HMMSA Reads Book Club Covers Leon Uris’ Mila 18

April 1, 2021

by Melanie Schwebke, Education Contractor
 

On March 4th, HMMSA Reads, the book club series from the Holocaust Memorial Museum of San Antonio, virtually gathered to discuss Mila 18 by Leon Uris. Many participants rated the book highly, giving it a 5 out of 5. They enjoyed the detailed work of historic fiction which depicts the lives of those in the Warsaw Ghetto and specifically their involvement in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Readers also appreciated the complex characters that Uris created which portrayed the variety of reactions when faced with the horrors of the Holocaust.   

The novel is told from several character viewpoints. Among those is an American journalist sent to cover the events unfolding in Warsaw, Christopher de Monti. He soon develops a close relationship with several of the other main character of the novel. It is through these characters that we, the readers, witness the everyday lives and choices of those in the Warsaw Ghetto. A favorite character of the group was Andrei Androfski, a Jewish Polish Army Brigade Officer who valiantly fights against the Nazi forces with whatever resources he has available to him. This book is recommended to those who want a well-researched, detailed novel about the extreme struggle for hope, love, and survival in the Warsaw Ghetto.   

 The next book club in the HMMSA Reads series will be June 3 at 5:30 p.m. June’s book is The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman.  

Register for the free event here: https://www.hmmsa.org/all-events/hmmsa-reads-world-we-knew 

The Holocaust Memorial Museum of San Antonio is a program of the Jewish Federation of San Antonio. To learn more or to sponsor one of the museum’s programs, visit hmmsa.org or contact [email protected]