Commitment to the Dead

The story of one woman's journey from a cultured life in pre-war Europe, through the devastation of Hitler's regime, to her commitment of helping the world understand the Holocaust.

In this considerate and curiously detached autobiography, Waterford, an Auschwitz survivor, tells of her wartime experiences and life since then. During most of the Nazi occupation of Holland, she and her first husband were hidden by gentile friends in Amsterdam, but in 1944 they were discovered by the Gestapo and shipped to Westerbork transit camp. From there, they were sent to Auschwitz, where Waterford's husband died. After liberation, she and her daughter, who had been living near Amsterdam with a gentile family, emigrated to the United States. In 1979, the author began lecturing about the Holocaust at schools and universities, and her decision to appear jointly with Alfons Heck, an ex-Hitler Youth member, drew criticism from the Jewish community. Here Waterford explains her position, maintaining that history should be taught "free from hatred" and that some Germans have accepted "a burden of guilt for the atrocities of the period." She also includes illuminating questions asked by her young audiences. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Waterford, a Holocaust survivor who lectures about her experiences during World War II, has written a moving testament both to her will to survive and to her determination to live a life without bitterness for what she endured. Recalling her prewar life in Germany and Amsterdam, and her postwar life in the United States, as well as her imprisonment in Nazi camps, Waterford is unusual in her refusal to hate. She often lectures with a former fanatic Nazi, and together they attempt to educate young Americans about the horrors of the Holocaust. An important addition to Holocaust collections. Andrea Caron Kempf, Johnson Cty. Community Coll. Lib., Overland Park, Kan.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.