The Diary of Samuel Golfard and the Holocaust in Galicia [Hardcover]

The Diary of Samuel Golfard and the Holocaust in Galicia examines the contents and context of a rare diary written by a Jewish man from Nazi-occupied Poland. Serving as both a record and an artifact of Samuel Golfards life, the diary details his attempt to make sense of and resist the event that ultimately destroyed him. Wendy Lower integrates photographs, newspaper articles, documents, and testimonies to create a more complete picture of Golfards experiences and writings. She also traces the diarys own journey after Golfards death, from 1943 Poland to the present day.Wendy Lower is John K. Roth Professor of History at Claremont McKenna College. She is the author of Hitlers Furies: German Women in the Nazi Killing Fields, a National Book Award finalist.

This volume combines a powerfully emotional personal narrative with concise and cohesive historical analysis in a way that other source-based books do not. Moreover, it is of great use to both scholars and students. While specialists and historians will surely find Golfards testimony textually rich, multi-dimensional, and challenging, the educational value of this volume is substantial. The book is short enough for students to digest easily, and perhaps more important, the historical background and editorial comments make the text a stand-alone work containing all one needs to truly engage with Samuel Golfards diary. Lower has produced an accessible yet historically complex commentary on a very special testimonyone that scholars and educators alike will certainly want on their shelves. Holocaust and Genocide Studies

Golfard's diary is remarkable. It is searing, moving, emotional, yet also analytically sophisticated. The published diary will make a substantial contribution to several fields of study, including the history of Jewish responses during the Shoah, the perpetration of genocide, and Holocaust literature. Lower has done a beautiful job of framing the diary entries so that the readelƒ#