Hitler, Stalin, Mum and Dad: A Sunday Times Bestselling Family Memoir of Miraculous Survival

Unbelievably well written and deeply researched family history telling how the author’s parents, grandparents and wider family were affected by the Holocaust, the Stalinist purges, and the Second World War in general. Absolutely compelling, tragic and hopeful.

Gives a great deal of background to the authors grand parents and the beginning of the persecution of the Jews.The book was thoughtfully researched and written and is worth a read

An incredible book. So moving, so inspiring and incredible families and friends so vividly recalled.I learnt such a lot. The Soviet aspects of the war and treatment of the Poles, more about how anti-semitism became so driven by false literature, and about key figures in politics and the roles they played.I cried just the once but was so moved and incredulous at how those who survived the Nazi and Soviet horrors, actually did so.You must read this book.

Very challenging read. Very well written but reading of the terrible cruelty and horrific suffering is extraordinary. The resilience and courage and eventual survival into a happy and successful life is life affirming. A story that had to be told.

I'd like to thank Daniel Finkelstein for writing Hitler, Stalin, Mum and Dad. The book has clearly been meticulously researched and given the personal nature of the events depicted I imagine it could not have been the easiest book to write.The book describes what happened to each of his parents and grandparents in the period leading up to, during and after the Second World War. The amount of detail it provides is amazing: for example, surviving a winter on a collective farm in a 'house' built from cow dung; the forced marches; the prison camps; the humiliations, lies and cover-ups perpetrated by the Stalinist and Nazi regimes to mention just a few.While the subject matter is harrowing in places, it is a beautifully written book. It uses alternating chapters to cover what is happening to each of the key family members at parallel points in time. This draws you into their lives and keeps you reading as you want to find out what happens next. The provision of footnotes, maps and family photos add a further level of understanding of the people, places and events depicted.This is not an easy book to read in parts given some of the events depicted. At times I found myself reflecting on what is currently taking place in Russia and Ukraine given this is where many of the events in this book take place.Finally, on a more personal note, I wish to express my appreciation to Daniel Finkelstein as, unbeknownst to him, he has provided me with some new insights into what probably happened to one of my ancestors. I never got to meet my grandfather. He was one of the thousands of Polish officer victims of the Katyn Massacre; just one of the many events that is covered in this book. Through Daniel's book, I feel I now have a clearer understanding of his final days and hours and for this I am very grateful.

Five stars from me for this book, on two counts:The reading experience: It's an astonishing survival story - or rather two, one of the Nazi holocaust and one of the Soviet gulags - that converge into one family's origin story - which had me enthralled from beginning to end. The fact that these two children survived long enough to become the 'Mum and Dad' of the title depends on a series of dramatic twists and turns and horrifically narrow escapes, making the book utterly gripping. The book is both personal and hugely informative, thought-provoking as well as moving and inspiring. There's even a surprising amount of (pitch-black, but always appropriate) humour in places, such as Mirjam Finkelstein's dead-pan reply "So what? I’ve been" when told that Reagan was planning to visit Belsen.The fact of its existence: Books like this are hugely important in keeping stories like these in the public eye, and fresh in the memories of new generations. This one felt particularly impactful for me as it continues the legacy of the Wiener Library set up by the author's grandfather in bearing witness to the horrific events and inspiring lives it describes. The inclusion of two very different parallel stories explicitly and deliberately connects the horrors of the Nazi regime to the less often discussed crimes of the Soviets, shining a light on both. I certainly learned a lot from this, and I feel that its dual focus means that almost anyone, even those familiar with one part of the narrative, could discover something new from this book.

While the crimes of the Holocaust, horrendous as they are, are well known and spoken about, the crimes of Stalin and the Soviet Union are still left unspoken.A brilliantly told story, clearly showing the similarities between the two and reviewing the trading and extraordinary life of two families who lived through one of the greatest tragedies of the 20th centuryDefinitely a must read

The writing elevates this memoir from a retelling of events of inordinate cruelty and horror to a classic which should find a place on the shelves of every one of us. Daniel Finkelstein structures this story by taking the reader through an incremental narrative taking the reader from his mother’s experiences to his father’s, climaxing with their eventual reunions and escape against impossible odds. Hard to read; hard to put down.

Yet another heart- and gut-wrenching book about how two families survived the Holocaust. The author, Daniel Finkelstein, is a British journalist, both of whose parents were Holocaust survivors, though from very different places and with very different stories. As he says at the outset of the book - i.e., no spoiler here - the fact that his parents met seems like a miracle. Reading about the horrors they experienced before that miracle happened, and how close both families came to death, saved by amazing coincidences and luck, is gripping and - as the title of this review says - horrifying, sad, and uplifting. I don't cry easily, but when his mother was reunited with her father in New York I teared up a bit.Finkelstein's style is straightforward - he writes for the common man - and I tore through the book very quickly.For people like me, who remain fascinated and horrified by the Holocaust and WWII in general, this is a must read. Actually, it is a must read for everyone.

Well written, adds another dimension to a horrible period in history.

A powerful telling of one family's plight during the Holocaust. This detailed writing yields so many emotions from the depths of despair to the joy of reunion and the continuation of the family. It illustrates the weakness of our political class and why we must always be on guard .

Daniel Finkelstein's story of his parents, grandparents and extended family could be an exceptional novel, except the story is true. Finkelstein not only shares the family's experiences of persecution at the hands of the Nazis and the Soviet Union, he also manages to provide enormous context for the events that shaped either the survival or murder of family members. Along the way, Finkelstein makes an enormous contribution to the history of World War II by detailing the Soviet's role in persecuting Jews and attempting to destroy eastern Poland. All too often, stories of persecution focus entirely on Hitler and the Nazis.While there's a lot of history packed into this book, Finkelstein's writing provides vivid descriptions of the his parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts, which enables readers to feel the fear, joy and love threaded throughout this book. Despite the pain and horror experienced by the Finkelsteins and Wieners (his mother's family), their is an element of hope and faith imbedded in this telling. It is these threads of hope and faith that enabled Finkelsteins family to fight to survive, and it also why readers of fiction and non-fictions should read this book.

What mothers and fathers did to keep their family together and alive in the era of murderous Nazis... remarkable! How can anyone deny the holocaust and its horrors... only imbeciles and liars. The father and mother loved being German citizens until Hitler's evil was supported. Never again, I pray.