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"One of the [German] tanks stopped near our group [which included the author at 5 years old and his parents]...And a young soldier, his body protruding from the open turret, his face covered in soot, yelled over to us in German, wanting to know who we were. After some hesitation, somebody answered that we were Jews, and another added, `German Jews.' `Nothing to worry about,' he yelled back. `The war will be over soon, and we'll all be able to go home again.' He waved at us and the tank moved forward. These very reassuring words brought us temporary relief...As fate would have it, they turned out to be the kindest words any German would address to us for a long time to come..."
The above comes from the beginning of this enthralling book by Thomas Buergenthal, currently an American judge at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands. (The above event in quotations took place just after Sept. 1, 1939, the day Germany invaded Poland thus starting World War II {WWII}.)
This is Buergenthal's memoir of surviving WWII and Auschwitz as a child and young boy. We catch a glimpse of his parents and his serene life in Czechoslovakia before the war. Unfortunately, Hitler came to power in 1933 and his parents were Jewish.
These two facts turned the Buergenthals' life upside down. Thomas (almost six years old) and his parents were forced into a Jewish ghetto in Poland and two labour camps where they endured for four years. Then the family of three went to what some call the final destination for many: Auschwitz.
Ten-year-old Thomas, here separated from his parents, begins his lone odyssey at this point. By brainpower and with the help of lady luck, he survived the horrors of Auschwitz and the infamous "death march." Eventually liberated, he becomes the unlikely mascot for a Polish Army regiment, witnessed the fall of Berlin, and even spent a year in an orphanage.
Against a background of struggle and terror, we get to see the small wonders of childhood as when Thomas teaches himself to ride a bicycle belonging to an officer of the SS or his excitement when a pony is given to him by his Polish comrades.
Lady luck smiled on him again when he was reunited with his mother after not seeing her for more than 2 years.
In 1951 (aged 17), he emigrated to the United Stated to start a new fulfilling and distinguished life.
This is a story that's simply and beautifully told. Buergenthal writes in an unsentimental tone but despite this, this true story is heartbreaking and thrilling demonstrating that beauty and good are present even in the face of ugliness and evil.
It must have taken incredible courage for Buergenthal to dredge up some of the memories found in this book. His effort was worth it! The resulting book is "an extraordinary historical document and a humane statement of great moral depth."
Finally, to accentuate the main narrative there are over twenty black and white photographs peppered throughout. My favourite has the following caption:
"Thomas Buergenthal in a tailor-made Polish Army uniform, with the soldier who took him to the orphanage, 1945."
There is also a detailed map so we can follow Thomas' journeys. (Notice the location of Czechoslovakia with respect to Germany and Poland.)
In conclusion, I thank Thomas Buergenthal for giving the world and me a powerful book that allows the reader to witness the resilience of the human spirit!!
(first published in America 2009; forward; preface; 11 chapters; epilogue; main narrative 225 pages; acknowledgements; about the author)
<<Stephen Pletko, London, Ontario, Canada>>
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