Is there still room for another book about and by another Auschwitz survivor?

[Up2Late]

I just started reading (and am thinking about editing and publishing) my Grand-Aunt's (my Grand-mother's Sister) unpublished book about her arrest in Southern France by the Gestapo in October 1943, her imprisonment, and eventual liberation from the Death camp at Auschwitz-Berkinow, so I guess my question is, would anyone want to read still another, yet to be published book on this subject?

I know several similar account of these events have been published over the last 10-15 years or so, and even a few more that were written by other female Auschwitz survivors who were also in the French Resistance, but my Grand-Aunt's book, though not yet in final, ready to publish form, has a few unique aspects to it, as far as I can tell.

First, she was probably the only, or at least one of the few, French Resistance fighters who was also an American and Jewish, to have been imprisoned and survived Auschwitz-Berkinow. Now, to be clear, I'm not saying that she was a French/Jewish woman, who couldn't leave France ahead of the German Army (or even after they occupied the country), and then later became an American after the War when she came to this county, what I'm saying is that she was a Dual Citizen of both the United States of America and France before, during and after the War. This was due to the fact that her Father (my Great-Grand Father) was an American, (having been born in Columbus, Georgia) and she, like my Grand-Mother and my Father, was born in France.

Also, though not extremely wealthy, she was from a "black sheep" branch of a wealthy, well known, Jewish family, and even self-describes herself as coming from a "privileged childhood," so she did have the means to leave France ahead of the German Army, similar to the way my Grand Parents and Father did in 1939, but she chose to stay and do what she could to help save France. She was also forced to work at some of the sorting and collection points near Paris and Drancy and then eventually to Berkinow, where she was forced to work at the sorting warehouses there, the place that became know inside the camp as "Canada."

After she was eventually liberated in January 1944, she eventually settled in Santa Barbara, California, a place that is almost amazingly similar to her small town in Southern France in the area that most Americans call "The French Riviera." She lived in California until her death in 1973.

Thankfully, I finally convinced my Father, after our first trip to Southern France (and his first trip back there in 59 years) that he needed to seek help for the his war related anxiety that had troubled him since he was a child. He now is taking anti-anxiety medication and has actually returned 4 or 5 more times to his (and his Aunt's and Grand-Father's) French Riviera town since then. I've been there 2 more times too, and just about every place that she writes about in this book, having just returned from a trip, last week, to Germany, Auschwitz-Berkinow in Poland, and Czech Republic. This was my Fathers second trip back to Auschwitz-Berkinow since 2005, when he went there on a tour bus, but wasn't able to see what felt he needed to see.

This time, we went and found the Block house my Grand-Aunt was housed in, and I actually found and took home a piece of brick that had flaked off of her block house. We also made it down to the end of the Rail Road platform, to where the Memorial was built at the camp, and we even went to the Holocaust Memorial in East Berlin too. I took a lot of pictures, so when I get my film developed next week, I'll be sure to post a few pictures.

I can't even begin to describe how big or how spooky that place is, it's something you just need to experience for yourself to truly understand the scale of it and the enormous amount of evil that took place there. We were there on a cold, grey and very windy day, it seemed very appropriate for that place.

So, having said all that, back to my question. Would another story of surviving Auschwitz-Berkinow be greeted with groans of "...enough already...," or do you think that if I have the ability and the means (which I think I do now since the rise of Internet or "Do-it-Yourself" Publishing) I should try to edit and publish my late Great-Aunt's book and/or screenplay?

[Norrin Radd]

1. Yes, more, please. Edit it. Then hunt for an agent.

I don't think there could ever be enough of these first person accounts. They need to be recorded for posterity. Even if no one publishes it, distribute it print-on-demand.

[Kutjara]

2. There is always room for another.

The story of the Holocaust was not only a cultural and racial tragedy, but also a very personal one. There are as many Holocaust stories as there are people affected by it. Many of those stories will never be told, or will be told only partially and incompletely, because their subjects didn't come out alive. Others will never be told because some survivors would prefer to forget, or are still too traumatized to remember.

Every individual, personal story that can be told should be told. It is part of the record of the time and an invaluable resource for the future. It is also another small weapon in the arsenal against those who would deny and demean.

