.
The book is illustrated with many black and white photographs, some from Julius's surviving relatives and some general war pictures. There are also endnotes and a timeline to help clarify the diary and place it in its proper historical context.
A decent scholarly effort, and a worthy edition to the shelf of Holocaust diary/memoirs.
January 14, 2026
Julius' experiences present an alternative side of the Holocaust - one where the banality of work becomes something to look towards with gratitude and one where a young Jewish man develops a belief that he must have done something to deserve this fate.
The diary ending mid-sentence shows the fragility of life in the ghetto (and barracks.)
The diary ending mid-sentence shows the fragility of life in the ghetto (and barracks.)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 23, 2023
Deeply unsettling, but an essential read.
September 14, 2013
Informative, acutely observed, desperately sad. It was found stuffed in a wall after the war having ended mid- sentence.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews