Mostow­icz describes his expe­ri­ences as a physi­cian in the Lodz ghet­to and Nazi con­cen­tra­tion camps, includ­ing an account of a work­ers’ demon­stra­tion in 1940; a descrip­tion of the Gyp­sy camp and the Jew­ish atti­tudes toward Gyp­sies; the antag­o­nism between Lodz Jews and the Ger­man and Czech Jews who had been deport­ed to the Lodz ghet­to; as well as a vivid account of Rumkows­ki, the head of the Juden­rat of the Lodz ghet­to, a man who was despised by most of the Jews but who is cred­it­ed with sav­ing more lives in Lodz than any oth­er Juden­rat Elder of oth­er ghet­tos. Most impor­tant­ly, the author ques­tions the moral­i­ty of his own actions, called upon as he was to make deci­sions that affect­ed the fate of others.