Defying the Tide: An Account of Authentic Compassion During the Holocaust

The true, first person account of Ruth, a Jewish woman being hunted by the Nazis, and her guardian angel, Maria, a German woman willing to risk herlife and the lives of her family to save her. These two characters reveal, in their own words, how the flickering embers of human compassion and menschlichkeit were able to transcend the artificial barriers of race, creed and religion even during the Holocaust.

Includes the reunion of the two women fifty years later in Germany, and describes this media event that was featured iin the German and Israeli newspapers, as well as the Jewish media in the United States.

Reha Sokolow is the daughter of Ruth, whose memorable journey is described in DEFYING THE TIDE. Reha is a freelance writer and currently teaches English writing to Russian immigrants in Brooklyn. As Associate Director of Education of the Jewish National Fund, Reha wrote and edited Israel based resources for distribution to over 2,500 schools throughout the United States.

Al Sokolow has taught English at the Yeshiva University high schools and currently teaches English literature at Be'er Hagolah high school. Together with his wife, Reha, they have undertaken this labor of love in order to show that even during the Holocaust there were scattered islands of compassion that served as a refuge for the fortunate few.