Even if the book only sells in small numbers, a copy will still be in the Library of Congress, so your family's story will become a thread in the weave of the fabric of that horrible tapestry, which would be incomplete without it. If you don't, it will vanish as if it had never occured.

[Behind the Aegis]

3. Why place this in I/P?

This doesn't really belong in this forum. Do cross post this in the Jewish forum and the writer's forum!

"Would another story of surviving Auschwitz-Berkinow be greeted with groans of "...enough already...," or do you think that if I have the ability and the means (which I think I do now since the rise of Internet or "Do-it-Yourself" Publishing) I should try to edit and publish my late Great-Aunt's book and/or screenplay?"

I say this in this nicest way...."FUCK ANYONE THAT SAYS "enough already"!!!!" Find someone to publish this story. If you are having problems, let me know. I can't promise anything, but I do know some who may be able to get this off the ground. You can only try.

[Up2Late]

11. Sorry, check again, DU has no Jewish Forum or Writers Forum.

Both of those are "Groups" and get very little traffic.

This Forum has had nearly 300 new topics started in the last month (December 28 to January 28), where as the Jewish Group had only eleven (11), the Writing Group had 20 and the World History Group had just five (5) new topics posted in the last month. There is no "perfect fit" Forum or Group here at DU for this post.

I really didn't feel comfortable bringing up this topic, for the first time, in "General Discussion Forum" were it would probably get buried or flamed by trolls or, heaven forbid the "Religion/Theology Forum" where, in my past experience, if you voice any other views other than Conservative Christian views and beliefs, you almost alway get a few people who want to start a "flame war" with you (BTW, I consider myself a Buddhist, my views go over like a lead balloon in the "Religion/Theology Forum" most of the time).

And I'm not sure but, I think when you post to a Group, you don't even make the "Latest Discussion Threads" page that you get when you click "Enter Discussion Forums," so posting to one of the small DU group would get very little notice and/or trigger a lot of responses like yours of, "why here...."

This Forum just seemed like the most logical (and quite frankly the safest) place, to ask this question for the first time, because, and I hate to generalize but, most Jewish people do have an opinion on the Israel/Palestine issue, and since we don't have a Holocaust Survivors and/or Families of Survivors Group here at DU, and the Holocaust is absolutely related to history of the current state of Israel, this seemed like the best place to post my question, short of going to another website, to which I have no experience or relationship.

Two other possible DU Forums were the "Justice Forum" and the "Race/Equality Forum," both of which I don't quite fit this topic either and don't get much traffic or, among some other "Groups" there were these:

Ancestry/Genealogy Group

Bereavement Group

American History Group

World History Group

But again, none of them get much traffic or fit this topic quite right. So, I guess that leaves here for discussion related to the Holocaust, not a perfect fit, but I see few other logical alternatives at the present time. I will be sure to take any writing questions to the Writers Group though, but I'm not at that stage in the process yet.

I will cross post this in the Jewish Group, but I suspect most who see it there will have already seen it here. I'll add a link soon.

[Behind the Aegis]

14. yes, DU does, as you admit.

Be they called forum, sub-forum, group, or what have you, as you have pointed out in your own post, DU does, indeed, have both the groups I mentioned. You posted in violation of this groups rules, unless you had moderator permission. Thankfully, they are allowing this to stay open.

I think what you are proposing is very interesting. And, while you think that most Jewish people have an opinion about I/P issues, in case you haven't noticed, many don't post here. One advantage, that you left off, was that at least anyone can respond to this post, as opposed to the smaller groups where one has to have a donor star to post.

[Up2Late]

20. I'm not here to argue, just looking for advice, so if I could get your more specific advice on...

...posting this in those groups and possibly the forums I mentioned. Would you recommend I repost it in whole or maybe an edited version that is more targeted to those groups or forums?

See, to be totally frank, I'm a bit worried that if I receive too much negative feedback from some of the more general forums, I'll get too discourage to push forward with this project that most folks here seem to think would valuable, even if it turns out to be just average book.

A little background, my Dad has been saying that he wanted to get her book published for about the last 30 years, ever since he told me about it and his Jewish heritage. I'm not sure what efforts my Grand-Aunt made in an effort to get it published, but I don't remember my Dad pursuing it seriously until the last few years. To be fair though, it wasn't until he finally started taking the anti-anxiety meds in 1998, that he was willing to talk about any of this.

