Найти книгу: "Massaging Himmler"

Set in Nazi Germany, <i>Massaging Himmler: A Poetic Biography of Dr Felix Kersten</i> tells in verse the remarkable story of a little-known humanitarian. Kersten was a Finnish-born therapeutic masseur who found himself at the centre of the Nazi web, treating <i>Reichsfuhrer</i> Heinrich Himmler (head of the SS and the Gestapo) for stomach cramps, which sometimes rendered him unconscious, and which no other practitioner could relieve. Dr Kersten massaged Himmler daily during the war, sometimes in multiple treatments. He took no fee for his services to the <i>Reichsfuhrer</i>, but used his influence to secure the release of tens of thousands of prisoners. Accused of collaboration at the end of the war, he worked tirelessly to clear his name, and received high honours from several European countries. Told in compelling language, from multiple points of view, this is an important addition to Holocaust literature. Dr Kersten's story shows how one man, flawed like the rest of us, was able to make a difference. "…Carson's poems race ahead of the reader, like stampeding horses, the furious pace mirroring the horror of their context. Art Spiegelman's graphic novel, Maus, pushed the boundaries of Holocaust literature, and I believe <i>Massaging Himmler: A Poetic Biography of Dr Felix Kersten</i>, is in that class." – Adele Hulse, Coordinator, <i>Write Your Story program</i>, Makor Publishing, Lamm Jewish Library of Australia.

The dramatic story of the Warsaw Uprising, one of the last major battles of World War II, in which the Poles fought off German troops and police, street by street, for sixty-three days.In autumn 1944, German troops and police entered Warsaw to deport its inhabitants. Though the war was now all but lost, the demolition of Warsaw remained part of the Nazi racial plan of 'cleansing' central Europe for future German settlement. In the first five days alone, 40,000 human beings were shot, thrown out of windows, burned alive or trampled in a frenzied killing spree. But, to Himmler's surprise, the Poles did not give in. The Warsawians were well organized and fought valiantly. With the entire population behind it, the Uprising, which was originally expected to last less than a week, held out for sixty-three days. Finally, faced by a vastly superior force, the resistance was gradually crushed. More than 250,000 people had been killed and 85 per cent of Warsaw had been destroyed.Today Warsaw is again a bustling metropolis. Poland is a member of NATO, a member of the European Union, and its partnership with Germany is remarkably close. But scars remain: on virtually every street corner, small memorials commemorate the dead.In her compellling account of the Uprising, Alexandra Richie puts the battle of Warsaw in its rightful place within the context of the Second World War. Using previously unpublished documents and photographs, she weaves the events of the battle and the experience of the soldiers and civilians as they fought street by street into a wider political, social and military context, incorporating views of Poles trapped within the city as well as Germans and Russians who witnessed the events. By examining the Warsaw Uprising in light of the Churchill-Roosevelt-Stalin negotiations over the fate of post-war Europe, Richie examines why it has rightly been called the first battle of the Cold War.