Diary of a Witness, 1940-1943

by Raymond-Raoul Lambert, Isabel Best (Translator), Richard Cohen (Introduction)

Overview

Raymond-Raoul Lambert's Diary has been among the most important untranslated records of the experience of French Jews in the Holocaust. Lambert, a leader of the Union of French Jews (UGIF), was, in the words of the historian Michael Marrus, "arguably the most important Jewish official in contact with the Vichy government and the Germans." Lambert's Diary survived the war and was published in France in 1985. It reveals Lambert's efforts to save the Jews in France, particularly the children.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781461739500
Publisher:	Dee, Ivan R. Publisher
Publication date:	10/15/2007
Series:	Published in association with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	865 KB

About the Author

Raymond-Raoul Lambert, a French army officer in World War II, headed the UGIF under the German occupation. Richard Cohen, an historian at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, is the author of The Burden of Conscience: French Jewish Leadership During the Holocaust. He lives in Jerusalem.

Editorial Reviews

Lambert's account is riveting.
—Sam Goodfellow

H-Net Reviews

This personal record of the prominent leader of the Union of French Jews in the Free Zone of the Vichy government is an invaluable contribution to the study of the particular situation of French Jewry during World War II.
—Rachel Feldhay Brenner

Holocaust and Genocide Studies

The diary offers us a very interesting description of Lambert's service in the defeated French army in World War II, the creation of Vichy and the unprecedented rise of French anti-Semitism."
—Alexander Zvielli

The Jerusalem Post

Compelling.. .. This absorbing diary provides even more evidence of Nazi crimes against humanity.

Sunday Star Ledger

Lambert's struggle to reconcile his Jewish and French identities deserves to be included in the reservoir of suffering that was Nazi Europe.. .. His decisions have been, and will be, judged by history, but readers of this book will emerge with respect for his courage in wrestling with the idolatry of loyalty as the reality of the Vichy regime undermines the 'humane culture' of France.

Tidings

Readers. .. will emerge with respect for [Lambert’s] courage in wrestling with the idolatry of loyalty.

Beacon

One of the most important records of the experience of the Jews of France during the Holocaust.

Midwest Book Review

A welcome addition to the literature of Holocaust testimony.

H-France Review - Donna F. Ryan

[Diary of a Witness] is an essential document for students of Vichy France.

National Catholic Reporter

A frank portrait of a rather unfortunate good Jew caught in the deadly net of the Nazi extermination machine.

Journal Of The Royal Musical Association

A frank portrait of a rather unfortunate good Jew caught in the deadly net of the Nazi extermination machine.

Jerusalem Post

A welcome addition to the literature of Holocaust testimony.
— Donna F. Ryan

H-France Review