A Train Near Magdeburg
A Teacher’s Journey into the Holocaust, and the Reuniting of the Survivors and Liberators, 70 years on
Paperback click here Ebook for Kindle Signed by Author Copy
–Featuring testimony from 15 American liberators and over 30 Holocaust survivors
-10 custom maps
-73 photographs and illustrations, many never before published.
-extensive notes and bibliographical references
INCLUDED:
BOOK ONE–THE HOLOCAUST
BOOK TWO–THE AMERICANS
BOOK THREE–LIBERATION
BOOK FOUR–REUNION
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–From the author of ‘The Things Our Fathers Saw’ World War II narrative history trilogy–
From the book:
– ‘I survived because of many miracles. But for me to actually meet, shake hands, hug, and cry together with my liberators—the ‘angels of life’ who literally gave me back my life—was just beyond imagination.’–Leslie Meisels, Holocaust Survivor
– ‘Battle-hardened veterans learn to contain their emotions, but it was difficult then, and I cry now to think about it. What stamina and regenerative spirit those brave people showed!‘–George C. Gross, Liberator
– ‘Never in our training were we taught to be humanitarians. We were taught to be soldiers.’–Frank Towers, Liberator
– ‘I cannot believe, today, that the world almost ignored those people and what was happening. How could we have all stood by and have let that happen? They do not owe us anything. We owe them, for what we allowed to happen to them.’–Carrol Walsh, Liberator
– ‘[People say it] cannot happen here in this country; yes, it can happen here. I was 21 years old. I was there to see it happen.’–Luca Furnari, US Army
– ‘[After I got home] I cried a lot. My parents couldn’t understand why I couldn’t sleep at times.’–Walter ‘Babe’ Gantz, US Army medic
– ‘I grew up and spent all my years being angry. This means I don’t have to be angry anymore.’–Paul Arato, Holocaust Survivor
– ‘For the first time after going through sheer hell, I felt that there was such a thing as simple love coming from good people—young men who had left their families far behind, who wrapped us in warmth and love and cared for our well-being.’–Sara Atzmon, Holocaust Survivor
– ‘It’s not for my sake, it’s for the sake of humanity, that they will remember.’–Steve Barry, Holocaust Survivor
THE HOLOCAUST was a watershed event in history. In this book, Matthew Rozell reconstructs a lost chapter—the liberation of a ‘death train’ deep in the heart of Nazi Germany in the closing days of the World War II. Drawing on never-before published eye-witness accounts, survivor testimony and memoirs, and wartime reports and letters, Rozell brings to life the incredible true stories behind the iconic 1945 liberation photographs taken by the soldiers who were there. He weaves together a chronology of the Holocaust as it unfolds across Europe, and goes back to literally retrace the steps of the survivors and the American soldiers who freed them. Rozell’s work results in joyful reunions on three continents, seven decades later. He offers his unique perspective on the lessons of the Holocaust for future generations, and the impact that one person, a teacher, can make.
PREVIEW THE BOOK here
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NEW From Matthew Rozell
The Things Our Fathers Saw- VOL III, Book Two: War in the Air
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The Things Our Fathers Saw- VOL II, Book One: War in the Air
Paperback click here Ebook for Kindle Signed by Author Copy
THE THIRD BOOK
Dying for freedom isn’t the worst that could happen. Being forgotten is.
— “You flew with what I would call ‘controlled fear’. You were scared stiff, but it was controlled. My ball turret gunner–he couldn’t take it anymore… I guess he was right. He’s dead now. But he had lost control of the fear. He never got out of that ball turret; he died in that ball turret.” –B-24 bombardier
Here are the stories that the magazine could not tell, from a vanishing generation speaking to America today.
By the end of 2018, fewer than 400,000 WW II veterans will still be with us, out of the over 16 million who put on a uniform. But why is it that today, nobody seems to know these stories?
Maybe our veterans did not volunteer to tell us; maybe we were too busy with our own lives to ask. But they opened up to the younger generation, when a history teacher told their grandchildren to ask.
