Rich Cohen, The Avengers: A Jewish War Story
(New York: Vintage Books of Random House), 2000.
Available in hard cover, paperback, Kindle and audiotape.
Non-fiction
Recommended by Dorinda Kauzlarich-Rupe
This is a World War II true and amazing story
of three Jewish young people who, with great courage, actively resisted Nazi
Germany. Upon the liquidation of the ghetto in Vilna, Lithuania, the
three escaped to the forest and teamed up with various partisan groups from Russia
and Prussia in the fight. They displayed great strength, courage and
creativity. The story follows them through the war and into Palestine, where
they eventually settled. Cohen paints very colorful, soul grabbing
pictures of the struggles these three encountered and sometimes created.
An especially poignant paragraph towards the
end of the book, when the three were on a boat heading to Palestine is: “In
one photo, Vitka stands on deck, her hair tossed in the wind. Refugees
stare out at the horizon. Vitka could tell a partisan from a survivor at
twenty feet. The partisans were soldiers—giving orders, taking
orders. The survivors were in some way crippled, sitting until told to
move, moving until told to sit.”
The New York Times, in their review said of
Cohen and his story, “Fascinating….His language is spare and
muscular, his descriptions evocative, his technique suspenseful. He is
moved by this story and he moves us.”
This is truly an excellent book based on good
research. It gives unusual insight into the resistance to Hitler and the
struggle for human rights. I highly recommend it.
