We Dared to Live

A Tale of Courage and Survival

Non-Fiction - Historical
142 Pages
Reviewed on 05/06/2016
Buy on Amazon

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Heidi M. Crabtree for Readers' Favorite

Beginning with a Foreword by the director of the Anti-Defamation League, this is an intense piece of work. Abrashe Szabrinski left four manuscripts behind when he passed, translated from the original Yiddish. One was a memoir type of manuscript while the others were shorter recollections. We Dared To Live: A Tale of Courage and Survival by Joe Sabrin and Chris Moore is a composition of these papers. Szabrinski was in the Polish Army and wound up in the Soviet military during WWII. These are his stories. What he saw and experienced is unforgettable, and the fact that he was a commander of a unit named "Death to Fascists" makes this all the more important. There are very detailed accounts here, especially when he talks about Vilna.

One does not need to be a history/geography expert to learn from this book. Anything that may need clarification, i.e. Kartuz-Bereza, or a name, has a boxed note on the same page explaining the significance or meaning. Szabrinski is very opinionated, especially when discussing one Isaac Wittenberg. Wittenberg was in demand by the Gestapo for his knowledge of operations in ghettos at Vilna. The Communists and others urged him to turn himself in, giving him poison should any torture become unbearable. Wittenberg did kill himself with it, and while the Communists claimed people were saved by his actions, Szabrinski argues otherwise.

Wonderful photos are included, including rare photos from Lithuania. A photo of the card of the "Death to Fascists" group is included. The book reads just like it should; one survivor's first hand account of exactly what he saw and lived through in those dark years. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Holocaust Studies, WWII, and/or Polish and Eastern European history. It's very important to remember and, as the survivors pass away, we need books like this so they are never forgotten.