Auschwitz Poems.

by Lily Brett, David Rankin

heart breaking

Genres: Poetry

149 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Kit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harrowing and powerful. I came across this book randomly in my uni library and just had to pick it up because of the title. It is one of the simplest books to read but also the hardest. Some of the images make you cringe, and I'm a 22 year old male. The beauty of this book is not just the description of life in the concentration camps, but also life after it, as an immigrant in an indifferent Australia. Brett's family tried to maintain a face of normality despite the hanuntings of their experiences beneath the surfaces of their actions. But the one thing that strikes me most is her depiction of the Sonderkommandos, prisoners who were employed to do the killings of other prisoners, but after three months will be replaced, as one poem describes:

The
first
job

of
every
Sonderkommando
unit

was
to
kill

the
unit

they
were
replacing

the
unit

they
were

replacing

mostly
went

willingly.

[Kylie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hauntingly chilling.
Articulate knowings of before, during & after Auschwitz.
The fear of capture, struggle for daily survival, the guilt of surviving, making do for their children.