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The Last Generation: Forgotten and Left to Die

Title: The Last Generation: Forgotten and Left to Die / Die Letzte Generation: Vergessen Und Dem Tod Uberlassen

 

Author: Hans Kopp

Year: 2003

Media Type: Book

Lending Status: Borrow

How Acquired: ZVA purchase for SGS

Review/Description: The Last Generation – Forgotten And Left To Die by Hans Kopp is a new entry in the list of Donauschwaben memoirs. Mr. Kopp draws on his own recollections and the stories of friends and family to tell the tale of the Doanuschwaben expulsion from Yugoslavia. Through the eyes of a ten year old child he describes daily life before the War, the coming of the Russians and Partisans, the deportation of many of the adults to Russia, the expulsion of the occupants from their homes, and their internment in the slave labour camps. In particular, he describes the Gakowa camp, telling of the sickness, starvation, and death, of the heroism of those who struggled to survive, and of the escape to Hungary, Austria, and the United States in 1956. 

Although Mr. Kopp’s education was interrupted by his experiences, his book is quite well written in both English and German. Perhaps its main feature is a collection of more than 1,400 pictures. Although many are personal images of family, friends, and his home town, there are also many from other towns and many that display customs, dress, and way of life.