When writing a book about a time so significant and devastating to the Jewish people, one has a moral responsibility to acknowledge and honor those who perished from the brutality and suffered the horrors perpetuated by one of the most, if not the most evil governments in the history of civilization. On the surface this seems to be an uncomplicated task, but when confronted with decisions on how to present the story, one must use their own judgment in choosing the means that best accomplish the goals set out in putting pen to paper.
Once on a visit to Williamsburg, Brooklyn, I made the comment that although I live my life almost entirely different than the Hasidic Jews that live there, I love going there because when I walk through the neighborhood I realize that with all the death and destruction Hitler orchestrated against the Jewish people, in the end he did not win. Nazi Germany is long gone and the specific threat that it posed to the very existence of the Jewish people no longer exists, but the war of the anti-Semite against the Jewish people has not ended and still needs to be fought. The attempt at intellectualizing Holocaust denial and the efforts by those who wish to accomplish this on a global scale threatens the Jewish people in a deceptive and methodic way. Little by little there is a danger that more and more people will choose to believe that it did not happen and that 6 million Jewish lives were not killed by Hitler’s Germany. In writing this book, and titling it “Jew Face”, even at the risk of offending some of my fellow Jews, I do so with the purpose of getting the attention of as many people as possible. The alarming title will startle people, but if it gets many to read what happened and be aware, then it has served a positive purpose.
You can’t fight fire with smoke. You must fight fire with fire. And if giving this book a title that shocks people and makes them interested in its content I increase awareness of what truly took place, I have been successful in accomplishing the book’s most important task. Honoring the victims and helping the world never forget what took place.
Holland's Heroes 
March 29th, 2012 at 11:44 am
I will post opinions, even if they are not ones I agree with. I can handle and should expect some, maybe even a lot of criticism. My personal decision is that a comment that has a personal insult is one I will not post. That is why the comment you made today(in the post “the reason behind the title Jew Face), has been approved. I have over the past few days approached numerous people, all Jewish, and asked them how they felt about the title. Some of these people are people I know marginally or have not spoken to in many years so they have no strong personal allegiance to me. I did not lead them in any direction and did not make it seem like I was looking for a specific answer. If anything I attempted to lead them in the direction of your(leo groen) opinion. I asked the question in one of 2 ways. What do you think of the title? Do you think the title is problematic? I have not had one person express a serious concern over the title. They seemed to understand that this book is based on events that took place as a result of people who hated the Jews and that the title is not coming from a place that has any intention of causing damage or attacking the Jewish people. You may have done more as Jew than I have Leo, you have fought in the Israeli army and you now live according to the guidelines of the Torah, but I don’t believe that makes you someone who loves the Jewish people more than I do. I do not dispute that I am a stubborn person, but I am not being one in this case. A clear majority of the people I have spoken with have no issue with the title. If I had clear evidence to the contrary I would not let my own stubborness or opinion get in the way.