Rate this book

The Forger: An Extraordinary Story Of Survival In Wartime Berlin (2004)

by Cioma Schönhaus(Favorite Author)

3.68 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0786720581 (ISBN13: 9780786720583)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Da Capo Press (Cambridge, MA)

review 1: Definitely not your typical Holocaust survival book which is, more often than not, an emotional and heartbreaking account of inhumane treatment and tragic loss of family and friends. "The Forger" breaks the mold and although this is a book about a Holocaust survivor, the memoir is that of a courageous and ingenious twenty-year-old graphic artist who channeled his talents and created forged documents to help hundreds of Jews escape Berlin. He risked his life and those who collaborated with him to procure the materials necessary to replicate quality documents that allowed safe passage and escape from the Nazis in Berlin. The writer has a very witty and clever personality and his exploits, while extremely dangerous, are recounted with such flair and intrigue that you admir... moree him all the more for the things he did. Even when placed on the Gestapo's most wanted list, the author was quick enough on his feet to talk his way out of arrest as well as speak out and defend other Jewish people whom he witnessed being harassed by the Gestapo. The way of life for those who lived in Berlin is portrayed with an insight that is not written about as often. Here is the author's preface to his memoir, which is what convinced me to read the book:"My survival is the result of events in which the 'law of large numbers' played the major part.If the parquet floor of a large room had a hole in it the size of a fist, and somebody tried to land a pea in this hole, his chances of success would be minimal.But if you took a sackful of peas and tipped them out on the floor, the hole would be filled immediately.Like mine, the story of every pea that ended up in the hole would then consist of a series of miraculous coincidences. I an one of those lucky peas."- Cioma SchonhausSchonhaus doesn't spend time conveying the misery and the pain he obviously endured while moving from house to house carrying out his clandestine activities underground. Instead, he relays with joy the encounters he had where he was able to outsmart the Nazis and carry out his work to secure safe passage for others, just days and hours away from being deport to a concentration camp. When finally forced to flee Berlin and bicycle to Switzerland, his journey is successful due to one lucky coincidence after another. A great example of someone with a heart of gold, nerves of steel and tenacity to never stop when doing what's right or what is necessary to help others.
review 2: "The Forger" is the story of a young German-Jewish boy who finds himselfstranded in Nazi Germany during World War II. Fortunately, he is an artist,and using his skills to become a forger, he is able to create every kind of official document from ration books to passports. The bookreads more like fiction than biography since we are constantly going fromgreat danger to relative safety and back again. For one who is interestedin personal survival under extremely trying circumatances,he will find this book a primer in that field. All in all a very exciting,entertainingand informative read. less

Download links for: The Forger: An Extraordinary Story of Survival in Wartime Berlin

Advertising