Priestblock 25487: A Memoir of Dachau In May 1941, Father Jean Bernard was arrested for denouncing the Nazis and imprisoned in Dachau’s “Priest Block,” a barracks that housed more than 3,000 clergy (the vast majority Roman Catholic priests).
Priestblock 25487 tells the gripping true story of one remarkable priest’s survival amid the inhuman brutality and torture of a Nazi concentration camp.
This important book, originally published in Germany in 1963, was made into the award-winning film The Ninth Day in 2004.
Introduction by Robert Royal. Preface by Se n Cardinal O’Malley, Archbishop of Boston.
Praise for Priestblock 25487
”Stunning… Casts light into dark and previously neglected corners of the horror that was the Third Reich.”
–Richard John Neuhaus, Editor in Chief First Things
”Father Jean Bernard’s portrait of survival in a German concentration camp is simple, forceful and vivid and therefore impossible to put down or forget. It ranks with the great 20th Century personal testimonies against totalitarian violence… Priestblock 25487 is a diary of Catholic discipleship under extreme conditions that will deeply move all persons of conscience.”
–Charles J. Chaput, Archbishop of Denver
”Gripping! This crisp story of the 3,000-plus Christian clergy at Dachau in 1941 forces me to turn pages quickly, in horror… In its understated power, this brief book is unforgettable.”
–Michael Novak, author Washington’s God
”Many hundreds of books have been written about German concentration and extermination camps, including at least two or three dozens by their actual survivors.
Of these, Father Jean Bernard’s Priestblock 25487 is among the very best, because of the exceptional intelligence and honesty of its author… His diary is extraordinarily telling, convincing, and graphic. Every scholar and student of that dreadful chapter of twentieth-century history ought to read and ponder its contents.”
–John Lukacs, author The Hitler of History; and Five Days in London: May 1940
”A gripping story of heroism and horror that must never be forgotten.”
–First Things
”Important… luminous… Moves the reader to compassion and insight.”
–Rachelle Linner, Catholic News Service
”Should be treated as a meditation, even something to be read again and again… So profound it deserves a wide readership.”
–Barbara Stinson Lee, Intermountain Catholic
”Deeply moving… The suffering of these priests for the sake of the loving God is one of the modern age’s glorious mysteries.”
–Fr. George Rutler
”I found this compelling book hard to stop reading.”
–Tim Johnson, Today’s Catholic
”Provides fresh anecdotal insight into the Vatican’s battle against the Nazis… As this first-hand account shows in riveting detail, the mere rumor of clerical opposition on the outside sufficed to intensify suffering on the inside.”
–Daniel Cole, The Wanderer
”A gripping testimony of the brutal treatment Catholic clergy received at the hands of the Nazis.”
–William Donohue, President, Catholic League
”It is dramatic. It is brutally honest. I loved the book and could not put it down.”
–Teresa Tomeo, Ave Maria Radio
”I began reading this book on Friday night and finished the 175 pages in three hours. It was a book that I could not put down or stop reading.”
–Rev. Steve Wood, St. John’s Evangelical Church
Customer Review: A Must Read for Students of WWII
This book brings the reader into the daily life of a priest who was imprisoned for speaking out against the Nazis. The cruelty and drudgery of camp life is vividly detailed in this diary and one cannot help but feel the reality of the events documented so well by Fr. Bernard.
Put on a Happy Face: A Broadway Memoir 
