Escape to Virginia: From Nazi Germany to Thalhimer’s Farm - Softcover

Gillette, Robert H.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1626199124 ISBN 13: 9781626199125

Publisher: The History Press, 2016

Synopsis

Jewish teenagers Eva and Töpper desperately searched for an escape from the stranglehold of 1930s Nazi Germany. They studied agriculture at the Gross Breesen Institute and hoped to secure visas to gain freedom from the tyranny around them. Richmond department store owner William B. Thalhimer created a safe haven on a rural Virginia farm where Eva and Töpper would find refuge. Discover the remarkable true story of two young German Jews who endured the emotional torture of their adolescence, journeyed to freedom and ultimately confronted the evil that could not destroy their spirit. Author Robert H. Gillette retells this harrowing narrative that is sure to inspire generations to come.

About this title

About the Author:

Robert Gillette's entire professional career revolved around young people. For forty years, he was an award-winning public school educator in Fairfield, Connecticut. He was awarded the Mary Gresham Chair grant and the Harvard Teaching Prize, amongst many recognitions. Similarly, he has directed religious education programs and created Jewish education curriculum. Bob and his wife Marsha spend their time as avid canoe paddlers and live in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Review:

"Inside the labyrinthine depths of the National Archives on what would have been the last day of his research, Robert Gillette was handed a container of records from the U.S. Department of State about Hyde Farmlands and its young German-Jewish refugees.
The head archivist informed Gillette he was the first person in more than 70 years to open the box. The wealth of information contained within the records would lead to the publication of The Virginia Plan: William B. Thalhimer and a Rescue from Nazi Germany, published in 2011 and Escape to Virginia: From Nazi Germany to Thalhimer's Farm, published last year.
Written for a younger audience, Escape to Virginia focuses on the lives of two Gross Breesen students, Eva Jacobsohn Loew and Werner Angress, who would make their way to Hyde Farmland in Virginia." The News & Advance

This is a fascinating book that provides a history of the Holocaust as the tapestry against which the trials and adventures of these young Jewish youth played out until their adulthood, when several of the men and one woman, joined the US Army during World War II. Jewish Book Council
"[A]n engrossing and informative study of a less familiar corner of a much-covered period. Ample source notes make this a solid choice for student research." Booklist

About this edition

• Publisher: The History Press
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1626199124
• ISBN 13: 9781626199125
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256