There are myriad books about the Holocaust, many of them memoirs. All are stories that need to be told, yet after a while it can be exhausting. But a work of forensic archaeology, in which a specialist historian of the Holocaust takes just one image, examines it closely and establishes who exactly is in it, how it came about and what happened afterwards, felt like a corrective to the anonymity of the poor dead bodies of Belsen ... For me, increasingly, less is more. There will be people who find Lower’s writing unemotional. She doesn’t feel the need to load her sentences with colourful words expressing feeling. She doesn’t imagine the green grass, the feelings of the mother who cannot protect her family, the callousness of the killers. Her writing is spare, with no adjectival intrusion. I welcome it. I don’t need to be told that shooting a woman and children beside a pit is brutal. The book is an act of calculated justice — turning the 'mass' in mass murder into the families, the people who suffered. Giving them something, however small. For me, that is its power ... To the murdered others, this book is an act of restitution.

Lower wants to do several things with this image. She hopes to discover who, exactly, the Jewish victims were: to say their names. Though she is an admirably dogged researcher — she uses, among other sources, live and videotaped witness testimonies, legal documents and grave excavations — in this she fails; their names are lost to history ... She also hopes to recreate the details of that day in Miropol and thus reveal the networks of complicity that made the Holocaust possible. Here, she succeeds with a vengeance: Her chapter The Aktion is devastating ... There is a vociferous debate among historians and photography critics about whether 'perpetrator photographs,' especially from the Nazi era, should be viewed. Some argue that they revictimize the victims. Lower, rightly, disputes this, though in a sparse and not especially illuminating way. Yet her book is a refutation of those who urge us not to look.

The personal narratives and photographs throughout are rich with heartbreaking detail into lives lost and the severe persecution of Ukrainian Jews ... No comparable title exists that focuses exclusively on the mysterious background behind one single photo, making this compelling history an essential read for World War II enthusiasts.

... a researcher’s story, with fully a third of the book devoted to documentation. The measured, direct narrative style does not diminish the impact of this remarkable story, worthy of a place in any library’s collection.

Unfortunately, the reproduced photograph, and smaller portions thereof, does not have the absolute resolution that is really needed, and one is sometimes hard pressed to pick out some of those details without the aid of a magnifying glass, something which is recommended here ... On the other hand, there is much to discern and observe despite the fact that the layperson may not necessarily realize or recognize exactly at what s/he is looking. At this point, this is what makes the text so invaluable as the author is able to guide the reader in many of the details otherwise hidden ... Although there is no formal bibliography, the notes contain all of the pertinent publishing information for determining data origination sources and provide additional context as well. It is apparent therefrom that the author has done extensive research in archives and government documents, in addition to having interviewed the one survivor of the killing and others still living from the time period ... Society returns again and again to the Holocaust, as well it should. Even if victims cannot be identified, it well behooves society to ensure that their stories are told, if possible, and they be remembered even if justice can no longer be enforced on those responsible.

The author’s expansive research in Soviet archives and Jewish genealogical databases led her to identify and interview possible family members who had managed to escape the Holocaust. The profundity of Lower’s commitment to justice is both admirable and evident. Meticulously researched and thoughtfully written, her book is a testimonial to the power of countering ignorance with education and the importance of restoring the dignity of personhood to those erased by genocide ... An intelligent and restoratively compassionate historical excavation.

... disturbing and meticulously researched ... Despite traveling to Miropol and interviewing elderly residents, Lower is unable to identify the mother and child in the picture. Still, her search uncovers a wealth of information related to WWII in Ukraine and makes a persuasive case for how historical scholarship can 'help turn the wheels of justice.' This harrowing chronicle casts the Holocaust in a stark new light.