And just so you don't think this was a random thread, Saturday was the 62nd anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. I don't know if any of the other "news" organizations mentioned it, but NPR did and had the story below, which is probably what got me thinking about it.

Here's the link:

Israel Struggles to Care for Holocaust Survivors

Listen to this story...(at link above)
by Linda Gradstein

All Things Considered, January 27, 2007 · Saturday is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. In Israel, an estimated one-third of Holocaust survivors, an estimated 90,000 people, live in poverty. As the survivors age, their medical bills are soaring. The Israeli government and private organizations say they cannot keep up.

(Because of intense interest in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, NPR makes available free transcripts of its coverage. View the free transcript of this story.) (at link)

<http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7051547>

[Lithos]

16. I'm keeping this open

And will offer the opportunity to move it if you choose to any other applicable forum such as the Writers or the Jewish Group if you also desire.

Lithos
DU Moderator

[Quakerfriend]

4. Always. We will never forget.

As a young person, it was a real education to read accounts of those times.

It astounds me that nothing was taught about the Holocaust in High School.

[Kagemusha]

5. Sounds like it has enough unique elements to stand as its own story.

Just my honest opinion. I'm not an industry professional. Best of luck.

[wellstone dem]

6. I would read it. nt

[Rufus T. Firefly]

7. There will never be enough.

In 25 years we'll be wondering what stories were left untold...

[Crunchy Frog]

8. I think every one of those experiences is unique and valuable

and should be told.

I don't know what this is doing in I/P, since it has nothing to do with that subject. I hope you will repost in GD, so more people will see it.

[Up2Late]

13. As I wrote in my reply to post #3 above, this topic doesn't really fit perfectly...

...in any of the forums here at DU, but this one, I felt, was the closest and best match for this subject, as the modern state of Israel and The Holocaust are closely related.

Please see my reply to post #3 above for more on this subject, as I don't want to repeat what I wrote there.

In regard to the first part of your post, thank you for your encouragement. I too have yet to find an identical set of circumstances as those of my Grand Aunt's and will keep you and the rest here at DU informed of any and all progress I make on this project.

[Igel]

9. It's in English?

It would be good in English, but it would be really great if it were in French. It's probably in English, though.

Go for trying to get it published, by all means.

I'd like to see equivalent kinds of things from a Polish Jew or Russian Jew, as well. Esp. Russian.

[Up2Late]

10. She originally wrote it in French, I think, but then translated it herself into English.

That's one of the reasons it needs some editing, some of her translation is a little bit stilted and not proper American or British English.

I think my parents still have a copy of the French version at home, but they gave at least one of the originals (I think the French version) to one of the Holocaust museums. I think it was the one in Washington D.C., but I'd have to check on that.

[Igel]

17. I'd try farming it out to a French

publishing house first, but keep the English-language rights--or stipulate that the English rights revert to you (or whoever) if no English translation is produced within X years.

I'd guess that would be better than having it out first in an anglophone edition.

It's the kind of thing I might even log into amazon.fr to buy (and that happens exceedingly rarely).

[Up2Late]

22. The problem is, I don't read or speak French.

My Dad does, but he sat on this for more than 30 years. I think he showed it to one or two of his 2nd Cousins in France, a few years ago, but don't think any of them took much interest in working on this. As you might have guessed, I don't have any French or German first or second Cousins, on my Dad's side of the family that we know of, due to what happened during the War.

Do you know any French writers or editors (who speak fairly good English) that I could contact? Like I mentioned above, it needs a bit of editing and probably a Forward about the French Resistance, due to where it begins in the story, basically with the Gestapo on the front door step.

[Igel]

24. Alas, I don't know any.

But I'd think most of the French editors and publishers would have at least sufficient English to deal with you. They may not like *admitting* they can, until they find that it's necessary.

