05/06/2019
Freund (Digging Through History: Archaeology and Religion from Atlantis to the Holocaust), a Jewish history professor at the University of Hartford who has led archaeological expeditions, explains how recently developed high-tech tools have facilitated discoveries about the Holocaust, in this fascinating volume based largely on his experiences in the field. As he notes, Jewish law condemns disturbing human remains; the use of “noninvasive geoscience” tools like ground-penetrating radar enables scientists to obtain images to identify potential excavation sites before any digging is planned. He describes his team’s work in Rhodes and in Lithuania, which included extensive research into what was known about the areas to be explored before any planning was undertaken, including interviews with survivors. In Lithuania, Freund’s team discovered both an escape tunnel dug from a concentration camp and burial pits suggesting that the Nazis began carrying out their “final solution” six months before it was formally discussed at the notorious Wannsee Conference of 1942. Not everything will be clear to the lay reader, who may, for instance, wonder why a standard principle of geology dictates that “the most ancient layer is below the most recent layer of construction.” Despite that, this is a valuable addition to the topic that makes good use of the author’s expertise. (Apr.)
Freund’s book establishes a new paradigm in Shoah studies. Integrating Geoscience, Archaeology, and Holocaust history, he provides new insight from sites of horror in Rhodes, Poland, and Lithuania especially concerning the escape tunnel, and most importantly, his use of non-invasive technology preserves the sanctity of these sites.
In archaeology, the shovel has been augmented, if not replaced, by radar and tomography. Such noninvasive procedures are invaluable when viable buildings sit atop what you’re looking for and when what you’re looking for shouldn’t be disturbed. Both techniques are critical to this book’s subject and its author’s career. Besides the new tools, Freund emphasizes the importance of survivor and witness testimony for finding precisely where to look. He focuses on three projects, two concerned with Jewish communities all but erased by the Holocaust, those of the Greek island of Rhodes and the so-called Jerusalem of Lithuania, Vilna (Vilnius); the third, an escape tunnel from a Lithuanian extermination camp. Besides revealing where victims are buried—without violating their resting places: to Judaism, a sacrilege—the projects rediscovered tell much about two historic synagogues on Rhodes and details of the Great Synagogue of Vilna. They also verify the life-saving efforts of an altruistic Nazi and the story of a Lithuanian Anne Frank. All this, and much Holocaust history and archaeological explanation, Freund relays with a good lecturer’s precision and lucidity.
Once again, Richard Freund has demonstrated the enormous contribution that archaeology can make to understanding the Holocaust. By listening attentively to testimonies and exploring intricate details of what he uncovers, Freund is able to demonstrate how archaeology is about people. His depictions of the Great Synagogue in Vilna and in Rhodes reveal the centerpiece of both revered communities.Michael Berenbaum served as Deputy Director of the President's Commission on the Holocaust (1979–1980), Project Director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) (1988–1993), and Director of the USHMM's Holocaust Research Institute (1993–1997).
Richard Freund’s contribution to the expanding field of Holocaust studies is immeasurable. The Archaeology of the Holocaust is a gripping account of major archaeological results bringing to light human stories that give the reader a sense of wonder mixed with sadness. I recommend it far and wide.
Once the last eyewitnesses of the Holocaust pass away, the significance of archeology as a means of discovery, an archive and as a way to interpret the material evidence will inevitably increase. This new book by Richard A. Freund is the most recent example of how archaeological methods and techniques can successfully be used to research well-documented and well-known historical eventssuch as the Holocaust.
This is a thought provoking look at the archaeological process in general, and in particular how it can be used to study the holocaust, without at the same time desecrating the graves of its millions of victims.
Most of us have heard of the Holocaust, but how much do we know about what actually took place? The Archaeology of the Holocaust demonstrates the value of using a multidisciplinary approach to reveal the complex and painful stories of the Holocaust. The union of archaeology with geophysics to retrace these terrible events is a natural one, as the clues are often hidden underground.
Freund is a “a steward of the evidence.” Interweaving testimony with the latest in archaeological science, his chronicle of his investigation of places of the Holocaust compellingly shows how good science can elucidate the lives crucial to preserving a past that society must not forget.
In archaeology, the shovel has been augmented, if not replaced, by radar and tomography. Such noninvasive procedures are invaluable when viable buildings sit atop what you’re looking for and when what you’re looking for shouldn’t be disturbed. Both techniques are critical to this book’s subject and its author’s career. Besides the new tools, Freund emphasizes the importance of survivor and witness testimony for finding precisely where to look. He focuses on three projects, two concerned with Jewish communities all but erased by the Holocaust, those of the Greek island of Rhodes and the so-called Jerusalem of Lithuania, Vilna (Vilnius); the third, an escape tunnel from a Lithuanian extermination camp. Besides revealing where victims are buried—without violating their resting places: to Judaism, a sacrilege—the projects rediscovered tell much about two historic synagogues on Rhodes and details of the Great Synagogue of Vilna. They also verify the life-saving efforts of an altruistic Nazi and the story of a Lithuanian Anne Frank. All this, and much Holocaust history and archaeological explanation, Freund relays with a good lecturer’s precision and lucidity.
