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Witness to Nuremberg

The Many Lives of the Man Who Translated at the Nazi War Trials

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Witness to Nuremberg

By: W. Richard Sonnenfeldt
Narrated by: Robert Blumenfeld
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In this gripping memoir by the chief American interpreter at the Nuremberg trials, Richard Sonnenfeldt recounts a remarkable life. By the time he was 18, Sonnenfeldt had grown up in Germany, escaped to England, been deported to Australia as a "German enemy alien", arrived in the U.S., and joined the U.S. Army. By age 22 he had fought in the Battle of the Bulge and helped liberate the Dachau concentration camp, when he was appointed chief interpreter for the American prosecution of Nazi war criminals at the Nuremberg trials.

During his service, he spent pretrial time with Hermann Göering as well as other top Nazi leaders like von Ribbentrop, Rudolph Höss, and Julius Streicher, the infamous editor of the anti-Semitic Der Sturmer.

An engineer in later life, Sonnenfeldt was also a principal developer of color TV and computer technology and a key player in NASA's preparation of the first moon shot.

©2006 Richard W. Sonnenfeldt (P)2011 Audible, Inc. 20th Century Americas Europe Germany Historical Military Military & War Modern United States World War II War Imperialism Holocaust
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Editor reviews

Richard Sonnenfeldt has lived an incredible life. In this memoir, Sonnenfeldt recounts his numerous brushes with history. The first and central story surrounds his role as lead translator for the Nuremburg Trials. Intimate and thought-provoking, Witness to Nuremberg: The Many Lives of the Man Who Translated at the Nazi War Trials in an insider's account of one of history's greatest judicial episodes. Robert Blumenfeld gives a distinguished performance. Well-rehearsed and fast paced, Blumenfeld succeeds in his reading of Sonnenfeldt's intimate reflections on his past.
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This was an absorbing story from start to finish . I enjoyed it immensely.
Well narrated also.

An amazing story

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I don’t think I’ve listened to a better audiobook in two years of using Audible, the fact it was a free listen makes it even better.
An amazing story, very well narrated, and a story full of lessons for the betterment of the human condition.
Highly recommended.

Excellent

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As my title shows, this is an incredible factual story lived by an incredible Man who, in my opinion, was pushed by fate through many many circumstances in order to be an important part of one of Histories darkest times.
I wished many times, during listening to this, that I could somehow pass on to Richard my deepest sympathy and apology for how he was treated whilst in the UK. Also I would've loved to have shaken his hand and maybe even drop to me knees with gratitude for his part in holding to account the people who were the beating heart of the most disgusting circumstance where man treated other men who were no different to themselves in the most disgraceful way imaginable.
so I say to the author or his family that I myself thank him for his service to mankind and that despite not ever having met him or spoke to him personally, I would tell him that I am proud of him like a parent would be of their children for what he did to make the world a better place, at least for a while.
Thankyou Richard it was an honour to hear your story it was phenomenal to hear how much you squeezed into you life, whereas I (being a little disabled), have huge difficulty finding someone like you who knows that you don't have to be the best at everything to do a job, but hey, that's a different story.

An incredible life for an incredible person.

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This was a very interesting book, starting with a young man in the US Army as the chief interpreter at the Nuremberg War Trials, but then restarting with his entire biography. His story is incredible, with every opportunity and set back grabbed with both hands. He goes from a schoolboy refugee (a term he hated) escaping to England to USA then as a soldier into a surrendering Germany. A young life filled with danger, excitement, hardwork but also fun, friendships and talent. It then goes on to his later life, his successes built on his experiences. I don’t want to give away the too much detail, as I want new listeners to enjoy it first hand. This is a fantastic life, well lived.

What a life

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An incredible life and someone I would very much have liked to have been able to meet

A great book and life

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