Book
The collaborators : three stories of deception and survival in World War II / Ian Buruma.
"An exploration of the nature of collaboration, and all the gray areas between heroism and abject opportunism, through the interwoven stories of three World War II-era collaborators under Nazi and Japanese rule--Kawashima Yoshiko, Felix Kersten, and Friedrich Weinreb"-- Provided by publisher.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780593296646 (hardcover)
- Physical Description: 307 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm
- Publisher: New York : Penguin Press, 2023.
Content descriptions
| Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | Kawashima, Yoshiko, 1906?-1948. Kersten, Felix, 1898-1960. Weinreb, Friedrich, 1910-1988. World War, 1939-1945 > Collaborationists > Biography. |
| Genre: | Biographies. |
Available copies
- 1 of 1 copy available at Tsuga Consortium.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 1 total copy.
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stroud Branch | 940.530922 Bur | 31681010314284 | NONFIC | Available | - |
- Baker & Taylor
"An exploration of the nature of collaboration, and all the gray areas between heroism and abject opportunism, through the interwoven stories of three World War II-era collaborators under Nazi and Japanese rule-Kawashima Yoshiko, Felix Kersten, and Friedrich Weinreb"-- - Baker & Taylor
This fascinating reconstruction of what we know about three near-mythic figuresâFelix Kersten, Kawashima Yoshiko and Friedrich Weinreb, con artists and collaborators under Japanese and German rule who have been considered both heroes and villains, endeavors to separate fact from fiction. Illustrations. - Penguin Putnam
Ian Burumaâs spellbinding account of three near-mythic figuresâa Dutch fixer, a Manchu princess, and Himmlerâs masseurâwho may have been con artists and collaborators under Japanese and German rule, or true heroes, or something in between.
On the face of it, the three characters in this book seem to have little in commonâaside from the fact that each committed wartime acts that led some to see them as national heroes, and others as villains. All three were mythmakers, larger-than-life storytellers, for whom the truth was beside the point. Felix Kersten was a plump Finnish pleasure-seeker who became Heinrich Himmlerâs indispensable personal masseurâHimmler calling him his âmagic Buddha.â Kersten presented himself after the war as a resistance hero who convinced Himmler to save countless people from mass murder. Kawashima Yoshiko, a gender-fluid Manchu princess, spied for the Japanese secret police in China, and was mythologized by the Japanese as a heroic combination of Mata Hari and Joan of Arc. Friedrich Weinreb was a Hasidic Jew in Holland who took large amounts of money from fellow Jews in an imaginary scheme to save them from deportation, while in fact betraying some of them to the German secret police. Sentenced after the war as a con artist, he was regarded regarded by supporters as the âDutch Dreyfus.â
All three figures have been vilified and mythologized, out of a never-ending need, Ian Buruma argues, to see history, and particularly war, and above all World War II, as a neat story of angels and devils. The Collaborators is a fascinating reconstruction of what in fact we can know about these incredible figures and what will always remain out of reach. What emerges is all the more mesmerizing for being painted in chiaroscuro. In times of life-and-death stakes, the truth quickly gets buried under lies and self-deception. Now, when demagogues abroad and at home are assaulting the truth once more, the stories of the collaborators and their lessons are indispensable.
