A Visa or Your Life!: A Boy's Life and the Odyssey of His Escape from Nazi Germany - Hardcover

Roberg, Kurt W

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1438928203 ISBN 13: 9781438928203

Publisher: Authorhouse, 2009

Synopsis

This book, an autobiography, starts with the story of a Jewish boy growing up in Nazi Germany, related from the viewpoint of a teenager. He tells us about his youthful experiences and impressions, the restrictions and degradations forced on Jews by a hostile, totalitarian regime, and the ultimate struggle to secure the permits and visas for a life-saving emigration. After his escape to Holland, he is caught there in the grips of war and survives the bombardment of Rotterdam. His adventures continue with his ongoing struggle to obtain the necessary transit visas in wartime Berlin as the Nazi's plan had escalated from hostility toward Jews to their destruction. His problems do not end when he finally reaches the United States. Eventually, however, he is reunited with his family. The author then takes the reader to New York City of the 1940s and US army life in World War II during his tour of duty in the Pacific. His trips back to Germany after the war open a door to the emotions of returning to a scene of humiliation and brutality, as well as recognition of those righteous people who helped his family in their hour of need. The book relates a wealth of historic information and succeeds in painting a vivid picture of a world at war, a young man and his family's escape to freedom, and coming to terms with the past through redemption and recognition.

About this title

About the Author:

Kurt Roberg was born in Celle, Germany, where he grew up during the Hitler years. As a young teenager he was able to escape to Holland after Kristallnacht and eventually made his way through wartime Europe to the United States. After serving in the US Army for three years during W.W.II, with duty in the Pacific, he began a business career in the photographic supplies industry. He attended City College of New York at night, graduating with a BBA degree in marketing. Extensive business travels took him to Europe, South America and the Far East. While raising his family in New Jersey, they all vacationed frequently in Europe. Now retired from business, widowed and with his children grown, he remains active in his long-time interests of photography and travel. His past activities in sports included playing soccer and skiing; now he still enjoys biking and tennis. A fascination with history and researching his family genealogy are evident in his more recent avocation of writing. His first book, written in German, was published in Europe in 2005. Kurt has given presentations on his experiences in Nazi Germany as well as about his participation in an exhibition, Home & Exile, shown at the Jewish Museum in Berlin during 2006-07. It documented the story of his flight from tyranny and the start of a new life in America.

About this edition

• Publisher: Authorhouse
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1438928203
• ISBN 13: 9781438928203
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352