Come to This Court and Cry: How the Holocaust Ends
- Downloads：8379
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-08-20 19:21:48
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Linda Kinstler
- ISBN：B09RWPTS8S
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Jan
，
What happens in a Jewish family's collective mind when they come to find that one of their own was most likely guilty of working against their own people in Latvia during the German occupation？ Was it justice or what if Mossad eliminated suspects who emigrated to South America rather than returning them to Europe for trials？ This well written and （painfully） well researched （and documented） book chronicles the work done in the 21st century to investigate possible connection of a family member t What happens in a Jewish family's collective mind when they come to find that one of their own was most likely guilty of working against their own people in Latvia during the German occupation？ Was it justice or what if Mossad eliminated suspects who emigrated to South America rather than returning them to Europe for trials？ This well written and （painfully） well researched （and documented） book chronicles the work done in the 21st century to investigate possible connection of a family member to "The Butcher Of Riga" and more。 An emotionally difficult read for anyone， but woth the self-examination it engenders。The book is backed by solid research and evidence from those involved。 Very moving。I requested and received a free e-book copy from PublicAffairs/Hachette US via NetGalley。 Thank you！NEVER FORGET and LEARN FROM THE PAST 。。。more
Zeb Kantrowitz
，
What happened with other Nazi criminals after the Israelis grabbed， tried and executed Eichman？ Under the orders of the Knesset （the Israeli Parliment） the Mossad （Secret Service） continued to hunt down perpetrators of the Holocaust/Shoah。 One of those also found was Herberts Cukurs， the Butcher of Riga （Latvia）， who was executed on the spot。 Years later， member of the Latvian right began proceedings to 'rehabilitate' Cukurs as a patriot who helped save Jewish Latvians。 Though it might be true t What happened with other Nazi criminals after the Israelis grabbed， tried and executed Eichman？ Under the orders of the Knesset （the Israeli Parliment） the Mossad （Secret Service） continued to hunt down perpetrators of the Holocaust/Shoah。 One of those also found was Herberts Cukurs， the Butcher of Riga （Latvia）， who was executed on the spot。 Years later， member of the Latvian right began proceedings to 'rehabilitate' Cukurs as a patriot who helped save Jewish Latvians。 Though it might be true that he saved a handful of Jews， he also participated in the murder of over 30，000 Jews。 He was a member of a group that was known to have worked with and for the Nazis。While helping to research what Cukurs did during the war， Linda Kinstler （and American） finds out that her Grandfather （who she knew little about） was a member of the group that Cukurs worked with。 What follows is her scholarly hunt for the truth about her Grandfather and his and Cukurs work during World War II。 。。。more
Annie
，
It’s been 77 years since the end of World War II and the Holocaust。 We know a lot about what happened but， as Linda Kinstler finds as she tries to track down any information about a grandfather who disappeared， there are things that we will never know。 Documents were destroyed。 Mass graves were obliterated。 We have survivor testimonies but not everyone was willing or able to talk about what happened to them。 Now， after so many decades， many of the last survivors and perpetrators have passed on。 It’s been 77 years since the end of World War II and the Holocaust。 We know a lot about what happened but， as Linda Kinstler finds as she tries to track down any information about a grandfather who disappeared， there are things that we will never know。 Documents were destroyed。 Mass graves were obliterated。 We have survivor testimonies but not everyone was willing or able to talk about what happened to them。 Now， after so many decades， many of the last survivors and perpetrators have passed on。 In Come to This Court and Cry， Kinstler investigates two mysteries。 First， there is what might have happened to Boris Kinstler。 The second—and the one that ends up being more successful—is Kinstler’s exploration of what Herberts Cukurs did during the war and why Mossad agents assassinated him in 1965。 What connects the two men？ They both served in the notorious Arajs Kommando， under the command of the SS in Latvia。。。Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type。 I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley， for review consideration。 。。。more
James Vogl
，
Of the hundreds of Holocaust books I’ve read I struggled with this the most。 Story or textbook？ Was just all over the place。 At least I learned something about Latvia which is where my grandfather was from。
Caren
，
