Min Hametzar, memoirs from the years 1942–1945 by the Gaon Rabbi Michael Dov Weissmandl. Published by Emunah, New York, 1960 – first edition. Copy from the library of Prof. Yehuda Bauer, with his personal bookplate.
The important work of Rabbi Michael Dov Weissmandl on the rescue efforts he personally led and mobilized others to undertake in burning Europe during the dreadful years of the Holocaust. The book presents his personal story, the unfolding of events during the war, as well as letters and testimonies from individuals involved in the rescue efforts. Dozens of photographs of official documents and handwritten materials detailing various rescue attempts, facsimiles of documents personally sent to him by high-ranking figures in the German Reich and from the Jewish Agency, original letters by Rabbi Weissmandl—some written under life-threatening conditions—as well as testimonies from others involved in the rescue missions. The volume also includes correspondence between him and leading American rabbis, and documents reflecting his rescue efforts in coordination with leaders of Jewish communities, and more.
Rabbi Michael Dov Weissmandl was one of the leaders of the Nitra community in Slovakia and a key figure in Jewish rescue operations during the Holocaust. He headed the “Rescue Committee” (the Working Group), which attempted to bribe senior Nazi officials to delay the deportation of Jews to the extermination camps. Among his major initiatives was the “Europa Plan, ” which sought to halt deportations in exchange for large sums of money. Rabbi Weissmandl was also among the authors of warning letters to Hungarian Jewry, in which he described the fate of deportees to Auschwitz in a desperate attempt to raise awareness and save lives. His tireless activity was carried out under immense personal risk, and he was one of the few who truly understood the bitter reality of the Jewish annihilation while it was unfolding. All his days after the destruction, Rabbi Weissmandl labored to bring this book to publication for future generations, and even on his final day, lying on his deathbed, he called for his student who was working on the printing and asked him to bring the handwritten pages to the hospital for proofreading, so that the printing of the book could be completed.
[1], 252, [7], [52] pages. Original binding with gilt lettering. Stain on front cover. Good condition.
