Thoughts on: Flags Over the Warsaw Ghetto by Moshe Arens

April 19, 2012
Article first published asBook Review:Flags Over the Warsaw Ghettoby Moshe Arenson Blogcritics.

During that far-off period of slavery, when the Roman legions trampled almost the entire ancient world, and the whole world kneed before them, only one small Roman province, Judea, took up arms, rose up to fight for freedom and in defense of the honor of man, against a world of injustice.”

Leib “Leon”Rodal
Polish journalist, activist revisionist
co-founder and one of the leaders of the Jewish Military Union , in whose ranks took part in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

About:
Flags Over the Warsaw Ghetto: The Untold Story of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising by Moshe Arens is an important non-fiction book about this famous event. The book is by no means an introductory text book on the subject and should not be treated as such as the reader must have some prior knowledge of these historical events.

  • 432 pages
  • Publisher: Gefen Publishing House (November 1, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 9652295272

Thoughts on: Flags Over the Warsaw Ghetto by Moshe Arens

My rating for Flags Over the Warsaw Ghetto – 5

Buy this book inpaper or inelec­tronicformat.

More book by Moshe Arens

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Thoughts:
Flags Over the Warsaw Ghetto: The Untold Story of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising by Moshe Arens, former Ambassador to the U.S., Israeli Defense Minister and Foreign Minister, tells the story of the uprising in Warsaw Ghetto which the history books have missed. Interestingly enough, the uprising started on the eve of the Jewish holiday of Passover, a holiday known as celebrating liberation.

More than anything, the book tells of the inability of humans to set aside ideological differences to fight a common enemy. The book chronicles how two groups of Jews were prevented by ideology to join and fight the Nazi murder machine. The two organizations were the Jewish Fighting Organization (ZOB), led by Mordechai Anielewicz, and the Jewish Military Organization (ZZW), led by Pawel Frenkel didn’t realize that during that time, their ideological differences were largely irrelevant.

Mordechai AnielewiczPawel Frenkel

Arens states that the different groups were also divided among themselves. Religious and secular Jews, nationalists and assimilationists as well as Zionists and anti-Zionists. Even the Zionist movement was torn apart from within by the mainstream labor group and the militant Revisionists who were followers of Zeev Jabotinsky – a rift that began at the World Zionist Congress in 1931 and became worst after the assassination of Labor Zionist leader Chaim Arlozoroff on a Tel Aviv beach in 1933. The left and right movements of Zionism persists to this day, Arens notes, but the paralysis it caused for the two groups to work together even at the height of the uprising.

Mind you this was on the eve of the greatest mass murder in world history.

Warsaw Ghetto

In the book, Arnes states over and over that his main purpose is the give credit to the ZZW whose contribution has been either downplayed or overlooked because the majority of the people to tell the story were ZOB survivors whose personal experience didn’t include the ZZW. The senior commanders of the ZZW all fell in battle, the survivors of the ZOB wanted to give credit to their friends.

The narrative is clear, vivid and fast paced. The amount of documents Arnes examines are amazing. The book includes excellent notes, citations and appendices which fans of history would truly appreciate including the full translated text of the daily reports and summary reports of Brigadefuehrer Jüergen Stroop, the Nazi commander nominated by Himmler to end the revolt and “clear” Warsaw Ghetto of all Jews, as well as the Wiesbaden Report.

The need to unite under difficult conditions is a theme which resonates throughout the book. This theme is important to study and remember not only for Jews, but for all.

Buy this book inpaper or inelec­tronicformat.

More book by Moshe Arens

Check out this & more World War II books onMan of la BookStore

Zohar – Man of la Book
Disclaimer: I got this book for free

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4 Comments

  • RyanApril 19, 2012 at 10:25 am

    I must find this book! This exactly the sort of history I yearn for! Wow!

  • Gently MadApril 19, 2012 at 3:16 pm

    This sounds like a really good book. People today need to read books like this so we can better understand our present situations. So many mistakes could be avoided if people would analyze the past and compare it to how we are thinking and acting today.

    • Zohar - Man of la BookApril 20, 2012 at 8:07 am

      Understanding the past is key to making good decisions in the future. It’s a shame we keep repeating those mistakes.

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