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The Things Our Fathers Saw
Volume I
The Untold Stories of the World War II Generation from Hometown, USA
Voices of the Pacific Theater
Paperback click here Ebook for Kindle Signed by Author Copy
PREVIEW THE BOOK here
Description
At the height of World War II, LOOK Magazine profiled a small American community for a series of articles portraying it as the wholesome, patriotic model of life on the home front. Decades later, author Matthew Rozell tracks down over thirty survivors who fought the war in the Pacific, from Pearl Harbor to the surrender at Tokyo Bay. The book resurrects firsthand accounts of combat and brotherhood, of captivity and redemption, and the aftermath of a war that left no American community unscathed. Here are the stories that the magazine could not tell, from a vanishing generation speaking to America today. It is up to us to remember—for own sakes, as much as theirs.
-Featuring over a dozen custom maps and 35 photographs, including never-before published portraits. Extended notes and companion website.
ORDER YOUR COPY HERE at Amazon: bit.ly/FathersSaw
How soon we forget. Or perhaps, we were never told. That is understandable, given what they saw. But, it happened.
From the book:
— ‘I was talking to a shipmate of mine waiting for the motor launch, and all at once I saw a plane go over our ship. I did not know what it was, but the fellow with me said, ‘That’s a Jap plane, Jesus!’ It went down and dropped a torpedo. Then I saw the Utah turn over.’ ~U.S. Navy seaman, Pearl Harbor
— ‘Rage is instantaneous. He’s looking at me from a crawling position. I didn’t shoot him; I went and kicked him in the head. Rage does funny things. After I kicked him, I shot and killed him.’ ~Marine veteran, Battle of Guadalcanal
— ‘Marched to Camp I at Cabanatuan, a distance of six miles, which is the main prison camp here in the Philippines. Food is scarcer now than anytime so far. Fifty men to a bucket of rice!’ ~U.S. Army prisoner of war, Corregidor
— ‘They were firing pretty heavily at us… it’s rather difficult to fly when you have a rosary in each hand. I took more fellas in with me than I brought home that day, unfortunately.’ ~U.S. Navy torpedo bomber pilot, Guadalcanal
— ‘I remember it rained like hell that night, and the water was running down the slope into our foxholes. I had to use my helmet to keep bailing out, you know. Lt. Gower called us together. He said, ‘I think we’re getting hit with a banzai. We’re going to have to pull back.’ Holy Jesus, there was howling and screaming! They had naked women, with spears, stark naked!’ ~U.S. Army veteran, Saipan
— ‘After 3½ years of starvation and brutal treatment, that beautiful symbol of freedom once more flies over our head! Our camp tailor worked all night and finished our first American flag! The blue came from a GI barracks bag, red from a Jap comforter and the white from an Australian bed sheet. When I came out of the barracks and saw those beautiful colors for the first time I felt like crying!’ ~U.S. Army prisoner of war, Japan, at war’s end
— ‘There was a family that lost two sons in World War II. The family got a telegram on a Monday that one of the boys was killed, and that Thursday they got another telegram saying that his brother had been killed. There were about 35 young men from our town who were killed in World War II, and I knew every one of them; most were good friends of mine.’ ~U.S. Navy seaman, Tokyo Bay
— ‘I hope you’ll never have to tell a story like this, when you get to be 87. I hope you’ll never have to do it.’ ~Marine veteran, Iwo Jima
To be the first to learn of my upcoming releases, sign up at bit.ly/RozellNewBook. I won’t share your email with anyone else, and I will not clutter your inbox, only contacting you when a new book is out!
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UPCOMING TITLES
FROM MATTHEW ROZELL
2018
The Things Our Fathers Saw, Volume III
The Untold Stories of the World War II Generation from Hometown, USA–
Voices of the Mediterranean/European Theater
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The Things Our Fathers Saw, Volume IV
The Untold Stories of the World War II Generation from Hometown, USA–
Voices of D-Day and Beyond
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MATTHEW ROZELL is an award-winning history teacher, author, blogger and speaker. He has been featured as the ABC World News ‘Person of the Week’ and has had his work filmed for CBS News, NBC Learn, the Israeli Broadcast Authority, the New York State United Teachers, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Visit his blog at TeachingHistoryMatters.com.
can’t wait to read and then pass on to my family to read especially my son-in-law a history buff I am sure my husband will want to read it too thank you wish readings like this were available when I was in school
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