Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.

The Survivor

How I Survived Six Concentration Camps and Became a Nazi Hunter

ebook
2 of 2 copies available
2 of 2 copies available

WINNER OF THE CANADIAN JEWISH LITERARY AWARD FOR HOLOCAUST LITERATURE

An amazing, untold story of the Holocaust, of survivor turned Nazi hunter

In the tradition of The Boy in the Woods and By Chance Alone, The Survivor is an unbelievable yet true story of one man's endurance and his determination to not only survive the Holocaust but to bring to justice those who perpetrated great crimes against humanity.

This is one of the last great untold stories of the Holocaust. Josef Lewkowicz was the only one left alive in his extended family of 150. The survivor of six concentration camps, he became a Nazi hunter, responsible for bringing to justice his greatest tormentor, the Butcher of Plaszow, as well as the murderous SS camp Kommandant Amon Goeth. Working as part of a covert operation, he also helped to rescue hundreds of orphaned children who had been hidden by doomed parents during the ghetto clearances in Poland. Many of these children were able to begin new lives in Israel.

Lewkowicz operated as a diamond dealer in South America, befriended leading Israeli politicians like Prime Minister Menachem Begin, and met Argentine dictator Juan Peron. He raised his family in Montreal. He is now ninety-six years old and lives in Jerusalem. This book, his testimony, captures the spirit, the soul, the neshama of the survivor.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

  • Formats

  • Languages

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      November 25, 2024
      Lewkowicz makes the horrors of the Holocaust visceral in his unflinching debut. In 1942, a 16-year-old Lewkowicz and his family were herded into a cattle car and transported from their predominantly Jewish village in Poland to Belzec—the first of six concentration camps Lewkowicz survived. He details his brushes with death one by one, including a harrowing encounter with sadistic Plaszow commandant Amon Goeth (who was portrayed by Ralph Fiennes in Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List). The bleakness of the narrative, however, eventually gives way to a sense of catharsis. After the war, Lewkowicz was recruited by the U.S. Army to track down Nazi war criminals. One of his first successes came in finding Goeth and testifying against him in court, which eventually led to his execution. Lewkowicz’s blunt style (“Can you imagine such a life? No day, no night, no food, no hope, no respite. A piece of bread is your redemption”) and extraordinary arc make for sobering, unforgettable reading. This is a standout of its kind. Agent: Sarah Passick and Mia Vitale, Park & Fine Literary.

Formats

  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

Languages

  • English

Loading