Camps Books

THE JAPANESE SPA: A GUIDE TO JAPAN'S FINEST RYOKAN AND ONSEN provides a color survey of lovely Japanese spas. Perfect for inspiration to any who either wish to visit Japan or model a home redecoration after Japanese tradition.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

In October 1997, Dr. Bernard Klein, the chairman of the Department of History, Philosophy and Political Science at Kingsborough Community College, aka Brooklyn College at the City University of New York, organized the first international conference and exhibit on the Jasenovac Ustasha Concentration Camps in the former Yugoslavia.

He did so after meeting Dr. Milan Bulajic, the director of the Museum of Genocide Victims in Belgrade.

During World War II, the Serbian population of this region suffered a genocide at the hands of the Nazis and their Croatian accomplices, as did 95 percent of the Roma population of the area.

This book was printed in limited quantities to begin with; if I am not mistaken no more than 1,000 copies were issued in the first printing.

For reasons I don't understand, having to do with a copyright lawsuit, apparently at the hands of alleged genocide perpetrators it is unfortunately no longer available, and that is a shame.

The original editors, shown on my recently acquired copy as Wanda Schindley and Petar Makara, are much to be commended for their courage.

The euthanasia program that started in 1939, led to the Eisatzgruppen "mobile killing units" first dispatched in the summer of 1941, and later to a concentration camp in the abandoned exhibit grounds of Zemun, "in view of Belgrade," where from March to May 1942, Jewish women were murdered in "mobile gas vans." And in 1941, when this camp was established, secrecy was not even necessary--because the Nazis were presumed the would-be victors of World War II.

This is a critically important book, not only because it documents what happened to Serbs in Yugoslavia, but also because it has been, for all intents and purposes, denied a public audience by virtue of a court order.

Based on the book's content, it would not be difficult to believe that the plaintiffs in this copyright case are merely silencers and sympathizers of the genocide. Otherwise, they should immediately grant a license to the editors and publisher, for one U.S. dollar.

In this there is a lesson even today: in genocides (like that in Sudan) courts, governments, and international authorities, are often entirely complicit. It's a shame that any U.S. court would sanction the publication of this instructive volume, for any reason.

--Alyssa A. Lappen

The Jewish Women Of Ravensbruck Concentration Camp by Rochelle G. Saidel (Founder and Director of the Remember the Women Institute in New York and Senior Scientific Research at the Center for the Study of Women and Gender, University of Sao Paulo) is an impressive and seminal contribution to the growing library of Holocaust Studies with its focus upon the fate of Jewish women imprisoned in the infamous Nazi concentration camp of Ravensbruck which was located about 50 miles north of Berlin. Originally designed for 5,000 women, it held six times this number and was the site for the Nazi's methodical program of extermination through slave labor, torture, starvation, shooting, lethal injection, medical experimentation, and gassing. Between 1939 and 1945, some 132, 000 women from twenty- three countries were imprisoned and in addition to the Jews, also included political prisoners, Jehovah's Witnesses, gypsies, prostitute, lesbians, criminals, and prisoners of war. Only 15,000 women survived by the end of the war (3,000 of them in the camp itself when it was overrun by the Soviet Army on April 30, 1945 -- the rest had been taken to Sweden by the Red Cross, while the remaining women survived a last ditch "death march" by the Nazi's fleeing the advancing Russian troops). Drawing upon interviews and unpublished testimonies from more than sixty survivors in the United States, Israel, Europe, Brazil, and Canada -- as well as documents, oral histories, and historic photography, The Jewish Women Of Ravensbruck Concentration Camp is a memorable and informative compilation of collective and individual portraits of these women and the suffering they endured. Very Highly Recommended.

This book can be seen as the ultimate Benji tribute, primarily because it was written by Frank Inn, Benji's owner, trainer, and friend. Benji was a scared little six-week old puppy when Frank Inn saw him at an Animal Shelter and literally saved his life. This book briefly recounts Benji's road to stardom and features a number of pictures of Benji in a variety of settings. Frank Inn was already a well-known animal trainer, and Benji (who was originally named Higgins) turned out to be the smartest animal Inn had ever worked with. Benji was so talented that fame basically found him on two occasions. On the set of Beverly Hillbillies, Paul Henning just so happened to see Inn (who supplied some of Ellie Mae's critters for the show) working with Benji and selected him as the dog for his upcoming series Petticoat Junction. After seven years on television, Benji retired and began leading a normal dog's life. Then rookie filmmaker Joe Camp came calling to ask for Frank Inn's help in making a movie that would tell the story from a dog's point of view, seemingly a crazy idea to many. Walking back to his car, Camp looked over and spotted Benji resting in the shade; he knew then and there that he had the canine actor he was looking for.

There is at least one picture included on every page: Benji as a puppy, shots from Petticoat Junction and the first two Benji films, private and behind-the-scenes shots of Benji, photos of Benji and some of his many fans taken during his national and worldwide tours, and photos taken on the night of the world premiere of the original Benji film. Best of all, though, you get shots and photos from the big night when Benji became just the second animal (the first was Lassie) to be inducted into the Animal Actors Hall of Fame; this is basically the most prestigious award possible for an animal and his trainer.

This isn't a very lengthy book by any means, and none of the many photos are in color, but Frank Inn's love for Benji and the amount of satisfaction he felt knowing how many lives Benji had brightened in locations all over the globe are palpable and obviously from the heart. No Benji collection is complete without at least one copy of The Phenomenon of Benji.

This memoir is a great and important work. Mishell was one of the few survivors of the Kovno ghetto, and if one wishes to learn about the destruction of Jews on Soviet territory, this is the book to read.

