El niño del bosque: Una historia real de supervivencia durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial

by Maxwell Smart

LA ASOMBROSA HISTORIA DE UN NIÑO JUDÍO QUE SOBREVIVIÓ A LOS NAZIS ESCONDIDO EN LOS BOSQUES DE POLONIA Maxwell Smart tenía solo once años cuando toda su familia fue asesinada. Pudo haber muerto también, pero su madre le ordenó salvarse. Huyó al bosque, cavó un hoyo para refugiarse y buscó comida en las granjas cercanas. Con la ropa hecha harapos y al borde de la inanición, escapó repetidamente de la muerte a manos de los nazis . Después de meses en soledad, Maxwell se encontró con otro niño que deambulaba por el bosque en busca de comida. Janek, al igual que Maxwell, era huérfano y los dos se hicieron amigos. Juntos excavaron un refugio en el suelo para sobrevivir al invierno . Un día, después de que ocurriera una masacre en las cercanías, los niños descubrieron a una bebé, aún viva, en los brazos de su madre muerta. Maxwell y Janek la rescataron, pero el costo de hacerlo fue muy grande. La épica historia de Maxwell es una prueba irrefutable del espíritu humano y su capacidad de resistencia. De la brutalidad de la guerra emergió un hombre que se convirtió en un célebre pintor que, mediante la alquimia de su arte, ofreció al mundo, en contraste con los horrores de su sufrimiento, hermosas obras . El niño del bosque es un documento histórico notable sobre una época atroz que nunca debe olvidarse.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Memoir, Biography, War, Holocaust, World War II

231 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 3, 2022

Reviews

[QuietlyKat · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Boy in the Woods is a painful, compelling and thought provoking memoir. Having read quite a few memoirs of Holocaust survivors, each is harrowing and unique but this one offers insight that I haven’t seen from the survivor’s perspective: the resistance, the cruelty and the ambivalence of the world toward refugees after the war. It’s not something of which I was unaware, but being told from the survivor’s lived experience brought it home in a very personal, heartbreaking and confronting way.

Of interest, Smart talks about his participation in the documentary, Cheating Hitler: Surviving the Holocaust by Rebecca Snow, which premiered in 2019 on the History Channel. The documentary chronicles the lives of Smart and two other Jewish Canadians who survived the Holocaust as children. Together with historians, genealogists and forensic experts, the three survivors tell their stories, revisit locations key to their journeys and make surprising discoveries of other survivors they had thought perished in the genocide. It’s worth watching and added depth to the experience of reading Smart’s memoir.

On a side but related note, I also recommend the 2022 three part documentary miniseries about the United States' response to the Holocaust, The U.S. and the Holocaust, as a companion piece. While Maxwell Smart’s story is that of a refugee to Canada and the documentary miniseries’ main focus is on the US response to the Holocaust, it does include the world’s response and highlights how antisemitism globally greatly affected resistance to taking in refugees around the world both before and after the war’s end. This docuseries also added insight and deeper context to Smart’s postwar experience and his struggle to find a place to call home.

Challenging subject matter that will remain relevant as long as hate and bigotry of any kind still exist.

[Eileen Mackintosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A compelling story that I read in a day. This certainly had some of the expected horrors of war but a large part of the book tells of the author’s strength and resilience in adapting to life after the war. #indigoemployee

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a huge historical fiction fan especially about WW2 and do enjoy non-fiction as well. The premise of this book piqued my interest and it started out quite interesting. Unfortunately, it was not very well written and was very repetitive.
I am happy that Max survived and found success and peace afterwards but there just wasn't enough captivating material to hold my interest.

[Kim Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't usually like memoirs but this one was good. Very moving. Learned some new things about Canada after the war. Enlightening.

[Jacquie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este libro es una conmovedora historia de un niño judío que sobrevivió al horror del holocausto, escondido en un bosque.
Es un libro testimonial, donde nos relata los días de la supervivencia, pero también el después de la guerra.
Habla de su dolor, de su sentir; también de la busqueda de un propósito, de la necesidad de afecto, de encontrar su lugar en el mundo después de todo lo vivido.
Es un libro a la altura de El hombre en busca de Sentido de Viktor Frankl y de La baila de Auschwitz de Edith Edge, donde la resiliencia es un tema central.

[Lyne · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is an autobiography of a young Jewish boy named Oziac Fromm AKA Maxwell Smart who was born 1 June 1930. Oziac had a normal happy childhood, going to school, playing with friends, surrounded by many family members, aunts, uncles, cousins etc,..

