Vera P. (verap) reviewed Scheisshaus Luck: Surviving the Unspeakable in Auschwitz and Dora on + 30 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
I've read many Holocaust memoirs, and I think every single one is important in its own right; it's crucial to remember the horrors of the Holocaust so that we do not repeat the past. As stated in the summary of 'Scheisshaus Luck', we are quickly coming to a time when there will be no living Holocaust survivors. That fact alone makes this memoir even more relevant and necessary.
Arrested at the age of 18, Pierre Berg spent time at a holding camp in Drancy, was transferred to Monowitz (part of Auschwitz), and eventually to Dora. Pierre is very frank in describing his experiences, from the nightmarish train ride to Auschwitz, to becoming almost immune to all the death around him, and the indignities tolerated by the prisoners in order to survive. One story that stayed with me long after I finished the book was that of the officers using human bodies to catch eels in the river. (many argue that the officials did not have a choice in carrying out the mass murders - it was do or die; this story and many others show that their cruelty went far and above what was ordered)While the subject of the memoir is dark and depressing in itself, I felt that Pierre's message was, "Don't feel bad for me. This is what I went through, I survived, and I just want others to learn about what happened".
Pierre Berg's memoir is an effective counter attack on those who believe that Holocaust is nothing more than a Jewish conspiracy. Pierre was a French gentile, and his experiences in German labor and concentration camps confirm that Holocaust was a reality, not a conspiracy made up to advance the interests of Jewish people. All the while, his writing style is youthful, candid, and extremely readable. I found myself horrified, amused and intensely interested all in one.
Arrested at the age of 18, Pierre Berg spent time at a holding camp in Drancy, was transferred to Monowitz (part of Auschwitz), and eventually to Dora. Pierre is very frank in describing his experiences, from the nightmarish train ride to Auschwitz, to becoming almost immune to all the death around him, and the indignities tolerated by the prisoners in order to survive. One story that stayed with me long after I finished the book was that of the officers using human bodies to catch eels in the river. (many argue that the officials did not have a choice in carrying out the mass murders - it was do or die; this story and many others show that their cruelty went far and above what was ordered)While the subject of the memoir is dark and depressing in itself, I felt that Pierre's message was, "Don't feel bad for me. This is what I went through, I survived, and I just want others to learn about what happened".
Pierre Berg's memoir is an effective counter attack on those who believe that Holocaust is nothing more than a Jewish conspiracy. Pierre was a French gentile, and his experiences in German labor and concentration camps confirm that Holocaust was a reality, not a conspiracy made up to advance the interests of Jewish people. All the while, his writing style is youthful, candid, and extremely readable. I found myself horrified, amused and intensely interested all in one.
