In the first English translation of this important and controversial contribution to our understanding of the complexity of life under the Nazis, Solomon Perel, a German Jew, reveals how he survived the Holocaust by concealing his Jewish identity and finding unexpected refuge as a member of the Hitler Youth. Photos.
Like millions of Jews fleeing destruction at the hands of the Germans, young Solomon Perel - born in Germany - faced almost impossible odds to survive the Holocaust. He and his brother fled Nazi-occupied Poland to what they hoped was safety across the new Soviet frontier, but he subsequently fell into the hands of German forces. Paralyzed by fear and with a courage born of despair, the 16-year-old Perel told soldiers that he was a racial German, concealing his Jewish blood. They believed him, and Perel embarked on a harrowing journey centred around this painful need to assume a false identity.