Thursday, May 15, 2008

Diocesan Papers Spread Word About 'Priestblock' to over 2 Million

Over 60 diocesan papers around the country, with a combined circulation of over 2 million copies, have published reviews of the best-selling new book 'Priestblock 25487: A Memoir of Dachau'.

In May 1941, Fr. Jean Bernard was arrested for denouncing the Nazis and deported from his native Luxembourg to Dachau's "Priest Block," a barracks that housed more than 3,000 clergymen of various denominations (the vast majority Roman Catholic priests).

Fr. Bernard's memoir, Priestblock 25487, tells the gripping true story of his survival amid inhuman brutality, degradation, and torture.

The book touches on a subject much in the news in recent years: the role of the Catholic Church in Nazi Germany. But it offers a fresh perspective on the subject: few Americans are familiar with the suffering of anti-Nazi Catholic clergy.

This important book, originally published in Germany in 1963, was made into the award-winning film "The Ninth Day" in 2004. But the German-language text has never before translated into English.

Patsy Pelton of Today's Catholic (San Antonio) points out the timeliness of the book's publication: "With the election three years ago of a German pope, many books and articles have questioned the role of the Catholic Church in Nazi Germany. The recent translation of Priestblock 25487 provides a firsthand report of the cruelty and evil inflicted upon the thousands of clergy, most of them Roman Catholic priests, who denounced Nazism, and who were imprisoned, most of them at Dachau... The cruelty of the Nazi regime is beyond comprehension. Just as incredible is the gift of the friendship and faith-filled lives the clergy in Dachau shared... It's a book that will remain with you as you reflect upon its message."

Fr. Tom Caswell of The Inland Register observes that the book "is a moving account of the cruel place where more priests were gathered in one place than anywhere else in all the history of the world."

Andrew Junker of The Catholic Sun calls Priestblock "brutally truthful," but adds that it "recalls the power of the risen Christ, who makes all things new... Fr. Bernard and his brother priests found strength in the Eucharist, which was often smuggled to the non-German priests who weren't allowed to say Mass."

Rachelle Linner of Catholic News Service calls the book "important" and "luminous," noting that it moves "the reader to compassion and insight."

Tim Johnson of Today's Catholic (Indiana) observes: "I found this compelling book hard to stop reading."

Barbara Stinson Lee of the Intermountain Catholic says Priestblock "should be treated as a meditation, even something to be read again and again." She adds that the book is "so profound it deserves a wide readership."

Priestblock 25487: A Memoir of Dachau is published by Zaccheus Press, and is available at your local Catholic bookseller, and at Amazon.com (www.tinyurl.com/3cy6at). +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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