The Search for Major Plagge

The Nazi Who Saved Jews

By: Michael Good

Narrated by: James Romick

Part detective story, part personal quest, Michael Good's book is the story of the German commander of a Lithuanian work camp who saved hundreds of Jewish lives in the Vilnius ghetto - including the life of Good's mother, Pearl. Who was this enigmatic officer Pearl Good had spoken of so often?

After five years of research - interviewing survivors, assembling a team that could work to open German files untouched for 50 years, following every lead he could, Good was able to uncover the amazing tale of one man's remarkable courage. And in April 2005, Karl Plagge joined Oskar Schindler and 380 other Germans as "Righteous Among Nations", honored by the State of Israel for protecting and saving Jewish lives during the Holocaust.

This expanded edition features a new epilogue on the impact of the discovery of Karl Plagge - especially the story of 83-year-old Alfons von Deschwanden, who, after 50 years of silence, came forward as a veteran of Plagge's unit. His testimony is now part of this growing witness to truth.

Contains mature themes.

©2016 Michael Good (P)2022 Tantor

Riveting and thoughtful

A fascinating story, part memoir, part historical research, part social observation about how good people can behave in monstrous events and how we struggle to make sense of them in the aftermath.

Review

A little redundant and long winded at times but overall interesting and forces one to think about oral questions.