Overall, what do you think of We Must Not Think of Ourselves? (no spoilers)

Overall, what do you think of We Must Not Think of Ourselves? (no spoilers, please)

I thought this book was exceptional, and that came as a surprise. I had already read so much about the Ghetto, had visited Poland and was afraid this would just redo so many other books,movies and plays. But it didn’t at all for me. Lauren Grodstein made it personal and brand new, with interesting, complicated people and a wonderful plot. It was believable, painful, thought-provoking, engrossing and memorable.

I thought this book was excellent and compelling. I have read many WWII books and never have I read a book that was so thought provoking. It is good to see things aren't always back and white, and that most of the time we live in shades of gray. I learned so much about what happened in the Warsaw Ghetto. I guess I truly never thought of the day to day life of the people. What did they do all day? How did they entertain themselves? How did the children play? What did parents do to try to keep life "normal"?

This was an excellent book showing details of how the Nazis moved the program of extermination forward as they found they could get away with it by propaganda isolating and causing hatred plus lack of international support for Jews. Historically dictators or authoritarian leaders try to unite political support by creating an”us vs them” atmosphere where one group is vilified to create fear and rally support for the political agenda of the leader and solidify power. Seeing the effect on the characters in the novel was well done and I could feel the puzzlement and pain and fear. It also showed the cruelty and selfishness of ordinary people who took advantage of the situation.

This was a beautiful thought-provoking book. I had read many books about the Holocaust, had several relatives who had perished in concentration camps during the war. I had also visited Poland and seen the site of the Warsaw ghetto, but never imagined how dire the circumstances within the ghetto were. More than anything else, this book, makes me fearful of what is happening in our own country, and am viewing the future with great concern.

I found the book beautiful and poignant, while the story takes place in a horrifying situation. The characters were so vivid, sympathetic and compelling that I didn't want the book to end. Without the book I wouldn't have known that actual prisoners of the ghetto during World War II set out to record their lives, reckoning that they might not survive but wanted some record of their existence to be found buried in milk cans.

I really enjoyed this book! It was beautiful, haunting, informative. I enjoyed getting to know each of the characters. Highly recommend

I loved this novel. I thought it was a very important reminder of how ordinary people survived this horrific time.

Overall, I thought the book was good. It made me want to learn more about Oneg Shabbat. The characters do tend to draw you into their stories. It is a book that I would recommend to others.

I have read quite a few historical novels that took place in Europe during WWII. Each one has shaded a slightly different light on what happened during that period. I found this story took a slightly different slant by looking at the very human side of individual stories. A few years ago I had the privilege to have lunch and conversation with some young people in Germany who were doing graduate studies in history. They spoke very frankly about the Nazi period and said that they study it so they don’t repeat it.

Although I braced myself for a potentially difficult read, given the topic, I thought this was very captivating and very readable, right from the first sentence. The characters are well developed and believable. The author has taken a tragic time in history and given us, the reader, another lens through which to contemplate what happened.

I think this is a wonderful addition to the many World War II novels that take place in Poland after the Nazi invasion. While I knew of the Warsaw Ghetto, this story provides a more intimate look at the individuals caught up in this nightmare than previous books have captured. The author uses the power of individual interviews, (some taken from the actual archives), to achieve these more intimate portraits. During these conversations we see people first through the lens of normalcy as they discuss their backgrounds and everyday lives before the war. We then see them through the lens of war, living daily with fear, starvation and the slow realizization that they are doomed to almost certain death. The result is a compelling story that will stay with me for a long time.

Such a moving, beautiful tribute to a terrible time! Her characters came to life, especially Adam and Sala. You could feel the life movements of the ghetto, the anguish, the bitterness, the hunger, the attempts to fill the days with meaning. Beautifully written.

Like most WWII books, it was a compelling, difficult read.

I absolutely loved the book and could not put it down. I found the story compelling, the characters captivating, and I quickly became invested in their welfare and futures. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

I absolutely loved this book. It is the first historical fiction Holocaust themed book of which I’ve read many and studied with historians, that focuses on Jewish resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto. Jewish resistance is so critical to the history and appeared in so many different forms. The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was only one such action taken by the prisoners in addition to the Oneg Shabbat committee.
Having seen one of the two actual milk cans and some of the items hidden inside at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC, makes this book truly come to life for me.

If anyone is interested in learning more about the Warsaw Ghetto as well as many other forms of resistance in detail, go to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia which is available on line to the public. I did see that one reviewer is interested in more information about the Oneg Shabbat committee.

Here is the link to the Oneg Shabbat archive

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-oneg-shabbat-archive

I loved this book and enjoyed ( if you can enjoy reading anything on this topic) reading another aspect of WWII and the Holocaust. I have read so many books on this subject and each one has had a different spin, a different viewpoint, something that makes it different from the others. But in every one I have read, the strength of the human spirit is evident, this one is no different, the bravery of every person in the ghettos is inspiring to me. I will never understand how this was allowed to happen in our history, but looking at the state of the world we are in right now, I can see that sometimes evil sneaks in while people are not looking. I hope and pray that nothing happens in our history to this magnitude again.

Thank you Lauren Grodstein for this well written and researched novel. This book should be required reading, along side of "Night" by every high school student.
I felt as though I was living in that apartment and walking the streets of the Ghetto, afraid to lift up my head. The characters ( and I hate to refer to them as characters) they were people, with families and lives that I began to care deeply about.
I highly recommend this book. It is important reading for everyone in today's society.