Rescued from the Reich: How One of Hitler's Soldiers Saved the Lubavitcher Rebbe

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Summary: The rescued and the rescuers
Review: A brilliant young historian tells in meticulous detail the events of the rescue of Rebbe Schneersohn, the Hasidic leader, from the besieged Warsaw ghetto and his coming to thbe United States.The tale is as exciting as it is grounded in scholarly research. That the actual rescue was the work of a half-Jewish Nazi soldier,and accomplished with the complicity of such high-ranking Germans as Admiral Canaris brings a powerful element of the absurd and also tragic into the story.A grim insight into the byzantine politics of the American State Department likewise merits attention: for example, the man in charge of immigration policy was notoriously antisemitic.Another sobering question is, why were such great efforts taken on behalf of this fanatic who had little use for most of his fellow-Jews, rather than for men and women of a wider humanity, of whom there were all too many?

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Summary: Rescued From the Reich
Review: As the small coterie of Lubavitcher Jews, including their leader Rebbe Joseph Schneersohn, cowered in their room in war torn Warsaw, a group of German army soldiers rushed in and ordered them to stand facing the wall. "They waited for the crack of rifle fire and total darkness." So writes Bryan Rigg in his newest book, the story of the unique combination of the German army, American and European Jewry, and U.S. political figures intertwined in a tale of incredible rescue. The difficulties of the times are apparent even before Warsaw is shut down and France, the Baltics, and Scandinavia are still free. The rescue of the Rebbe, vital to the Orthodox Lubavitcher Jewish community, takes place as Europe begins to feel the disaster and drama that was the Third Reich. Poland was one of the first to feel the hot breath of Naziism and receive the fatal blows. It was here that the Rebbe lived after moving from oppression in Soviet Russia, and it was here that he studied the Torah and prayed. Rigg also includes background on the Lubavitchers to incorporate understanding of not only some of the beliefs that sustained their sect, but that some of these same beliefs hindered their rescue. Certainly other Lubavitcher Jews caught up in the German nightmare would not be helped while the Rebbe eschewed not only political results, but also cooperation with Gentiles to acheive those results. The Rebbe's comments and teachings during that time were sometimes difficult to ascertain due to the reluctance of the Lubavitcher community to acknowledge the role that they may have unwittingly played. The role of Wilhelm Canaris, head of the Abwehr. the German military secret service, is also fascinating. A complex personality, Canaris nonetheless had a personal hand in helping to achieve the difficult operation of the Rebbe's rescue under the nose of the feared SS. Loyal and faithful decorated German army half-Jew Ernst Bloch was instrumental in carrying out the orders of Canaris. American politicians would also have a part in the story as government red tape had to be cut and proper legal documentation secured for the safe passage of the group. All of this had to happen before the gates of Warsaw were shut. All in all, this book is an outstanding narration of an incredible tale. The reader may find that the answers are not so easliy found, even sixty-plus years later, as the questions regarding Europe's war and the morality of those serving as well as those watching is at issue. Definitely worth a read.

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Summary: Impossible to overstate this book's significance
Review: Drawing from countless primary and secondary sources and many interviews (including one with the previous Lubavitcher Rebbe's only living descendant, his grandson Barry Gourary), this book sheds much new light into the rescue of the previous Rebbe, especially the role of at least three Nazis, Helmut Wohlthat, William Canaris, and Ernst Bloch, commissioned by the American government in the rescue of the previous Rebbe. Lest one therefore draw the mistaken conclusion that America was highly sympathetic to the plight of the persecuted European Jewry, this was hardly --to my own personal shock and sadness-- the case at all.

In the chapter The Search Begins, the reader is introduced to Breckinridge Long of the US State Department, overseer of America's refugee policy and a fierce anti-Semite whose immigration policies were disastrous for European Jewish refugees. Another impediment was the Immigration Act of 1924, something I recently learned about in my US Immigration and Ethnicity class this semester.

