Europa, Europa - Hardcover

Solomon Perel

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0471172189 ISBN 13: 9780471172185

Publisher: Trade Paper Press, 1997

Synopsis

This is the powerful memoir of Solomon Perel, who survived the Holocaust by hiding his Jewish identity and becoming a member of the Hitler Youth. This book was the basis of Agnieska Hollands's award-winning film, Europa, Europa. Published in association with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, it is an important and controversial contribution to a better understanding of the complexity of life under the Nazis.

About this title

About the Author

SOLOMON PEREL is, today, a businessman who lives in Tel Aviv, Israel.

From the Back Cover

"You must stay alive!"

With his mother's parting words ringing in his ears, fourteen-year-old Solomon Perel set out from Nazi-occupied Poland hoping to find safety across the new Soviet frontier. Like large numbers of other Jews fleeing the Germans, Perel faced staggering odds against his survival. What actually transpired was far different from what anyone could have imagined. By a startling twist of fate, the young Jew found unexpected refuge . . . as a student in an elite Hitler Youth school. Now this extraordinary and true story appears in English translation for the first time. With searing power and passion, Europa, Europa recounts Solomon Perel's harrowing struggle living a nightmare from which there seemed no escape.

By the time Solly, as he was called by his family, left Poland that night in 1939, he was already an experienced refugee. Sensing the oncoming Nazi terror, his family had fled Germany several years before. This time, however, the family could not stay together and the youngster would soon be on his own.

Reaching the Soviet shore after a dramatic river crossing, Perel was placed in a Russian orphanage, where he was accepted into the Komsomol, the Communist organization for young people. Then came June 22, 1941. When Hitler invaded the Soviet Union Perel was ordered, along with the other Jewish children, to flee into the interior. He fell into the hands of the German forces. Paralyzed by fear, and with a courage born of despair, Perel told his captors that he was, in reality, an ethnic German. To his astonishment, he was believed, and from that point on, his survival centered on his ability to conceal his true identity.

Taken under the wing of the Wehr-macht unit, Perel experienced combat, and was lauded as a model of German youth contributing at the front. Then, in an extraordinary turn of events, Perel was transferred back to Germany, and awarded a coveted spot in an exclusive boarding school training Hitler Youth to face the challenges of the F?hrer's vision of postwar Europe. Tormented by the ethical struggle of his position--in effect, joining the ranks of those attempting to exterminate his people--at the same time Perel lived in terror of what seemed the inevitable discovery of his real identity.

Europa, Europa is a profound, unflinching, and unforgettable account of a young boy's perilous journey toward manhood, trapped in a world gone mad, and tortured by the role he played. Solomon Perel's inner turmoil, remarkable courage and resourcefulness, and above all, his fierce determination to survive come across with searing force. This deeply moving memoir is an important and controversial contribution to our understanding of the complexity of life under the Third Reich.

"The kernel virtue of this book is its honesty and scrupulous self-examination of one who survived through a deception. Remarkable and memorable." -- Rheinische Post

"This book will move human hearts." --Berliner Morgenpost

"The book gets under one's skin. It is a . . . book that penetrates into the essence of humanity." --Peiner Allegemeine Zeitung

Reviews

A standout wartime memoir, and the inspiration of the Golden Globewinning film of the same title. Perel, now an Israeli businessman, survived the Holocaust in a most improbable way. Facility with German and Russian allowed the teenage Solly, separated from his family, to be given shelter first at a Soviet orphanage and later, incredibly, in Germany's premier Hitler Youth institution. On the perilous way from one ideological extreme to another, Perel was rounded up by attacking Wehrmacht troops, passed himself off as an ethnic German, and was adopted as the mascot of a mechanized unit. The exquisite psychological drama of being a Jew in Nazi clothing intensifies when he is shipped back to Germany. The lonely boy, who took the name Jupp, found himself bonding with Nazi friends and learning--even teaching--loathsome Nazi propaganda about Jews. He was shaken from any confidence in his lucky angel whenever his circumcision or absent birth records came to the fore. But he risked all to visit the Lodz ghetto to search for his parents during his Christmas vacation. In a suicidal break from his usual self-control, he unburdened himself of his terrible secret to a couple of Germans. His parents died in a concentration camp, but with the help of two surviving brothers, Perel finally got to establish his true identity in the newborn state of Israel. As narrator, Perel constantly points out poignant ironies and flashes forward to postwar visits with the principal characters. We get to see many Nazis and Jews react after the war with disbelief when they discover that Solly/Jupp was, indeed, Jewish. An epilogue touches on Perel's cathartic, present-day encounters with Jews and Nazis (he now lectures about fascism), but the weight of this memorable psychological thriller lies in the interior drama. (photos, not seen) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

During World War II, Perel, a young German Jew, posed as a Nazi to survive. The recent film Europa, Europa is also Perel's story, but here he tells it and it is shorn of Hollywood theatrics. But the story remains strong. Separated from his family and trapped behind German lines, he claimed to be Lithuanian German and was hailed as "repatriated." Valued as a Russian interpreter, he became mascot of his army unit. He was too young to stay at the front, so he was sent back to Hitler Youth school. He excelled and was often held up as a model Aryan, though he constantly feared for his life. Three people, including an army doctor, learned his secret, but none betrayed him. The glimpses of life in Germany during World War II and Perel's return in Nazi uniform to his childhood neighborhood and reunions with family and friends are most haunting. Why did Perel masquerade as a Nazi? His mother's last words to him were: "You must survive." This story must, too. Kevin Grandfield

In this inspiration for the 1990 Golden Globe-winning film, Europa, Europa, appearing now in English translation, Perel details his remarkable story of survival as a Jewish boy during World War II. While fleeing eastward from German-occupied Poland, he fell into German hands. Amazingly, he managed to convince his captors that he, too, was German, though orphaned. The Germans accepted him into their ranks and sent him to an elite training school for the Hitler Youth until war's end. Though his story offers a vastly different view of the war, Perel spends less time on details of the Nazi regime and instead focuses on his fear of detection. The resulting repetition can make for disappointing reading. Perel's story is indeed incredible, but it is not that well written. Recommended only for large public libraries or Holocaust collections.?Jill Jaracz, Chicago, Ill.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Trade Paper Press
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0471172189
• ISBN 13: 9780471172185
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 232