Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Forgers:
Sometimes, crime is good.
Quick synopsis:
The story of Polish diplomats and their passport forgery operation in World War II.
Fact for Non-History People:
It’s estimated the Germans carried out more than 600 separate massacres against Polish POWs and civilians.
Fact for History Nerds:
One of the early plans for the Holocaust included shipping a million Jewish people per year to Madagascar.
My Take on The Forgers:
Roger Moorhouse’s The Forgers is an example of a very good book with one flaw that is still well worth your time. The Forgers looks at a cell of Polish diplomats in Switzerland who provided forged documents to thousands of Jewish people facing the worst of the Holocaust. By far the strongest part of this book is Moorhouse’s ability to distill the actions and movements during the Holocaust by various groups without losing sight of the unspeakable horror throughout. A significant amount of the book chronicles some of the worst ghettos of World War II and how the acquisition of a forged passport could be the difference between life and death.
The one flaw has directly to do with the title of the book. “The Forgers” is a misnomer. The actual people behind the forging cell take up very little space within the book. Their names are mentioned, and we get very short biographies, but most of the book is devoid of their presence. It would be much more accurate to say this book revolves around the actual forgeries as opposed to the forgers. In the end, this flaw does not diminish the book in a truly significant way. The research and writing are top notch, and this is well worth a read.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Basic Books.)
Verdict:
A good read. Buy it here!
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.