The Day the Holocaust Began: Odyssey of Herschel Grynszpan Book

On November 7, 1938, Herschel Grynszpan, a 17-year old Polish-German Jew, walked into the German Embassy in Paris and shot Third Secretary, Ernst vom Rath who died shortly after. Vom Rath's death triggered the destruction and mahem which became known as Kristallnacht, or The Night of Broken Glass and the beginning of the Holocaust. Examining German documents never before revealed, including a startling coded "confession," Gerald Schwab probes the background of Herschel Grynszpan. The book describes in considerable detail, Grynszpan's experiences in French and German hands and challenges some commonly held ideas about the cause of the shooting. The Day the Holocaust Began describes the life of a mixed-up, emotionally immature teenager who developed into one of the most amazing and unlikely heroes of modern history, demonstrating the power of the human spirit against overwhelming odds.Read More