I did a quick search to see which French publishers have done Holocaust-related things, and two popped up. J'ai lu ("I read it") has a "stories" imprint. J'ai lu is at

Editions J’ai lu
Le Sequana
87 quai Panhard et Levassor
Paris 13ème
France


LGF - Livre de Poche ("Pocket Book") does some, too, and their owner is Hachette. Their address is

Hachette Livre
43, Quai de Grenelle
75905 Paris cedex 15

I'd send them a letter, in English (but nothing too fancy), and address it simply to "editor" (if you have an agent, s/he should do it), summarizing the manuscript's contents and describing your mother's adventure. Maybe a page and a half, total; photocopy a few pages of the French, as well. At the end, ask if they're interested in it. If they are interested, and you don't have an agent, bundle up everything and find one that does international stuff.

[barb162]

12. Yes.

And if you haven't done so already, you might want to put this message on other discussion boards and see what they have to say. I'll bet they will tell you what you're reading here. First person accounts are so important for historical research, families of other survivors, etc. And you might want to try local college History Depts. for their thoughts.

[Up2Late]

15. By "other discussion boards" do you mean here at DU or do you mean...

...other websites?

Other that here, I've only posted to DailyKos a few times, so if any one has any suggestions for other good sites (intelligent, receptive to the subject and not too combative) that they know and have used, might be helpful.

[newyorican]

18. Can never be too many history books...

go for it.

If someone is groaning, they are likely jealous since no one is forced to read anything (out of school).

Critquing the book after it i released is a different issue, make sure you have a thick skin.

[calzone]

19. I'd read it too....

....and I agree with the general reaction that every story forms a more complete mosaic of history. I hope you go forward with the project.

[breakaleg]

21. Absolutely you should publish it. Personal accounts of the Holocaust are the best way to get

the message out and it would never get old. It's far more effective to read one person's story than to look at any generalizations.

[Violet_Crumble]

23. You should definately try to get it published...

You said it yrself in yr post what would make this book publishable: "First, she was probably the only, or at least one of the few, French Resistance fighters who was also an American and Jewish, to have been imprisoned and survived Auschwitz-Berkinow."

imo, as a former student of WWII, there's no such thing as too many books on a subject when that subject is something so important as what yr great aunt lived through...

[Up2Late]

25. Oh Crap! I just found large sections of my Grand-Aunt's NON-fiction Manuscript on Google Books!

Her True, First-Person, UN-Published Manuscript, about how she survived the 16 months she spent, from October 1943 to January 1945, in a little known Nazi Labor Camp and eventual transfer to Auschwitz-Berkinow, in an excerpt from my Dad's 2nd Cousin's, really stupid, FICTION book on Google Books!

Her book, Btw, that I just started thinking about editing and publishing in some form, and that I am currently researching, and several people here in the DU I/P forum have encouraged me to try to get published, if for no other reason than for it's historic value and what it adds to the historical record of the time, but now what!? :banghead:

I mean, my Dad sent his Second Cousin a copy of the manuscript to read (we did not grant him any Copyrights), not to plagiarize large sections of it for his stupid novel about, and I kid you NOT on this one, about a guy who FARTS a lot! It's called "P.I.G. {Petrified Intestinal Gas} an inflated life story." (Please do NOT buy this book, it's really stupid!)

The author (my Dad's 2nd Cousin) BTW, committed suicide in 2005 or 2006 (I can't remember which), and my Grand-Aunt, the author of the historical, first person account of her time as Nazi Political Prisoner, died in 1973 (She was also a non-practicing Jew, but we are fairly sure she was picked up for her work in the French Resistance, not because she was Jewish). And to add to that, I just met his Sister (the author of the stupid Fictional book's Sister, who's also my Dad's 2nd Cousin) and her husband on my trip, last month, to Germany, and they are both very nice people, but this is just wrong.

I really want that excerpt off of Google Books, especially because it's published within a FICTION book, which implies that it also is FICTION, which it is not! It's a True, First-Person, yet to be published, Holocaust survivor story which, I think, would add greatly to the Historical Record, but NOW... :argh:

I'm not sure what to do. My Mom thinks I should just drop this for a while, but I don't agree. Any advice would be helpful. :shrug:

BTW, I'm probably going to cross-post this to the Book:Non-Fiction Group and the Jewish Group, and as an update to my previous post about this project from a few weeks ago in the I/P Forum too.

You can read my previous post about this project at this links below, in my DU Journal:

<http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=124&topic_id=164806&mesg_id=164806>

<http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Up2Late>