Celia Gurevitch Jewish Community Library

Bernard Offen is a part-time resident of Sonoma County and is known to some of our members and to people at Sonoma State University. The review below was written by Susanne M. Batzdorff for the AJL Newsletter.

Offen, Bernard. My Hometown Concentration Camp: A Survivors’s Account of Life in the Kraków and Plaszów Concentration Camp. London , Portland , OR , 2008. xxxviii,

138 p. $24.95 (ISBN 978-0-85303-636-4, ISSN 1363-3759).

This is yet another of hundreds of personal stories written by Holocaust survivors. In his preface, Sir Martin Gilbert states: “The memoirs of each survivor throw new light and cast new perspectives on the fate of the Jews of Europe during the Holocaust. No voice is too small or humble to be heard… Each new memoir adds to our knowledge not only of the Holocaust but also of many aspects of the human condition that are universal and timeless.”

Bernard was not yet 11 years old, when he and his family were deported from his home in Krakow . Of more than 60 members of his family, only Bernard and his two older brothers survived. In simple words and with the help of co-author Norman G. Jacobs, the author opens the door to his sorrowful past.This book relates the horrific story of what happened to Bernard and his family, it serves as a guide to the Krakow of his childhood and the Krakow of today, and its final chapters deal with the slow and painful struggle of this survivor to deal with his losses and suffering and gradually discover new meaning and purpose in his life. Maps and photographs illustrate this narrative. Notes and a 6-page bibliography testify to the research that enhances Offen’s autobiographical account. Recommended for libraries with extensive Holocaust collections.

Susanne M. Batzdorff, Librarian (Retired) Celia Gurevitch Jewish Community Library at Congregation Beth Ami, Santa Rosa , CA .