• Hell Before Their Very Eyes

  • By: John C. McManus
  • Narrated by: Joe Barrett
  • Length: 6 hrs and 37 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (318 ratings)

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Hell Before Their Very Eyes

By: John C. McManus
Narrated by: Joe Barrett
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Publisher's summary

On April Fourth, 1945, United States Army units from the 89th Infantry Division and the Fourth Armored Division seized Ohrdruf, the first of many Nazi concentration camps to be liberated in Germany. In the weeks that followed, as more camps were discovered, thousands of soldiers came face to face with the monstrous reality of Hitler's Germany.

These men discovered the very depths of human-imposed cruelty and depravity: railroad cars stacked with emaciated, lifeless bodies; ovens full of incinerated human remains; warehouses filled with stolen shoes, clothes, luggage, and even eyeglasses; prison yards littered with implements of torture and dead bodies; and - perhaps most disturbing of all - the half-dead survivors of the camps. For the American soldiers of all ranks who witnessed such powerful evidence of Nazi crimes, the experience was life altering. Almost all were haunted for the rest of their lives by what they had seen, horrified that humans from ostensibly civilized societies were capable of such crimes.

Military historian John C. McManus sheds new light on this often-overlooked aspect of the Holocaust. Drawing on a rich blend of archival sources and thousands of firsthand accounts - including unit journals, interviews, oral histories, memoirs, diaries, letters, and published recollections - Hell before Their Very Eyes focuses on the experiences of the soldiers who liberated Ohrdruf, Buchenwald, and Dachau and their determination to bear witness to this horrific history.

©2018 John C. McManus (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What listeners say about Hell Before Their Very Eyes

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loved it

it is an interesting view from the soilders view instead of the inmates. I have read many memoirs from survivors and even accounts of the guards, but to liberators shine a new light on the camps. very well written.

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4 people found this helpful

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Too bad it's a rough draft

There is great information in this book from an important viewpoint. The soldiers' perspective might even help the some of the right-wing holocaust deniers , who claim to support the military, see the truth. There is also some good writing in this rough draft, and it truly is a rough draft.

the book is sometimes disjointed. There are more than a few places were the information repeats itself. That's understandable in a rough draft, but this is supposed to be a finished book. In the beginning when this occurred, I thought imy phone had been jarred causing it to move back. Toward the end , when I again listened to the same information about a Nazi wife, my eye rolling was producing some muscle pain.

Editing the book would have brought it down to a long article, but it probably would have been a well-written, valuable piece.

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Unique perspective

Important & thought-provoking. Meticulously written and perfectly narrated. Even hardened soldiers were brought to tears in disbelief of what they saw.

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Horror

Even knowing what to expect still hard to listen to. I’m glad someone interviewed some of those folks before they are all gone.

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Good book

Content is great but it needed a different narrator. Despite this the author gives a vivid description of the liberations

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Moving

I don’t get emotional often when reading books like this. I will not forget this book and would recommend it to anyone that is both a historical knowledge seeker. Very moving and the narrator was excellent.

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Great documentary of those who witnessed

The reader was perfect for the tone/message of this book.

Looking for the experiences of those who discovered and liberated camps and the aftermath of caring for the survivors this is it. First hand reports, discussion of policies and organizing as well as personal experience. I am so glad I got this book.

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Everyone should read or listen To this

Gut-wrenching narrative of the US troops who liberated Nazi concentration camps in spring 1945. The horror they witnessed and experienced in discovering, freeing, and caring for the victims incarcerated there must never pass from memory. The ghastly details are presented almost entirely in first-person quotations from the participants, and do a creditable job of portraying their disbelief, inability to comprehend, and guilt, often giving way to blind rage and hatred of the German instigators.

Awareness is the first step toward preventing recurrence. The bestiality of the Nazi regime must never be allowed to happen again.

Well-read except for the reader’s annoying habit of assuming a stilted accent whenever someone is quoted.

Many thanks to Audible for making this volume available free of charge.

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awesome

a fascinating insight to the thoughts of the American GIs finding the concentration camps.

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A great book well researched

Another great work by Mr. Mc mantis and outstanding narration by Joe Barrett thank you both

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