The book raises many complicated moral questions on countries and individuals. Much of it might make Lubavitcher chassidim themselves uncomfortable, although they should be no less indebted than an outsider like myself (if not more so) to Bryan Mark Rigg for the painstaking work and research he has discovered and published about their beloved sixth Rebbe.

For the Lubavitcher reading this book with footnotes, he will undoubtedly be made very uneasy at reading Barry Gourary's account of the complicated relationship between his father, Rabbi Shmaryahu Gourary (the Rashag) and his uncle (the Rashag's brother-in-law), Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson (the Rebbe, known prior to 1951 as the Ramash). The Lubavitcher will also be bothered by Barry Gourary's take on his uncle's time at university and his contention that his grandfather, the previous Rebbe, disapproved of the university studies. Still, I, for one, found it refreshing to read a 'non-censored' truthful non-revisionist account on Chabad history. Indeed, when one reads about the previous Rebbe's life from official Chabad publications, one would be forgiven for not knowing that he had a daughter named Chana Gourary and a grandson, both of whom are wholly and conspicuously omitted (no doubt due to their joint role in the court case over the previous Rebbe's books in the late 1980's) from publications like Days of Chabad and others.

Rigg further tackles the negligence of President Roosevelt and the United States to help European Jewry through many angles and perspectives. The painful episode of the May 1939 St. Louis refugee ship is mentioned and Rigg also notes that many question Jewish leaders of the time "for not fighting harder against Roosevelt's apparent indifference" and that they could and should have done more on behalf of their European co-religionists.

Rigg also explores moral questions involving the Nazis, and half-Jewish Bloch in particular, in saving the previous Rebbe. In great understatement, Rigg writes, "The story of Bloch and the Rebbe shows some of the moral complexity of the war." In her approbation of the book, Sue Fishkoff (whom I was delighted to meet again at the Kinnus HaShluchim last week at the Brooklyn Marriot Hotel for the Lay Leadership Conference) writes of how Rigg masterfully exposes "the cracks in the Nazi military machine that permitted men of conscience to act righteously, albeit at great personal risk." Well put. Indeed, it is an intellectual and emotional roller coaster for the reader in attempting to understand men like Bloch and Canaris, the latter whose tragic fate is recounted. Inasmuch as Judaism teaches that deeds are of primary importance, the motivations behind them should be secondary if not altogether irrelevant. Whatever one thinks of their motivations, the fact is these men saved a Jewish leader, who, largely through his successor, is responsible for the absolute greatest and arguably singularly most effective outreach movement in Jewish life today. Plus, much indicates that their motivations possessed selfless elements indeed, as Canaris and others subtly took many actions against Hitler at tremendous personal risk.

Rigg's book, in my view, is always respectful to the key players appearing within this fascinating story, yet objectively critical when necessary, a standard fairly and consistently applied.

As Rigg himself writes in the afterword, much of the information appearing in this book appears for the first time in print. This book, far more than merely serving as an educational historical read, was affecting in other ways. The chapters describing the previous Rebbe's escape read like a novel as they were so thrilling and suspenseful. I had chills reading of the ride shared between Bloch and the previous Rebbe on the escape route and the dialogue shared between them. Rescued from the Reich further made me question moral dilemmas and provided essential context in approaching and understanding the infinitely complex nature of these times and issues.

Dr. Rigg, thank you for researching and writing this book, an immense contribution that will surely go down as THE authoritative book on the subject. I now look forward to reading your first book, Hitler's Jewish Soldiers.


Rating:
Summary: Must Read
Review: In Rescued from the Reich historian Bryan Mark Rigg has unearthed one of the most remarkable untold stories of World War Two. It not only is a suspensful, vivid and well told tale,
but a work that challenges long and dearly held assumptions about the Holocaust and raises crucial questions about religious identity and moral responsibility. I highly recommend this enjoyable, thought provoking book.


