Priestblock 25487: A Memoir of Dachau

by Jean Bernard

Book Overview

In May 1941, Fr. Jean Bernard was arrested for denouncing the Nazis and imprisoned in Dachau's "Priest Block," a barracks that housed more than 3,000 clergy (the vast majority Roman Catholic priests).... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0972598170
• ISBN13: 9780972598170
• Release Date: November 2007
• Publisher: Intercollegiate Studies Institute
• Length: 177 Pages
• Weight: 0.53 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 7.0" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

The heroic witness of a modern martyr

When we think of martyrs, we normally think of those who have died for the faith. However, the Church also holds the concept of white martyrdom, those who have suffered but have not died. Fr. Bernard exemplifies both, because through his suffering he was at the jaws of death so many times. This is truly a gripping memoir, and a chilling account of the depths to which man's inhumanity to man can sink. Yet the focus is not solely on brutality endured, but rather on how faith and love overcome it. It is the story of a man who truly endured the physical suffering of Christ, and in the midst of it all, was able to bring the presence of Christ to many he encountered. It is chilling to remember, but it is better to never forget.

The Power of Forgiveness

Simply, but beautifully written. An amazing eye for detail, and ability to breathe life into characters and situations. Heartfelt, deeply moving. At times shocking in its violence, but never gratuitously so. It grabbed me from the first page, and did not let go. As one reviewer mentioned, you feel the cold, the hunger, the fear. But what most lingers in my mind after reading this powerful book are the author's words in the Foreword: ''We must never forget what happened there and in many similar places. Forgetting would be cowardice on the part of the people in whose name all these crimes were committed. It would be a flight from their own consciences and from the indictment of the world, showing an unwillingness to make reparations and to atone. Yet we must forgive. We must forgive while remaining conscious of the full horror of what occurred, not only because nothing constructive can be built on a foundation of hatred--neither a new Europe nor a new world--but above all for the sake of Him who commands and urges us to forgive, and before whom we, victims and executioners alike, are all poor debtors in need of mercy.'' This is a great book, an important book. I highly recommend it.

VERY READABLE, CONVERSATIONAL PRESENTED, EVEN ENGAGING DESCRIPTION OF THE MOST DIABOLIC EVIL SUFFERE

This is a book you cannot put down, so well written and so well translated as to be easily readable as it politely, objectively, briefly and even lightly describes the worst abuses against our clergy imaginable. His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI in his recent Encyclical Letter Saved in Hope: Spe Salvi describes the sufferings of cardinals and priests imprisoned, mainly in Vietnam, and quotes from them. Here we similarly may read as well the chronicle of a priest imprisoned in Dachau with hundreds of other priests from Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, etc., and the ordeals and tortures, torments and disdainful deaths they suffered. particularly upon our most important Feast days. This book has been filmed as The Ninth Day readily available here, yet we do best to read here the actual words, in able translation, of the Reverend Father Jean Bernard, who suffered a year and a half in Dachau. In the same vein, we may read the testimony of the Reverend Father Delp in Alfred Delp, S.J: Prison Writings (Modern Spiritual Masters), who was not so fortunate as to survive the concentration camps reserved for those courageous Catholic clergy who defied the war machine, serving only the Prince of Peace. We may also read of the life of the great Franciscan Father Saint Maximilian Kolbe, who, having founded a Marian magazine in Nagasaki, died a martyr in Auschwitz, for example in Maximilian Kolbe: Saint of Auschwitz. In this book, the Reverend Father Bernard describes carefully and with great insight his daily life in Dachau, clearly and concisely, but with great depth in few words, very evocatively composed. Reading this passion we may ourselves gain the strength and insight to oppose the war machine of today, to serve only our Prince of Peace with head held high and without fear, as did these brave priests up to the ultimate and tormented consequences, described in so many cases here by Father Bernard. Highly recommended for Lenten lectio divina as we approach the recollection of the Passion of Our Lord, as we here experience the torments suffered still by His Mystical Body Incarnate. Very readable, comprehendible and applicable to our times.

Poginant and important memoire

This is a truly important memoire to add re: extreme love for God and the dignity of a human being in the midst of the worst horror and persecution. It is a testimony to the priesthood, and to each of us as humans.

A view of life insed of Dachau

Priestblock 25487 - A Memoir of Dachau was written by Father Jean Bernard who was a priest from Luxemburg who was arrested by the Nazi (for what he never knew) and placed into Dachau. After the invasion of Luxemburg which was a predominant Catholic country many priest were arrested since they were seen as being too patriotic and as leaders of their communities. In Dachau the priests and other clergy were separated from the general population and placed in their own barracks. At times they were treated better or worse than the other prisoners and when they were treated better it was done to isolate them and to provoke envy. Many are aware of the stories of Catholics such as Saint Maxmillian Kolbe and Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross who both died at Auschwitz and Blessed Titus Bradsma who died at Daschau where this book takes place. But normally we only have the details of the ends of their lives in the concentration camp and not the daily details. Reading this book the phrase "The Banality of Evil" coined by Hannah Arendt kept ringing through my head. The details of daily life which mostly grew from bad to worst are chronicled in such a fashion that as much as is humanly possible you really start to see what life in these circumstance was like. The casual violence of the camp guards and the prisoners serving as capos is so hard to fathom. Even the camp photographer who took pictures as the prisoners first came placed a spike in a spring-loaded chair to hurt and to surprise prisoners as they sat down for their photographs. This type of cruel behavior was the norm and not the exception. We might like to think that they managed to find the most cruel human beings to work at such camps, but the reality is how the culture of these camps so easily corrupted those in it. This was a true culture of death and we can see the effects that the current culture of death also has towards human lives. One of the things best communicated in the book was the constant hunger of the prisoners. Even reading the words it is hard to imagine people living on such small rations and then performing the labor that they did. His description of seeing a Dandelion in a field and his plans to pull it up and eat it can give you some idea about the hunger Prisoners were watched constantly and the guards generally would not let them try to eat anything they might find. He tracked the Dandelion for a couple of days looking for an opportunity to pluck it up which he finally did. But he also knew that several other prisoners were trying to do the same. At one point you read of his joy of receiving just a spoonful of soup. Many people simply did not survive these conditions or became so weak that they were just gassed. Father Jean Bernard is quite frank about conditions and his own behavior. He doesn't sugar-coated anything to make himself look better, though you quite easily see his life of faith and the simple joys in quite mundane things. Especially poignant is his descript