There is no doubt that I will reread Linda Kinstler’s historical investigation of “How the Holocaust Ends”， as its intensity and meticulous research demand it。 Her pursuit of the “long afterlife of {Herberts Cukurs’s} assassination is a story of justice deferred， delayed， circumvented， undone。 It is an illustration of the difficulties of reconciling the parallel tasks of the judge and the historian。” Kinstler’s study of the Holocaust narrative of Latvia， particularly of Riga， focused on the cont There is no doubt that I will reread Linda Kinstler’s historical investigation of “How the Holocaust Ends”， as its intensity and meticulous research demand it。 Her pursuit of the “long afterlife of {Herberts Cukurs’s} assassination is a story of justice deferred， delayed， circumvented， undone。 It is an illustration of the difficulties of reconciling the parallel tasks of the judge and the historian。” Kinstler’s study of the Holocaust narrative of Latvia， particularly of Riga， focused on the controversy of Cukurs’s Holocaust activity， a former Nazi seen by some as a Latvian hero who had “saved” Jews， and by others as the “Butcher of Riga”， having been involved in the murder of approximately 30，000 Jews and deserving of his assassination by Israeli agents in Brazil in 1965。 Kinstler was drawn to this controversy because her grandfather had belonged to the same “killing unit” as Cukurs。However， the scope of Kinstler’s dynamic investigation became much broader as she discovered that the tides of revisionist and nationalist forces within the courts in Latvia threatened to pardon Cukurs’s crimes。 This pardon， and the denials of similarly politically-motivated countries， would put aside survivor testimony， calling into doubt the “truth” of the facts that had been established in Nuremberg and in other trials of Nazi criminals。 The most powerful image for me was Kinstler’s reference to Shawcross （British prosecutor） in the Nuremberg courtroom， conjuring the voices of mankind “crying out a single simple plea…struggling now to re-establish in all countries of the world…liberty， love， understanding – com[ing] to this Court and cr[ying}: “These are our laws – let them prevail。” Kinstler questioned whether the “antonym of ‘forgetting’ is not ‘remembering’， but justice？” Her detailed portrait of the activities of Cukurs in Riga， of the investigation into the nature of his participation in the “cleansing” of Jews from Riga， and of his escape and assassination in Brazil was brilliantly written。 The efforts of survivors and those dedicated to keeping the memories of the Holocaust alive continue to be threatened by denialists， revisionists and nationalists who are politically motivated to negate the “truths” told by Holocaust witnesses and to， therefore， cleanse their national slates of any complicity in the genocide that occurred。 。。。more
Ailsa
，
Really informative:A bit of a misleading title。 It’s not really about her grandfather， it’s about Cukus， the Komandoo in Latvia under the German’s， Mosad’s butchered assassination and the Jewish community trying to pick up the broken pieces。As British，my country （apart from the Guernsey islands）， was the only country in Europe not to be occupied by either the Germans or the Soviets; so I thought that I had a pretty good knowledge of the Holocaust and it’s actors in it。 However， I find it interes Really informative:A bit of a misleading title。 It’s not really about her grandfather， it’s about Cukus， the Komandoo in Latvia under the German’s， Mosad’s butchered assassination and the Jewish community trying to pick up the broken pieces。As British，my country （apart from the Guernsey islands）， was the only country in Europe not to be occupied by either the Germans or the Soviets; so I thought that I had a pretty good knowledge of the Holocaust and it’s actors in it。 However， I find it interesting， that probably because of this， we probably spend too much time on one’s own country’s history， to the extent that we don’t know enough about others。 For that reason， I had never heard of Cukus before reading this book and for that I’m sorry-because， this book chronicles right up until the present date of the 2020’s， and you could say that we have been paying so much attention to COVID， that we loose sights of stories like this。 Stories that can bring us together in understanding， and in the sharing of European history， rather than trying to tear us apart。 。。。more
Paul Taylor
，
A fascinating if inconclusive investigation into the history of the Soviet and Nazi occupation of Latvia and the specific activities of the author's grandfather and Herberts Cukurs。 It serves to confirm that much of the truth of the Holcaust and the human rights violations by occupying Soviets has been lost in the graves of the witnesses。 It also serves to confirm that the law is an inadequate tool if not actually an ass as Lord Denning once commented。 A fascinating if inconclusive investigation into the history of the Soviet and Nazi occupation of Latvia and the specific activities of the author's grandfather and Herberts Cukurs。 It serves to confirm that much of the truth of the Holcaust and the human rights violations by occupying Soviets has been lost in the graves of the witnesses。 It also serves to confirm that the law is an inadequate tool if not actually an ass as Lord Denning once commented。 。。。more
Alice
，
Amazing book。 I devoured it。 A gripping story that will keep you reading past your bedtime with reflective insights into the complex nature of truth， justice， family， and memory。 A delight to read， even when the substance is challenging and heartbreaking at times。 I wish I could keep reading more and may read it another time through。