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Summary: Bryan Mark Rigg Does It Again
Review: In Rescued from the Reich, Rigg tells the incredible but true story of how the Lubavitcher Rebbe was saved from Warsaw and from Eastern Europe itself, even as the city and the countries themselves were falling to the Germans and the Russians. This required the combined efforts of many, many people, from American Jewish authorities to U.S. State Department officials to--yes, German diplomatic and military officers. Among the pivotal figures is Ernst Bloch, decorated veteran of World War I and field-grade officer in what was about to become World War II, a so-called Mischling, or "part Jew" who had been "aryanized" by Hitler himself.
From the detailed and sensitively described background of ultra-Orthodox Judaism to the vividly portrayed actors in this amazing true-life drama to the gripping moment when the group of German soldiers burst into the home of the Lubavitcher Rebbe--to announce that they are there not to arrest but to rescue Rebbe Schneersohn, Rigg holds the reader completely in his spell. Even with the full scholarly apparatus of references and end notes, Rigg has written a fascinating, compelling, and very valuable book.
Rigg never gives in to the temptation to divide his cast into white hats and black hats; indeed, as is clear from the notes, two-thirds of a century later, there are still those who, for various reasons, are not entirely comfortable with the gritty, unideological, messy truths of the matter. With deep understanding and with never a trace of condescension to his material, Rigg tells as whole a story as could be asked, given the passage of time and the inevitable falling away of those who played their parts in the action.
Bryan Mark Rigg seems, moreover, utterly incapable of writing a boring sentence. Rescued from the Reich is a worthy successor and companion to his Hitler's Jewish Soldiers. Read it. You'll never forget it.


Rating:
Summary: Unbelievable Story
Review: Rescued From The Reich, by Bryan Mark Rigg, is the very well researched, well written story of how the leader of the ultra-Orthodox Lubavitcher Jews, Rebbe Joseph Schneersohn, members of his family, and some close associates were rescued from war torn Warsaw, with the help of some American officials, dedicated American Jews, and, believe it or not, a small group of German soldiers ably led by half Jew Ernst Bloch, a dedicated, professional soldier. Bloch, whose application for Aryanization had been approved by Hitler himself, was a decorated soldier, who was working under the direction of Admiral Canaris, the head of the Abwehr. He and a small group of other half Jewish soldiers were able to take the Rebbe and his group from Warsaw, through Berlin, to the Latvian border where they awaited the next leg of an amazing journey that would eventually lead them to America. While all of this was taking place two very dedicated lawyers in the United States were trying to work through the anti-semitism of the State Department in order to arrange the necessary visas. Along the way, the assistance of some very powerful members of the government is enlisted. A very interesting and remarkable, yet probably mostly unknown story of WWII that is definitely worth reading.


Rating:
Summary: A Must Read
Review: The idea of one of Hitler's soldiers rescuing a Jewish rabbi and his family seems preposterous, yet Bryan Mark Rigg has uncovered this remarkable story. This well-documented book carefully takes the reader through each step of the rescue as high-ranking U.S. officials and Nazis (soldiers and officials) worked together to achieve the impossible. A riveting Holocaust rescue story by an excellent writer!

Rating:
Summary: Superbly researched.
Review: This book, "Rescued from the Reich," is an excellent read of one of history's overlooked arenas. Dr. Rigg has once again brought important events and information to the forefront in a manner that is fascinating. He brings life to archival documents and interviews while educating the reader. Dr. Rigg's first book, "Hitler's Jewish Soldiers" covered new historical ground and this second book is no exception.

Rating:
Summary: MUST READ
Review: This is a fascinating well written book that is readable in one sitting. Drawing upon a wealth of sources, many of which are unavailable to the English reader, Rigg recounts the miraculous rescue of the founder of Chabad in America. The detail is astonishing and at the same time chilling. I was unable to put it down.

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Summary: rescued from the reich
Review: This is an excellent book. It is evident the author did a great deal of research to properly portray the events concerning the rescue of Rabbi Schneersohn from the Nazi's. Intruiging elements are shown, including the help provided by a half Jewish Wermact officer who assisted in the rabbi's escape to America. Also noted are the problems that surfaced because of the obstinence of Rabbi Schneersohn and his followers while the drama was enfolding.
It all makes for very good reading.