THE BOOK SMUGGLERS: PARTISANS, POETS, AND THE RACE TO SAVE JEWISH TREASURES FROM THE NAZIS

Book ID/图书代码： 08900017C00175

English Summary/英文概要： This is The Monuments Men for book lovers.

The Book Smugglers is the nearly unbelievable story of ghetto inmates who daringly rescued thousands of rare books and manuscripts from first the Nazis and then the Soviets, by hiding them on their bodies, burying them in bunkers, and smuggling them across borders. It is a tale of heroism and resistance, of friendship and romance, of unwavering devotion to literature and art, and of readiness to risk one’s life for them.

Chinese Summary/中文概要： 本书叙述了贫民阶层是如何从纳粹和前苏联手中，通过将丛书藏在身上，埋在沙土内，拯救出无数罕见的书籍和手稿的，然后偷运出境外的一段几乎令人难以置信的故事。这是一个关于英雄主义和斗争，友情和浪漫，以及坚定奉献的故事，其中还包含着这些平民阶层甘愿冒的生命危险去拯救人类最后的文学和艺术的无畏精神。这是一段真实的历史故事。来自犹太人，德国人，和前苏联人的文件资料，包括当时的日记、信件、回忆录和作者对曾经参与过这起事件的几位当事人的采访记录，本书叙述了一群在维尔纳"立陶宛的耶路撒冷"的诗人和学者们走上游击队员和走私犯的勇敢行为。(Sandy)

Awards/获奖情况：Review

“Riveting and often heart-pounding. . . . [Fishman] writes with a historian’s precision, but also with an eye for character and detail that rises to the level of literature. . . . Essential reading for anyone who cares about books, Jewish history, and the capacity of individuals to defy mighty regimes to keep civilization alive.” (Aaron Lansky, author of Outwitting History: The Amazing Adventures of a Man Who Rescued a Million Yiddish Books)

“An inspiring portrait of ghetto inmates’ courage and fidelity in response to the Nazi regime’s plundering of Jewish culture in occupied Vilna.” (Peter Hayes, author of the bestselling Why?: Explaining the Holocaust)

“As a Hungarian Jew I thought I knew a lot about the ghettos of Eastern Europe under the Nazis. David Fishman proved me wrong. His book brings fascinating new material to light. . . . It is a deeply researched work of a great scholar and a gripping, essential, and compelling read.” (Rafi Rohrig, lead actor of Son of Saul (Academy Award for Best Foreign-Language film, 2015))

“A fascinating addition to the literature of the cultural devastation of World War II and its aftermath that illuminates the little-known saga of the courageous efforts to save the precious libraries, manuscripts, and archives of the Jews of Eastern Europe.” (Lynn Nicholas, author of The Rape of Europa: The Fate of Europe’s Treasures in the Third Reich and the Second World War)

“We often forget that the Third Reich destroyed, in addition to a significant segment of the Jewish people, a treasure trove of Jewish cultural artifacts. The Book Smugglers tells the improbable story of the rescue of a portion of that trove―not once but twice.” (Deborah Lipstadt, author of History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier)

A starred review from Kirkus!

Review Issue Date: August 15, 2017
Online Publish Date: August 7, 2017
The remarkable story of a group of Jewish ghetto inmates who "would not let their culture be trampled upon and incinerated."In a work that is scholarly and intimate, descriptive and personal, Fishman (History/Jewish Theological Seminary The Rise of Modern Yiddish Culture, 2005, etc.) reminds us that the Holocaust was not just "the greatest genocide in history." It was also "an act of cultural plunder and destruction" in which "the Nazis sought not only to murder the Jews but also to obliterate their culture." The author proceeds to demonstrate this in wrenching detail. Focusing on the Jewish community in Vilna (aka Vilnius) in Lithuania, Fishman engagingly tells the astonishing story of a group of dedicated bibliophiles and religious and cultural caretakers determined to save a massive number of Jewish manuscripts and books and other artifacts from the Nazis, who intended to destroy most and to use others for their academic "study" of "the race they hoped to exterminate." To personalize his narrative, Fishman follows some key figures, including Shmerke Kaczerginski, a poet, humorist, and songwriter; Abraham Sutzkever, a prolific poet; and Rachela Krinsky, a teacher who risked everything to save materials. The author also follows some of the Nazis, virtually all of whom escaped punishment for what they did and attempted to do. Fishman teaches us about what these items were, how the so-called "Paper Brigade" sneaked them out of libraries into hiding (and, later, out of the country), how the Nazis responded, and how the postwar celebrations were a little premature—the Soviets eventually became as openly anti-Semitic as the Nazis. The United States does not escape censure, either. Among other things, the American government would not allow Kaczerginski into the country because he had once been a communist. First-rate scholarship that pulses with the beat of a most human heart.—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

About the Author/作者介绍： David Fishman is Professor of History at the Jewish Theological Seminary. He is the foremost expert on the World War II library of the Vilna ghetto.

Format:HARDCOVER

Rights Status/版权销售情况：Simplified Chinese/简体中文：AVAILABLE(到期可授)

Complex/Traditional Chinese/繁体中文：AVAILABLE

Sales in other countries/其他国家销售情况：Rights already licensed: World English language, ForeEdge, October 2017 Italian, Newton Compton Lithuanian, Baltos Lankos Dutch, BBNC Czech, Pistorius & Olšanská Portuguese (Brazil), Autêntica

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