The Boys

by Martin Gilbert

Book Overview

They Call Themselves The Boys, though there are a few women among them. In 1945 they numbered 732 -- most in their teens, some as young as twelve. They came from Poland and Hungary, from the working... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0805044027
• ISBN13: 9780805044027
• Release Date: April 1997
• Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
• Length: 511 Pages
• Weight: 2.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.7" x 6.4" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Neighbors

Martin Gilbert is probably one of the most prodigious historians alive. This book required interviews with the 732 survivors it profiles ("Boys" includes both men and women) and those who knew them after the war. Some were as young as eight or nine when the war started. Many themes Gilbert covers are like those one can read in other personal Holocaust histories. But the experiences in each case are unique. Martin provides two statistics I find particularly haunting. While 6 million Jews died in the Holocaust--including victims of pre-war pogroms, ghettos, concentration and death camps and death marches--only 100,000 survived the camps. And while Britain agreed to take in 1,000 Jewish "children" under the age of 16 after the war, only 732 could be found alive.But for me, the most fascinating part of the book is the repeated confirmation that those who returned to their homes after the war found the same kind of murderous hatred among their former neighbors as Jan Tomasz Gross describes in Neighbors. In other words, Jedwabne was not unique. Gross has himself said as much and plans to write more on the subject. But Gilbert also confirms that murders of Jews by locals happened during the war all over Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, and to a lesser extent, in Hungary. It also happened after the war all over Europe--especially in the East. Returning Jews found neighbors who wished them dead, and in thousands of cases killed them. The "boys", obviously, survived. But many lost brothers, parents, friends, after the war, in Poland, Hungary, and elsewhere. Sir Martin Gilbert gives us the living proof. Alyssa A. Lappen

a must read

There were times I almost could not continue to read the book. I pictured myself as the mother watching in horror, the child, the sister, the brother, and it all seemed real and unbelievable.But as with all Holocaust stories, if these fortunate, brave and lucky souls, could have survived and lived to tell the horrors that still invade their minds, the least I owe them and especially those that perished, is that I should read the account.Inspiring, very well written, and everlasting impact.

"The Boys"ÿ

I can't add much to the excellent published reviews. This is one of the most outstanding books I have read. Read it to learn what Jewish life was like before 1939 and to learn of the horrors of the camps and forced marches. Yet the book shows that there is hope as the "boys" remember the words of their fathers "In a place where there are no men, be a man". If you could get an older teen-ager to get through the beginning of this book (which is a little slow), they would get a tremendous amount from this book.

Part of My History

Let me first preface this by saying I have not yet read this book. I just recently found out that my Grandfather (luckily still living) was/is one of The Boys. Through serendipity he found out about the reunions and gatherings that The Boys have every year and these friends which he once had, then lost, then foud again, are now a major part of his life. Because of the pain it evokes, I have never made it a point to prod my Grandfather to tell more of his personal atrocities than he freely wishes. I hope only to learn more about his history, and implicity a bit about mine by reading this book.

Like a punch in the stomach

In reading this book's 480 pages I must have said "Unbelieveable" at least 480 times. What a remarkable story. It's sad that the passing of time and the passing of the individuals who experienced and survived such an ordeal tends to soften the images of those terrible times. I am grateful to "The Boys" who contributed to Martin Gilbert's requst to write their stories down. I promise them that in the same way that they commited their lives to keeping their families spiits alive, I will do the same for them. I will ensure that my children know of the past and learn from it. This book, along with other Holocaust memorials and projects, will be read years from now and make future generations proud of their Jewish heritage. "The Boys" lives have not been in vain, they have lit a path of hope and fulfillment for all that follow