He survived Auschwitz but now Simon Mendelevski has to find out who betrayed his familySeptember 1945. Auschwitz survivor Simon Mendelevski, penniless and unkempt, returns to Amsterdam in a desperate search for his family, friends and neighbours. Simon meets two Dutch women, both of whom have also suffered. One, known to him before the war, is anxious to make amends for what she perceives as a … amends for what she perceives as a failure by her fellow citizens to protect the Jewish population while easing the pain of her own loss. The other arrived in the city after the bombing of Rotterdam in May 1940 during which she lost a limb.
He searches for the address where he and his Jewish family were hidden prior to their arrest by the Nazis for anything tangible connected to his family, and for whoever betrayed them. Only after finding answers can he start to rebuild his life.
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I thought the book to be outstanding, both in its development of characters but also in the post WW2 setting in Europe with the release of Jews from the camps. I won’t say more as it was wonderful to read and providing information might detract from the enjoyment of the book, but get it, read it, and remember it.
john quincy
Gave me a better understanding of what my grandmother had to endure when Hitler came to power.
Would have given it 5 stars, but about 2/3 through i to get a little fed up that the “hero” couldn’t seem to let go of the past and realize that his seeking wouldn’t bring his family back to life.
Book was a good read but very predictable. Writing was very simple and characters could have been developed more as part of the story. However, i did enjoy the book.
A reminder of the horrific tragedy of Hitler’s war on Jewish people in Europe during and after WWII. An insightful, easy-to-read story about a young Jewish man who struggled to survive upon his return from Auschwitz to his hometown, and the people who helped, and those who didn’t.
A unique view of the Holocaust- people supporting each other-also showing their guilt over what happened to the Jews. An unexpected ending!
Sadly, there was nothing about this book I liked and I couldn’t get through it. The characters and dialgoue were wooden and it became a struggle. I gave up a few chapters in.
I thought it gave us a picture of life immediately after VE Day through the eyes of disparate individuals who came together to survive! If you like history this is definitely for you. But it is instructional for all.
Great historical story which told alot and was an excellent learning story, but I could not give it an excellent rating because it just was too long;to the point I wanted to skip pages just to get to the end.