Hearth and Pages: To Look a Nazi in the Eye by Kathy Kacer with Jordana Lebowitz

“We bravely said ‘never again’ in 1945, but the world is full of hate.

This is why I speak to children — so that they will make a better world for themselves.”

I received a free digital copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

In 2015, 19 years old Jordana Lebowitz attended the trials of 94 years old ex-Nazi officer, Oskar Grӧning. The man accused of aiding and abetting in the murder of more than 300,000 Jews in the Auschwitz/Birkenau death camp. Jordana has some obsession about Holocaust. Her late grandfather was one of survivors of the death camp, so she definitely has her reasons for her enthusiasm. But it wasn’t the main reason that drives her passion over studying Holocaust, it was her visit to March of the Living back in 2012 to Poland where she met many Nazi’s death camp survivors. When she heard about this war criminal trial, she can’t help but feels like she has to attend this trial and witness with her own eyes how the judge will decide the fate of a member of Nazi that will affect the world’s view.

For me, To Look a Nazi in the Eye is one of those books you need to read at least once in your life. This book draws the same feelings inside me just like Agnes Fallah Kamara-Umunna’s And Still Peace Did Not Come, which I highly recommended. It was never easy to look back at the dark history of man-kind, but to move forward onto better future, we must understand and acknowledge the bitter past of man-kind so that those horrible and grim events won’t happen again. That was the main theme of this book. Jordana’s experience in this book and her determination really inspired me. Though the book is basically told from Jordana’s point of view, we also have a glance at the survivors’ thoughts and how they deal with their past. Most of it will be like what you just expected, but some are not like the others. Not to mention Jordana’s encounter with other people who attended the trials will also open your eyes about humanity, and probably will end some of prejudice you have toward others.

Whenever I read this kind of books, I can’t help but compare it to my own country. I don’t think that many Indonesian want to acknowledge some of our darkest past. Most people in my country still deny the mass murder and rape in 1965 and 1998. For me, this book inspired me to keep talking and searching for the truth of those darkest times in Indonesia, so that mine and the next generation can learn from it and make sure that those things will never happen again. I hope someday, my country is willing to openly discuss this and reveal the truth of what happened at those times.

To Look a Nazi in the Eye contains Jordana Lebowitz journey in understanding the holocaust event that eventually leads her to a trial of ex-Nazi officer. The timeline goes back and forth at first in order for us to understand Jordana’s motive. The testimonial of Oskar Grӧning at the trial are also included in this book, so we basically have some sort of both perspective, and I always appreciate this kind of things in a historical non-fiction book. The book is told in a passive manner, and though I personally think that the writing is not wonderful, I think it would be easier to understand by teens and younger kids.

In conclusion, the story is important and I hope that everyone will read it. However, while it is easy to read and understand this book, I can’t help but feel a bit detached to Jordana in this book. I would love to read Jordana’s own writing about her experience, not only about her experience in this book but of her other humanity works. To Look a Nazi in the Eye will come out on 12^th September 2017, I'll put the link down below as usual, in case you want to order it :)