The Long Night: A True Story - Softcover

Ernst Israel Bornstein

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1592644406 ISBN 13: 9781592644407

Publisher: Toby Press LLC, The, 2016

Synopsis

'The Long Night' is Ernst Israel Bornstein s firsthand account of what he witnessed in seven concentration camps. Written with remarkable insight and raw emotion, 'The Long Night' paints a portrait of human psychology in the darkest of times. Bornstein tells the stories of those who did all they could do to withstand physical and psychological torture, starvation, and sickness, and openly describes those who were forced to inflict suffering on others. The narrative is simple, yet profound; unbridled, honest, and dignified. 'The Long Night is the extraordinary tale of Ernst Israel Bornstein's tortuous passage through a number of Nazi camps. What he endured remind us that there were many different experiences of the camps and that there is no single Holocaust narrative. Most of the camps to which Dr Bornstein was sent remain little known today, yet they remind us of just how widespread, vast and destructive the brutal camp system was.' - Dan Stone: Professor of Modern History, Royal Holloway, University of London Co-Editor, Journal of Genocide Research: Co-Editor, Patterns of Prejudice 'It is one of the most fascinating testimonies I have come across.' - Ruth-Anne Lenga: Head of Academic Programmes, Centre for Holocaust Education, Institute of Education University of London 'I read Dr Bornstein's book over two days in preparation for an interview with his family and was transported entirely into the horrors that he experienced, but also into the inner worlds of his resilience and soulful humanity. The narrative is written with such accessible directness, shattering in its detail, but also remarkable in its power to convey the friendships and many kindnesses that helped Dr Bornstein to survive against seemingly insurmountable odds against a backdrop coloured by the painful grinding daily detail of what really happened to a lost generation. The precision detail of his recollection is astounding and his early death a tragedy, but his legacy lives on in the determination his now grown-up children have to preserve and share a narrative that deserves the widest possible audience. The translation by his eldest daughter - a labour of love that took her three years - is elegant, nuanced and invisible; it is the finest tribute to a remarkable man. It has been a privilege.' - Jane Warren, Senior Feature Writer, Daily Express 'It's a rare and honest eyewitness account of the Holocaust.' - Graham Satchell, BBC Reporter

About this title

Review:

Ernst Israel Bornstein had been eighteen when his world collapsed; youthful adaptability self-possession and above all, luck, combined to preserve his husk in seven work camps which might have been modeled on the sequence of Dante's circles of hell. --The Times Literary Supplement

Unless you think it would be a good thing for us to forget about the Nazi Holocaust, you should read this crucial testimony. It is a terrifying personal account of an unspeakable but clinical horror, all the more powerful for being told with remarkable self-restraint. A reminder that in the twenty-first century that we forget at our peril --Jonathan Dimbleby

Dr Bornstein is both restrained and graphic at the same time. Seen through the eyes of one man the horror is magnified and reminds us that each one of the millions had lives and hope before the Holocaust. It is about what could have been as much as what happened. This is a first-hand account, a testimony that must be handed to the next generation to treasure, respect and remember. --Rt Hon. Eric Pickles MP, the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Post-Holocaust Issues

About the Author:

Dr. Ernst Israel Bornstein was born in Zawiercie, a city in the Silesian province of southern Poland (60km from Auschwitz) on the 26th of November 1922. He was the oldest of four children. He was incarcerated in seven concentration camps, enduring the infamous death march until finally being liberated by American soldiers near Lake Starnberg in Bavaria on the 30th of April 1945. Thereafter,he lived in Munich, Germany, studied at the University of Munich graduating as a Dentist (Dr. Med Dent) in 1952 and as a Doctor of Medicine (Dr. Med) in 1958. He practiced as an oral surgeon. Dr. Bornstein died on the 14 August 1978 aged 55. Dr. Bornstein was the founder of the Association of Ex-Concentration Camp Inmates in Munich, whose chairman he remained until he died, was a member of the executive committee of the Jewish Community in Munich and chairman of the Consortium of Associations of Persecutees in Bavaria. He originally wrote this book, Die Lange Nacht (The Long Night) shortly after the War,setting out his Holocaust experiences, whilst his memories were fresh and his feelings raw. This book was originally published in Germany, in 1967.

About this edition

• Publisher: Toby Press LLC, The
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1592644406
• ISBN 13: 9781592644407
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 284