Commodore Levy: A Novel of Early America in the Age of Sail (Modern Jewish History): How One Man Tried to Stop the Holocaust - Softcover

E. Thomas Wood; Stanislaw M. Jankowski

Softcover

ISBN 10: 089672882X ISBN 13: 9780896728820

Publisher: Texas Tech University Press, 2014

Synopsis

A young Polish diplomat turned cavalry officer, Jan Karski joined the Polish Underground movement in 1939. He became a courier for the Underground, crossing enemy lines to serve as a liaison between occupied Poland and the free world.

In 1942, Jewish leaders asked him to carry a desperate message to Allied leaders: the news of Hitler's effort to exterminate the Jews of Europe. To be able to deliver an authentic report, Karski twice toured the Warsaw Ghetto in disguise and later volunteered to be smuggled into a camp that was part of the Nazi murder machine.

Carrying searing tales of inhumanity, Karski set out to alert the world to the emerging Holocaust, meeting with top Allied officials and later President Roosevelt, to deliver his descriptions of genocide.

Part spy thriller and part compelling story of moral courage against all odds, Karski is the first definitive account of perhaps the most significant warning of the impending Holocaust to reach the free world.

About this title

Review:

Karski is the remarkable story of a modest man who has become a "professional hero.." . . Economically written and well-researched. --The Times Literary Supplement

A book that is more than just a spy thriller: Karski's report raises anew the question of why the Allies didn't make ending the mass-murder of the Jews a war aim. --Der Spiegel

From the Back Cover:

"Karski is a story of incredible valor, a story of personal courage and uncommon determination to bring to Allied leaders the awful truth about the mass murder of the Jews of Europe. It is the story of a man who understood the poisonous effects of bigotry and hatred. His fight against Nazi oppression came to an end in 1945. His fight against anti–Semitism has never stopped." —Miles Lerman, Chairman, United States Holocaust Memorial Council

Praise for Karski: How One Man Tried to Stop the Holocaust

"Karski′s is a fantastic story—and the author tells it well. This is a riveting as well as a harrowing read."—The Times (London)

"His [Karski′s] engrossing biography is valuable, for it tempers the widespread contention that Gentile Poland was indifferent to the plight of Jews."—Publishers Weekly

"A significant account of personal heroism—not only dramatic as a story, but also a compelling moral message regarding the human condition. . . . A superb read."—Zbigniew Brzezinski

"Jan Karski emerges from these pages as truly one of the ′righteous among nations.′ It is the shame of history that . . . none of the leaders of the free world would heed his call for help."—Abraham Foxman, National Director, Anti–Defamation League

"Karski[′s] is a remarkable story . . . which the authors tell with sympathy and verve."—The Times Literary Supplement (London)

About this edition

• Publisher: Texas Tech University Press
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 089672882X
• ISBN 13: 9780896728820
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 277