Catalina
，
I've came to this court and cried because there's noting else one can do when faced with the endless cruelty inflicted on innocent people at the stake of yet another ideology。 The injustice of still having to fight for justice 70-80 year since the actual events is crushing。 There are no word to describe the cruelty of the aftermath of the war。 The inhumanity of war criminals living a cushy life when million of lives have been wasted。 It is barbaric how victims have been ignored and their testimo I've came to this court and cried because there's noting else one can do when faced with the endless cruelty inflicted on innocent people at the stake of yet another ideology。 The injustice of still having to fight for justice 70-80 year since the actual events is crushing。 There are no word to describe the cruelty of the aftermath of the war。 The inhumanity of war criminals living a cushy life when million of lives have been wasted。 It is barbaric how victims have been ignored and their testimony rejected on the altar of law。 Law is a sort of sham， isn't it？！ Coming from a East European country myself I have a bit of an understanding of the complex position many of the other countries in East Europe found themselves。 Small countries， caught between two very powerful entities: Germany and Russia。 How is one able to chose between 2 evils？ Hard to say。 Many atrocities have been committed and too many have been lefts unpunished。 A very sad state of affairs that has inflicted too many wounds。 *Book from NetGalley with many thanks to the publisher。 。。。more
Liv Muscat
，
It feels wrong to say I enjoyed this book considering the topic of the Holocaust and the atrocities that were carried out， however it is a book I thoroughly enjoyed reading。 It was interesting， considerate and obviously very well researched and held my attention very well。 It was sensitive to the subject and respectful towards the survivors and the people involved。 A good edition to books on this subject。
Jūlija Dibovska
，
Teiksim， kā ir: jaunās paaudzes skats uz neonacisma vai aizmiršanas politikas/revizionisma atdzimšanu Eiropā， par pamatu ņemot attieksmi pret holokausta upuriem （un neņemot vērā daudz ko citu）。 No saturiskā maz jauna， lielākoties skaidrojumi par to， kas ir Latvija， Arāja komanda un tamlīdzīgi， bet līdz saknēm nenonāk。Lai nu kā， vēstījums kā zefīra detektīvs par nezināmo vectēvu Borisu Kinstleru lika izlasīt līdz galam， lai gan principā Latvijas lasītājam tas būs garlaicīgi。 Protams， šodienas kon Teiksim， kā ir: jaunās paaudzes skats uz neonacisma vai aizmiršanas politikas/revizionisma atdzimšanu Eiropā， par pamatu ņemot attieksmi pret holokausta upuriem （un neņemot vērā daudz ko citu）。 No saturiskā maz jauna， lielākoties skaidrojumi par to， kas ir Latvija， Arāja komanda un tamlīdzīgi， bet līdz saknēm nenonāk。Lai nu kā， vēstījums kā zefīra detektīvs par nezināmo vectēvu Borisu Kinstleru lika izlasīt līdz galam， lai gan principā Latvijas lasītājam tas būs garlaicīgi。 Protams， šodienas kontekstā jautājums “kā mēs zināsim， kad esam nonākuši līdz “Z”？” izskatās mīlīgs。 。。。more
Jen Burrows
，
Part history， part investigative memoir， Come to this Court and Cry is an intelligent account of the Holocaust in Latvia as told through the lens of the law。 Exploring the sensitive subject of historical revisionism through the ongoing case of Herberts Cukurs， Kinstler poses the question what if the antonym of 'forgetting' is not 'remembering'， but justice？It's a captivating， thought-provoking read， providing the reader with an insight not only into the historical facts of the Holocaust in Latvi Part history， part investigative memoir， Come to this Court and Cry is an intelligent account of the Holocaust in Latvia as told through the lens of the law。 Exploring the sensitive subject of historical revisionism through the ongoing case of Herberts Cukurs， Kinstler poses the question what if the antonym of 'forgetting' is not 'remembering'， but justice？It's a captivating， thought-provoking read， providing the reader with an insight not only into the historical facts of the Holocaust in Latvia， but also the importance of interpretation， and the way historical crimes are addressed by the law。*Thank you to Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review* 。。。more
Greville Waterman
，
It is difficult if not impossible to say that I "enjoyed" this book given its appalling and tragic subject matter but this was a brilliantly evocative and well executed and perhaps cathartic account of how Linda Kinstler's grandfather was involved in the Nazi death squads exterminating the Jews in Latvia。I find it hard to read much about the Holocaust and antisemitism this is a worthy and well written addition to the genre。 It is difficult if not impossible to say that I "enjoyed" this book given its appalling and tragic subject matter but this was a brilliantly evocative and well executed and perhaps cathartic account of how Linda Kinstler's grandfather was involved in the Nazi death squads exterminating the Jews in Latvia。I find it hard to read much about the Holocaust and antisemitism this is a worthy and well written addition to the genre。 。。。more
Clare Hogan
，