Hunt for the Jews

Betrayal and Murder in German-Occupied Poland

By: Jan Grabowski

Narrated by: Charles Henderson Norman

Judenjagd, hunt for the Jews, was the German term for the organized searches for Jews who, having survived ghetto liquidations and deportations to death camps in Poland in 1942, attempted to hide "on the Aryan side". Jan Grabowski's penetrating microhistory tells the story of the Judenjagd in Dabrowa Tarnowska, a rural county in southeastern Poland, where the majority of the Jews in hiding perished as a consequence of betrayal by their Polish neighbors. Drawing on materials from Polish, Jewish, and German sources created during and after the war, Grabowski documents the involvement of the local Polish population in the process of detecting and killing the Jews who sought their aid. Through detailed reconstruction of events, this close-up account of the fates of individual Jews casts a bright light on a little-known aspect of the Holocaust in Poland.

©2013 Jan Grabowski (P)2016 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"This important, often disturbing, exploration of how genocides happen is… enriched by the author's clear compassion for those who were compromised or lost." ( ForeWord Reviews)

"Here is an absolutely essential addition to any Holocaust library or a read for anyone interested in Polish-Jewish relations." ( AJL Reviews)

"Recommended for all serious Holocaust collections." ( Library Journal)

Various Facts Shared in Headline style

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Maybe a historian. Although, he/she would need to delve further for references. I think this would have been better (for me) with photos. It was hard to 'get into' and relate to the stories factual statements. The narration did not make it personal for me.

How could the performance have been better?

Mr. Norman's delivery was booming..almost reprimanding in style. I was imaging this to be more of a documentary style delivery.

Any additional comments?

I was given a free copy via audiobook boom in exchange for an unbiased review.

Sad and Disheartening piece of history

Would you try another book from Jan Grabowski and/or Charles Henderson Norman?

Yes, I would. The subject matter was difficult to accept and listen to. It's not for the faint of heart. It flows more like a historical book rather than a story. It wasn't my favorite listen, as the flow of the book was like a documentary to me, but he narrator did a good job. Nevertheless, the subject matter teaches humanity about the cruelty and wounds of the past.

Did Hunt for the Jews inspire you to do anything?

To live with good moral conscience and learn from the historical bloodshed of the past. To always give love to others and never be afraid of doing what is right, no matter the dangers.

Any additional comments?

I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot com

The importance of the Shoa (Hollocost)

Where does Hunt for the Jews rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The book is very important since it break the story of the holocost to a scale of individual characters. This is much easier to understand and to learn from then Huge impersonal numbers

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I listen in the car while driving home and to work

History removed from under the carpet it was swept to

Truly shocking 1st hand accounts from the polish, the Germans and the Polish Jews. You always here nazis and Germans massacred the Jews. Swept quietly under the rug were the stories of other European people's willingly assist the nazis. Fascinating yet horrifying the depths people will sink to. I have heard books from this narrator before and throughly enjoy the character he lends to it. Well suited to historical and documentary style books. The book itself was well written and codified in good order. The accounts were well researched and paired up. I received this audiobook from the author narrator or publisher for free via audiobookboom in exchange for an unbiased review.

Particularly Poignant

The Nazi's were ruthless before, during and after WWII. But the callousness and brutality of the Polish collaboration with the Nazi captors was hard to listen to. To charge a hunted person (that you may have known your entire life) and then, when that person could no longer pay you, turn them in to be summarily murdered is gut wrenching. Not only that but Grabowski presents evidence that the very people who did this then turned around and murdered holocaust survivors so they could keep the goods entrusted to them!

The horrors of the Holocaust are without end and the trials after the war did not catch a millionth of the perpetrators. I hope we never forget this and other genocides around the world that continue to this day.

The narration by Charles Norman was a good match for the gravity of this material. It felt at times like I was listening to a war documentary. His voice is very rich and deep and he let the right amount of emotion in at the right times. I did listen on 1.5 speed.

I received this audiobook for free through Audiobook Boom! in exchange for an honest review.

Harrowing but an important part of history

Hunt for the Jews
This is harrowing in places, but the story needs to be told, Lest we forget the inhumanity that we are capable of.
Well researched, written and narrated with great respect.

I received a free copy of this audio book at my own request and voluntarily leave this honest review. .

Very Sad and a difficult subject to listen to

If you could sum up Hunt for the Jews in three words, what would they be?

Sad difficult subject

What other book might you compare Hunt for the Jews to and why?

This a very fact driven report of Holocaust. Possibly Schindler's list subject matter wise. But lacking any redemptive participants for much of the treatise.

Have you listened to any of Charles Henderson Norman’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not. Thought it was appropriate for the material though. Matter of fact presentation, just as the material was.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

As mentioned, difficult to fathom as an American far removed from early to middle 20th Century European social matters were concerned. Even thoough I've read much of History of the era.

Any additional comments?

Thank you for making this available for review. Not an enjoyable listen but very informative on the subject.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com.

Informative Research

Would you listen to Hunt for the Jews again? Why?
No, once is enough.

Any additional comments?
Hunt For the Jews reads more like a research paper or text book, than the typical nonfiction book. This is a systematic account of story after story of acts of atrocity carried out in Poland by common ordinary citizens, discussing motives, court documents and eye witness testimonies. The narrator seemed like he wanted to compensate for the author's lack by injecting more emotion into his performance than expressed. Nevertheless, some of the detailed accounts of the witnesses' testimonies that were included in this work were disturbing. The fact that so many non-military, non-German, Polish civilians, not only went along with the systemic eradication of all Jews, but actually rained down terror upon their fellow citizens themselves, is unconscionable. It provides a lesson for those of us living in the west who think it could never happen here, and it is an indictment beyond Poles and Jews. It is the blood lust or blood frenzy, if you like, of greed and racism, devoid of any sense of human dignity, and it's a story that we should never forget.

This book was provided to me in exchange for an honest and unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast.

Preventable Holocaust in Poland

Would you consider the audio edition of Hunt for the Jews to be better than the print version?

Once the Germans conquered Poland in 1939, and the Nazis began their systematic extermination of the Jewish population, the non-Jewish population of Poland operated in one of three ways: as rescuers, bystanders or perpetrators. This audiobook describes the dynamics of these three groups, which ultimately led to the near elimination of the entire Jewish population of Poland by the end of WW II.

Perhaps the most revealing line from the audiobook: "it was nearly impossible for the German occupiers to distinguish between Polish Jews and a Polish non-Jews." In other words, many, MANY more Jews would have survived Nazi-occupied Poland if the Poles had NOT gone to such great lengths to assist the Nazis!

Unfortunately, due to a tragic combination of Polish greed, envy, fear, social pressure and anti-semitism, the extreme "success" of the Holocaust in Poland was really more a question of "when" than "if".

Fortunately, there were also the rescuers: a handful of non-Jewish Poles who risked (and in some instances, lost) their lives to protect their Jewish countrymen. I can only imagine the tremendous pressure and fear that rescuers experienced while engaging in these acts of heroism.

There really is no better a word than "righteous" to describe these rescuers.

Any additional comments?

I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review.

Highlights how quick people turn on each other.

A well researched look into how quickly people turned on their neighbors in Poland after the Nazi invasion. As you listen to one heartbreaking story after another, you realize just how thin the line is between life and death if your neighbors can't see you as a part of their community, but as an outsider to be rounded up and taken away. It really showcases the lowest some humans can sink to. Charles Henderson Norman really lends the narration gravitas with his serious tones, and steady pacing.

I was given a copy of this book free of charge by the Narrator in exchange for an honest review through AudiobookBoom.