touching hearts and teaching minds

books:


	• From A Name to A Number: A Holocaust Survivor's Autobiography Alter Wiener AuthorHouse, 2007 - 240 pages average customer review:based on 78 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Amazing

I met Mr. Wiener after listening to him speak about his life as a Holocaust Survivor. I am a teacher. Reading his book was a necessity after hearing his story. I had to discover more about this amazing man and how he could convey such a positive message about life and mankind after surviving one of the more horrific events in our world's history. Mr. Wiener connects with the reader and brings the Holocaust to life, yet with all of the atrocities comes a story of forgiveness. This is a book that will take on new meaning each time it is read. I have read it twice cover to cover and will read it once a year to remind myself of why we continue to teach tolerance. Mr. Wiener's book leaves the reader with a feeling of hope. It, in my opinion, should be in every library in the world. This book will leave a positive mark on the life of anyone who reads it. It is a "must read."

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From A Name To A Number

Alter Weiner's poignant memoir of the Holocaust, "From A Name To A Number," should be required reading for all high school social studies students, and indeed, all those who seek public office. The systematic abuse and horrors that Weiner experienced in the absence of a rule of law should not be forgotten by today's society.

Weiner's honesty in describing confronting the terror and tragedy of his Holocaust experiences and the random randiness of post-Holocaust encounters with women, also scarred and broken by the war, bring a special sense of humanity to the book, and to the times he descibes, that is often absent in Holocaust accounts.

As we live through another time of war, this one not being shared by the general public but by only one-half of one percent of the US population who is either in unifrom or who has a family member in the military, we should reflect upon the enormous and crushing burden our leaders have placed on those in harms way...and think about the innocents caught in the malestrom of war.

Weiner is a profile of courage and I awed and inspired by his ability to carry on after all he's lived through.

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touching hearts and teaching minds

Alter Wiener has taken his story of horrific tragedy and used it for such great good. I have had the honor of not only reading this book, but hearing Alter speak, sharing a meal with him and connecting him to many students. His story is told in a way that is completely attainable for everyone. He brought history to life for all of us. His story is one that he lives with everyday. I think what impacted me the most was the fact that the holocaust has continued for him many years after his freedom. This is something we do not hear enough about. The aftermath of the psychological and relational devastation it has on everyone who was involved and in fact for us all became apparent though this book. We often hear the stories of the holocaust, concentration camps, horrible furnaces that burned people, loss of life and dignity, but we rarely hear what the survivors lives are like afterward. Alter has such a beautifully resilient heart and mind, he could have chosen to close this story up forever, however by sharing it, he give others hope in the most devastating of situations. The most valuable element of this book, is perspective. Perspective on our lives today, perspective on the sacredness of life. Alter, thank you for telling your story and touching my life as well as the many others you have changed and will touch.

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A Great Man

It was such a privilege read Alter Weiner's story. In his own words he tells of life before the war and then the horrors we cannot even imagine. His book is spellbinding. With such a tragic story, I found the book uplifting. He points out the good in humanity, yet he saw not hundreds, but thousands of people die at the hands of the Nazis. He's a living testimony that no matter what happens to us, the human spirit can still soar.

Since I read his book, there hasn't been a day that I don't thank God for the life I live. As Alter and other Holocaust survivors share their experiences, they educate, strengthen and warn us. For a man that lost 122 members of his family, Alter Weiner tells the story without rage or hatred--a lesson to us all.

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A powerful story

I've had he honor of hearing Mr. Weiner speak twice in person at the youth corrections facility where I teach. He has an uncanny ability to give a human voice to the most horrific experiences, and he made an indelible impression on my students. Thank you, Mr. Weiner.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Alter Wiener's father was brutally murdered on September 11, 1939 by the German invaders of Poland. Alter was then a boy of 13. At the age of 15 he was deported to Blechhammer, a Forced Labor Camp for Jews, in Germany. He survived five camps. Upon liberation, by the Russian Army on May 9, 1945, Alter weighted 80 lbs as reflected on the book's cover. Alter Wiener is one of the very few Holocaust survivors still living in Portland OR. He had moved to Oregon several years ago and since then he has shared his life story with 300 audiences in universities, colleges, middle and high schools, Churches, Synagogues, prisons, clubs etc. He has also been interviewed by radio and TV stations as well as the press Wiener's autobiography is a testimony to an unfolding tragedy taking place in WWII. It has a message what prejudice may lead to and how tolerance is imperative. This book is not just Wiener's life story but it reveals many responses to his story. Hopefully, it will enable many readers to truly understand such levels of horror and a chance to empathize with the unique plight of the Holocaust victims.

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