I really liked this book. The sleepover friends is a great series I recommend reading them all. In this book Kate, Lauren, Stephani and Patti go to Spirit Lake for a campout where all sorts of spooky things begin happen.

The stories from this book slowly enter your heart and mind.. and before you know it, you are traveling back to your old childhood, reliving old memories as these young kids have now experienced! The sweet and candid innocence of their words stir your emotions and remind you how gently the Lord works on young hearts, by and through the use of other young hearts! A read you'll remember and refer to time and again! I loved it!

If you're writing a paper on Japanese Internment Camps, this book is really good. It superbly defines the generation gap of Japanese-Americans during the 1940's. In addition, the foreward to this book is well-written and very helpful. This book helps show what happened to the Japanese during World War 2.

The Klausenberger Rebbe: The War Years is part 1 of a two-part inspirational biography of Rabbi Yekusiel Yehudah Halberstam, the Klausenberger Rebbe. Rabbi Halberstam was one of millions of Jews who was captured by the Nazis and held in their most notorious concentration camps. Although nothing in Jewish law required him to strictly observe Jewish laws regarding the Sabbath, dietary laws, ritual hand washing and more, Rabbi Halberstam continued to observe every Biblical commandment allowing himself no exceptions despite torture, starvation and the loss of his entire family, in what turned out to be the ultimate defiance of the Nazi persecution. This book, a translation of Lapid HaEish by Aharon Surasky, describes those war years, how the Rebbe refused to be bowed to the will of the Nazis, inspired camp inmates to survive, and then, following liberation, took responsibility for the care and education of displaced children and the spiritual needs of all Jews. The Klausenberger's inspiring tale should be read by old and young alike. Part II of Judah Lifschitz's translation has recently been released (December 2007), and is called "The Klausenberger Rebbe: Rebuilding," which covers the Rebbe's post-war activities in which he built communities, schools and hospitals in the United States and Israel. Hopefully, it, too will be on Amazon.com shortly.

Robert Conquest's book KOLYMA:THE ARCITIC DEATH CAMPS is a well written history of the worst of the Soviet concentration camps. This book is not for the timid or weak minded. Yet Conquest's book is a solid antidote to the fawning nonsense that somehow the Soviet system was a benefit to the Russian people and Soviet citizens. This is a depressing, tragic account of "The Worker's Paradice," and is a shock to those who referred to Joseph Stalin as "Uncle Joe."

Readers should be aware that the Soviet mass murder concentration camps DID NOT originate with Joseph Stalin & co. As soon as the Bolsheviks took power in 1917, Lenin & co. had a record of political murder that was only enhanced by the Stalinoids. Lenin had more political murders than all of the 19th and early 20th century Czars combined. The brutality of the Soviet system was clear by 1919, and the only thing that Stalin did was greatly enhance political murder and terror. In other words, what Lenin started, Stalin greatly enhanced in the Soviet police state.

Conquest began his study of the Kolyma concentration camp by examining the "Gulag Archepelago" of concentration camps beginning in Western Siberia and extending to Kolyma in far Northeastern Siberia. The further east the camps were, the worse they were including Kolyma which was the worst of terrible concentration camp conditions.

The mere transport of prisoners to Kolyma was a terrifying experience. The Soviet police had to send prisoners by ship into the Nothern Pacific Ocean and Artic Ocean. If prisoners protested their terrible conditions on board these ships, they would be sprayed with ocean water in frigid conditions. The lack of food, space, sanitation conditions, etc. insured that many prisoners died en route to a slow death of over work and starvation diets.

Conquest did a good job in explaining the catagories of prisoners. Violent prisoners and those who were predators faired best. Conquest reported that violent offenders could not be executed because the Soviets abolished capital punishment for homicide prisoners. Yet, political dissenters and those who were suspected of not adhering to the party line could be executed (murdered) under Soviet "law." Needless to say the violent criminals ran the camps among prison groups.

Conquest's history of Kolyma is interesting. Prior to 1937, prisoners got adequet food and clothing. The Soviet authorities wanted to exploit the fold reserves in this area, and properly fed and clothed prisoners would obviously be more productive. Howeverin 1937, this policy changed. The Soviet authorities wanted the prisoners to die of famine, exhaustion, and poor conditions. Rations were curtailed. In fact, there were just enough supplies for men and women to barely exist, and the concentration camp guards made sure they themselves were fed and provided before the prisoners were. There is an interesting anecdote whereby in bitter cold weather, inmates would be told to drop the wood in their coats before entering the camps to sleep. The inmates would only discard part of the wood for heating fuel which the guards used. The guards knew full well the inmates did not surrender all the wood they had, and the operation was just a police state formality.

The casuality rates in the Soviet concentration camps were appalingly high. Serious estimates are that possibly over 20 million Soviet citizens died in these camps, and over one-tenth of the Soviet citizens were sent to these camps to be literally worked to death. The death rate at Kolyma was by far the worst. Over 80-90 percent of the inmates died. The Soviets sent over 12,000 Polish prisoners to Kolyma, and only 600 survived. Readers can do the math.

A good companion volume is Robert Conquest's book titled HARVEST OF SORROW. The reviewer who uses the name Prometheus Zossimos wrote an impressive review of this book which readers should examine. For those of The Eastern Establishment who still cling to "leftest" ideologies, these books are a shock, but they are an important lesson when men profess heaven on earth.

While KOLYMA: THE ARCTIC DEATH CAMPS is just the history of one remote Soviet concentration camp, the book is an excellent guide of results of unbridled power and blind submission to authority. During the Yalta Conference in 1945, Stalin boasted that his crushing of the Kulaks between 1928 and 1933 resulted in 17 million deaths. Someone should have had the effrontery to ask what the death rate was at Kolyma.