Recommended publications
The author Karen Treiger has kindly written a brief overview of her book:
'Sam Goldberg escaped from the Treblinka Death Camp during the prisoner revolt on August 2, 1943, and was one of approximately 65 to survive from that place of hell. Running to the woods he met Esther, who was hiding there. For another year until liberation they hid together in barns and in a pit in the forest. I am married to Sam and Esther's son, and I uncovered details of their wartime experiences and travelled to Poland to meet the families of the 'Righteous Gentiles' who helped them survive. The dead of Poland speak loudly from the ashes, but the living find new voices. I listened to these voices and in the process also found my own.'
Chris Webb who helped Karen with this book would like to recommend this publication:
Karen Treiger first contacted me to say I had excluded her father -in- law in my book, and she was right. So after putting that right in the second edition, which has yet to be published, was honoured to help her with this book, and I wrote this endorsement:
'Karen has written a powerful and personal account of Sam and Esther Goldberg. This book is a must read for those interested in the greatest crime in the history of mankind.'
This book by Noam Corb describes in detail the life of the Strauss family from Frankfurt.
The account is richly illustrated with photographs and documents, and is highly recommended.
Chris Webb - February 23, 2019
I am delighted to have contributed four images from my private archive to enrich this award winning account of Joe Rubenstein's life story.
Nancy Geis has written a powerful account and a review will follow
Chris Webb - April 2019
This review will cover the first couple of chapters.
This book by Richard Freund is a thoughtful and well crafted account on his efforts and passions regarding Holocaust Archaeology using modern techniques.
As an author on books on Belzec, Sobibor and Treblinka I was most interested to read of his extensive research at Sobibor and what the results were, including uncovering the keys to suitcases dropped by the Jews on 'Himmelfahrtstrasse'
I hope Richard doesn't mind me pointing out that the Luta Labour camp which was one of a number of camps near to Sobibor was not a sub-camp of the death camp but a stand-alone enterprise. Sobibor was not like Auschwitz or Lublin, which were camps with a dual purpose, mass murder and the use of slave labour to support German industrial concerns and the German war effort. Sobibor's sole purpose in life was the destruction of Jews, and was not concerned with nearby labour camps.
Secondly, I have to point out that the eyewitness account of Jan the local farmer might have been used for his horse and cart to take Jews to the gas chambers is a tad misleading.He might have been used to transport Jews locally to the gates of the death camp, but his journey would have ended at the main gates. Even camp inmates were forbidden to enter Lager III where the gas chambers were, and if they saw inside Lager III, by mistake, they were not allowed to return to the other parts of the camp.
Jan claimed that when he was summoned to the camp, in the early day's of the camp's existence, he was overwhelmed by the smell of burning bodies, the SS buried the bodies in Sobibor till late 1942, after this date the corpses were burnt on the so-called 'Roasts' graves with railroad tracks on top of it. So whether Jan's account took place in late 1942, or during 1943, that needs to be established.
Richard makes a fundamental point which I strongly agree with, and that is to fully understand the true nature of the Holocaust, one has to visit the cities and villages around the death camps.
A strong central message of the book, is that Holocaust Archaeology is not just about excavating sites, but is all about the people, the survivors, the eyewitnesses and the professors and students who dedicate their lives to this type of work, with skill and passion.
An essential account in helping us understand the Holocaust better
Chris Webb
I am delighted to say that I was able to support Maria with this book about her family.
This is a well written personal account of the family Biberstein and covers the life of Marek Biberstein the former President of the Jewish Council in Krakow. Her father endured the Krakow Ghetto, Plaszow and Auschwitz. The family settled in Edinburgh. This is a must read and an important edition in our understanding of the Holocaust.
Chris Webb
May 2022
