After the Roundup

Escape and Survival in Hitler’s France

By: Joseph Weismann

Narrated by: J. Clark Allison

On the nights of July 16 and 17, 1942, French police rounded up 11-year-old Joseph Weismann, his family, and 13,000 other Jews. After being held for five days in appalling conditions in the Vélodrome d'Hiver stadium, Joseph and his family were transported by cattle car to the Beaune-la-Rolande internment camp and brutally separated: All the adults and most of the children were transported on to Auschwitz and certain death, but 1,000 children were left behind to wait for a later train. The French guards told the children left behind that they would soon be reunited with their parents, but Joseph and his new friend, Joe Kogan, chose to risk everything in a daring escape attempt. After eluding the guards and crawling under razor-sharp barbed wire, Joseph found freedom. But how would he survive the rest of the war in Nazi-occupied France and build a life for himself? His problems had just begun.

Until he was 80, Joseph Weismann kept his story to himself, giving only the slightest hints of it to his wife and three children. In the original French version of this book and in Roselyne Bosch’s 2010 film La Rafle, Joseph shares his compelling and terrifying story of the "Roundup of the Vél’ d’Hiv" and his escape. Now, for the first time in English, Joseph tells the rest of his dramatic story.

The book is published by Indiana University Press.

"Weismann's narrative is an achievement to be grateful for." (Thomas Keneally, author of Schindler's List)

"Extraordinary...and timely...a powerful insight into what it is like to be on the receiving end of the demonization of a race or religion." (Peter Grose, author of A Good Place To Hide)

"In bearing witness, Joseph Weismann has written a book that is indispensable for the enormous task of understanding the Shoah." (Les Chroniques de Miawka)

©2017 Indiana University Press (P)2018 Redwood Audiobooks

Up there with "Man's Search for Meaning"

I received a promo code & have chosen to leave my honest opinions of the book & narration.

Listening to After the Roundup: Escape and Survival in Hitler’s France by Joseph Weismann, narrated by J. Clark Allison was excellent. When I'd only listened to 2 chapters so far, I could tell it's going to be one of my new favorites. Weismann wrote it in his eighties. Written in first person beginning when he was 10 in France in 1941 is a compelling beginning. J. has done an excellent job as a narrator, conveying the youth of the characters without making them sound silly. The holocaust was a disturbing disgusting experience. This is the first time I've read or listened to a story about it from the perspective of a child. In some ways, it made me think of the movie "Life is Beautiful," even though in this case it most certainly was not. But taking a subject matter so painfully horrific & viewing it through the lens of childhood. I also appreciated that Mr Weismann didn't just cover the years of the war, but the aftermath & continued persecution and anti-semitism that still exists today.
This now ranks right up there with my favorite war books, including: Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, And There Was Light by Jacques Lusseyran, (I'm disappointed it's only available abridged on Audible. Maybe Mr. Allison or I could one day rectify that. He handles the French much better than I would), Mankind's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl.

Trigger warning - Aside from the obvious trauma of the holocaust, there is also a description of an instance of sexual abuse.

Narrator added a lot to this book

I really enjoyed this book. I especially like the narrators voice, it made the powerful content easier to listen to then many books I've heard on audible.

Let not history repeat

The horror. The trauma felt by young innocent children being taken away from their parents. The trauma lasts into adulthood. PTSD is very real. The millions ofinnoce.my lives taken from this worldly my God . This must never ever happen ever again. On this earth.

After the Roundup

An important piece of history and an impressive effort in translation and narration.

Joseph Weismann's ability to write from the perspective he had as a child trying to navigate unthinkable atrocities offers the listener an incredibly unique and human experience that can't be found in a textbook. The translation by Richard Kutner and narration by J Clark Allison gives every effort to ensure Weismann's story is done justice, and the end result is a quality piece of history that should be shared.

Inspiring, horrific and shamefully true story

Another horrific and painfully true account of how insanely barbaric the Nazi's and their sympathizers were. My thanks to the author for deciding to share such a raw and painful story. It was especially emotional and chilling for me, because my own grandparents (and dad) migrated from Paris and to NY in 1940.

How is it possible that humans could have behaved that way less than a generation ago? I worry about the rising trend of nationalistic and self-serving political leaders. I find myself encouraging others to ingest Joseph Weismann’s tragic story and to then take any action within their own power to prevent anything like this from ever happening again.

This is a book that you don’t want to read, but you really must.

DISCLAIMER: I was given a review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher at my request and have voluntarily left this review.