“What a thrilling story of wartime survival! Mel Laytner has unraveled the secrets of his father’s past, balancing a son’s love and admiration with a reporter’s commitment to the facts. Chasing after hidden diamonds and digging up damning Nazi documents, Laytner weaves a tale of courage and luck that brings to life an unforgettable cast of characters. A great detective story — and an important work of history.”

— Ann Kirschner, author of Sala’s Gift and Lady at the O.K. Corral.

“A remarkable historiographical achievement that blends the narrative pleasures of a detective story with the intellectual fireworks of a micro-history. In tracing the evidence and reconstructing the facts concerning a single Auschwitz prisoner, Laytner has made a major contribution to the history of that camp and, as such, to our understanding of the Holocaust.”

—Robert Jan van Pelt, author of The Case For Auschwitz, Evidence from the Irving Trial

“...A compelling blend of memoir and historical research, beautifully written. Laytner’s deeply personal story is an important addition to Holocaust literature, but will also resonate with a general audience as a historical detective story... Along the way he ponders how do we know what we know about history, and the lives of those who made it or were brutalized by it? Are documents better evidence than memory? How does one understand the ethical (and unethical) choices made by victims and victimizers alike?”

--Kenneth S. Stern, director, Bard Center for the Study of Hate, author of The Conflict over The Conflict: The Israel/Palestine Campus Debate 

“I know of no other work that so eloquently succeeds in combining a dogged search for a Nazi paper trail of evidence and a son’s reconciliation with his family's Holocaust legacy. What They Didn't Burn is not only an engaging piece of rigorous research, but also a harrowing and heartwarming personal saga of discovery as well.”

-- Scott Miller, author of Refuge Denied, The St. Louis Passengers and the Holocaust

“Mel Laytner’s What They Didn’t Burn offers the reader both an emotional account of a son retracing his father’s traumatic experiences under Nazi persecution, and a gripping detective story of a savvy journalist uncovering “what they didn’t burn.” This beautifully written and deeply felt book, a powerful tribute to his father’s fortitude, also serves as a reminder that the long shadow of the Nazi past stretches over generations.” 

Gabrielle Robinson, Author of Api’s Berlin Diaries 

“Mel Laytner’s book is remarkable. ... He puts his readers into every scene, astonishing us with surprises that allowed many Jews to survive, escaping the hideous concentration camps: Blechhammer, Auschwitz, Buchenwald, and others...Never forget the Holocaust. You will never forget Laytner’s book as well.”

--Joelle Sander, Author of Before Their Time: Four Generations of Teenage Mothers, awarded Best Book for Adults About Children by the Braun Center for Holocaust Studies.