User Reviews

Important addition to Holocaust studies, but seriously flawed. My concern is that Lederman at one point refers to a Pole as a Polack which is offensive, and that he tells Christoph there is "a little Hitler in every German" which is also offensive and untrue. It should be noted that his family was killed, but because they got him out in time, he escaped the nightmare of the Holocaust, losing his personal life, family, and career, yes, but he was never on the trains or in the camps. He is in no position to lecture the young German who is trying to learn and help and who did not inherit the blood of his Nazi grandfather-another offensive line. In fact there were Germans who fought Hitler and rescued Jews, even dying in the process. Generalizations and stereotypes are just as dangerous today as they were 75 years ago. Though at the end Alfred seems to like Christoph and wishes he could stay another year, why would the gentle cellist want to continue being badgered for something he had no part in and yet tried to take responsibility for anyway. He's a good young man who didn't deserve the treatment at Alfred's hands.