By By Dane Roberts Wans On Bookreview
It is a time of history we must not forget. Even after all these years we still need to be reminded. The war was over over years ago, but the memories are forever.
This story of survival is set against the socio-political canvas of 1940 Holland. Jews are being singled out and sent to camps. Adolf Hitler had a plan for purification. His final solution was to use the gas chambers to eliminate the Jews and handicapped. His plan started back in 1932 and went on through 1945. It has been said that those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. That is why it is necessary to put a face to the truth.
This period in history has been written about in so many tales. In Liliane Pelzman’s page turner “And No More Sorrow” we have the remarkable story of Sonja Cohen framing this period in history in a way we must never forget. The Holocaust survivors are dying off. Soon they will not be with us at all. If sons and daughters don’t sit down and record what went on, the information will be lost forever. Already there are historians denying it ever happened.
Holland on May 10, 1940 was invaded by Nazi Germany. The Nazis had conquered Europe and were intent on wiping out all the Jews.
The people in Holland should have seen it coming. Since 1938, Jews were being turned back at the border to Holland and sent to concentration camps. Still the invasion took Holland by surprise. They decided to go on as before. That was not to be. By 1943 the security police started rounding up Jews and sending them to camps. And so the nightmare continued.
It takes a brave person to recount what happened. The mother, Sonja Cohen, proves to be that person. It also takes an act of love to record it. Author Liliane Perlzman is both a brave and loving biographer who is more than equal to the task. It was brave because children of Holocaust survivors are made to bear the trauma of their parents. It is called the “second generation syndrome.” They don’t understand why their parents act the way they do and their parents often don’t know how to unload the emotional baggage. This syndrome is seen as an internal conflict with the world around them.
Why was it so important that the story be told again? Sonja herself has said, “The Holocaust happened only three generations ago. It is an important part of past history that we must never forget — but, we, the remaining survivors, their families and anyone affected by the horror must all forgive, or the grim ghosts of our past will haunt us forever.”
It is well written using fiction techniques of foreshadowing and a third person point of view. If you are one who loves the movie, “Life Is Beautiful” you will love this book.
The author, Pelzman, was born in 1953 and raised in Holland. She has an undergraduate degree from Tel Aviv University and a Masters in Journalism from the University of Southern California. She presently lives on the beach in Santa Monica.
Drop me a note.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 8, 2008. Read the original PDF.