Lives Reclaimed, Mark Roseman
Lives Reclaimed, Mark Roseman
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Lives Reclaimed
A Story of Rescue and Resistance in Nazi Germany

Author: Mark Roseman

Narrator: Derek Perkins

Unabridged: 10 hr 19 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 08/13/2019


Synopsis

In the early 1920s amidst the upheaval of Weimar Germany, a small group of peaceable idealists began to meet, practicing a quiet, communal life focused on self-improvement. For the most part, they had come to know each other while attending adult education classes in the city of Essen. But "the Bund," as they called their group, had lofty aspirations—under the direction of their leader Artur Jacobs, its members hoped to forge an ideal community that would serve as a model for society at large. But with the ascent of the Nazis, the Bund was forced to reevaluate its mission, focusing instead on offering assistance to the persecuted, despite the great risk. Their activities ranged from visiting devastated Jewish families after Kristallnacht, to sending illicit letters and parcels of food and clothes to deportees in concentration camps, to sheltering political dissidents and Jews on the run.

What became of this group? And how should its deeds—often small, seemingly insignificant acts of kindness and assistance—be evaluated in the broader history of life under the Nazis? Drawing on a striking set of previously unpublished letters, diaries, Gestapo reports, other documents, and his own interviews with survivors, historian Mark Roseman shows how and why the Bund undertook its dangerous work.

About Mark Roseman

Mark Roseman is the author of A Past in Hiding and The Wannsee Conference and the Final Solution. He is the recipient of a number of prestigious prizes, including the Mark Lynton History Prize, the Fraenkel Prize in contemporary history, and one of Germany's foremost literary prizes, the Geschwister Scholl Prize. He teaches at Indiana University, where he is a distinguished professor and director of the Jewish Studies program.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Rachel on April 13, 2019

Lives Reclaimed by Mark Roseman is a historical novel that is about a group of idealists in Germany ( called the “Bund” in short) that was founded in the 1920s at first as a “society” that gave themselves certain expectations and goals on how to live their lives and how to treat the world surroundin......more

Goodreads review by Gabrielle on December 22, 2020

Roseman once again is a master at weaving together powerful storytelling with rigorous research. Through letters, diaries, documents, conversations with Holocaust survivors, and his deep understanding of the history of the Third Reich, he brings to life their traumatic experiences as well as the her......more

Goodreads review by Katy on November 21, 2019

This provided interesting insight into a number of ideas, including the difference between how people thought about their actions at the time and how distance, external events and later recollection changed the flavor, of not the substance of actions and motives. This provided a window into the priv......more

Goodreads review by Terry on April 09, 2021

Roseman's account of the young jewish woman, Marianna Strauss, living underground during WWII, led him to write this additional book about the Bund - the small network of idealistic socialists/communists/naturists which provided the moral, spiritual, and daily necessities for persons like Marianna l......more

Goodreads review by Ohma on January 06, 2020

Lots of detail proved this a slower read. This small group (BUND) helped shelter Jews during WW2 but had difficulty getting recognized. The issues facing individuals after the war in getting pensions and reparations was most detailed and informative.......more