Then, all of this started to change when WW II started in September 1939. By 1941, the Germans were close enough to Maxwell’s village making everyone’s lives, miserable, especially for the Jews. As they were being assembled by the Nazi, his mother prompted him to save himself. He found a window of opportunity and escaped by hiding in the woods. For many months he lived alone, starving and foraging to survive.

This young boy/adolescent was eventually able to emigrate to Canada where he was very street smart and savvy. I was very surprised and disappointed reading about the Canadians reactions. We weren't as welcoming to orphans as I thought we were.
The initial story was captivating while the part in Canada, I felt was too repetitive.

However, as Remembrance Day approaches, I feel it is a good book to read. Lest we forget!

[Marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just don't understand where all the hate comes from. How can anyone murder babies, children, women, men and the elderly for no reason.

I hadn't read any other books about people surviving in the forest. The author was a pre-teen when he was in hiding in the forest. Although he had some help with food and shelter, he spent a lot of time either alone or with another child in a bunker. This young man not only survived but went on to do some amazing things with his life.

I was disappointed to read that those of us in Canada weren't as welcoming to the orphans as I would have thought we would have been. These types of books are important so that we never forget.

[ALI · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars rounded down.

[Laurie Verwey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a very moving documentation of a young boy's experience of the horror of war. I find reading anything related to war quite difficult. This story reveals the strength of the human spirit in times of grave danger. With courage, determination, and the desire to survive the bleakness of his situation, this young boy was even able to help others along the way. Reading the account of his story had me wondering about the countless others who have similar stories of their own war experiences. Thankfully, without giving away any details, there was a positive outcome, but not without the lasting effects that the war had caused.

[Aneta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Detailed recounting of a young Jewish boy’s survival story during WW2 in Poland and how he was able to overcome and succeed in life despite the obstacles.

Depicts both the acts of compassion and cruelty humans are capable of. Very sobering.

Note: some disturbing content

A history lesson we all need to remember. “Never again”

Great audiobook.

[Maco Zaldivar · Rating 4 out of 5]

“El niño del boque”.
La historia está basada en la vida de Maxwell Smart.
Nació en Checoslovaquia; cuando tenía 11 años, su familia fue asesinada, pero él sobrevivió porque huyó al bosque y allí vivió escapándose de los nazis. Allí también conoce a Janek, otro niño huérfano por la guerra, y se hacen amigos.
Al finalizar la guerra, el protagonista busca un futuro y comienza un derrotero hasta encontrar un país que lo reciba.
El libro nos muestra lo que fue su llegada y aceptación en Canadá bajo el gobierno de Duplessis.
La vida de Maxwell es de resiliencia y de fuerza interior; además, siempre quiso ser pintor, pero al llegar a Canadá tuvo que abandonar su pasión para poder subsistir; se convirtió en un gran empresario; sin embargo, en su madurez y con el apoyo de su familia, pudo dedicarse a la pintura.
Me gustó, es una historia de resiliencia.

[Eréndira · Rating 4 out of 5]

La historia de Oziac Fromm (Maxwell Smart) es un ejemplo de vida de resiliencia, adaptación, creatividad. Relata de manera amena su vida, las penurias que sufrió durante la guerra, su creatividad para sobrevivir y hacer capital y de lograr cumplir su sueño de toda la vida que no pudo cumplir antes a causa de la guerra. Las historias de supervivencia de los pocos judíos sobrevivientes del Holocausto son dignas de admirar y nos permite reflexionar y apreciar lo que tenemos (aunque sea poco) en esta época.

He leído comentarios de que está pobremente escrito, pero no sé si se deba sólo a la copia en inglés, porque el trabajo de los traductores en la edición en español es excelente y me parece que está bien redactada y muy cuidada la escritura.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Feels wrong to rate this only 3 stars, but I do so only because it is not very well written. The author's experience during and after the Holocaust is remarkable and should make for an enthralling and compelling read wrought with emotion, but the writing style distracted from the story itself. What an incredible life he's lead though, truly.

[Andrea Everhart]

This was very hard to get through from the perspective of a parent. I have a son the same age as Maxwell when he endured the Holocaust. I could never rate a memoir like this, but just know that this real life account was quite graphic at times and includes several heartbreaking stories of other children trying to survive on their own.

[Laura Rojas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Qué puedo decir. Es difícil juzgar algo
que es real. Solo puedo decir que lloré con este libro como con muchos otros sobre el holocausto. Además me gustó que no se limita al fin de la guerra sino que nos cuenta lo vivido luego, que es difícil también, saber que eres un desplazado, que ya no tienes más que tus recuerdos y hay que volver a empezar. Una gran lección al menos para mi.

[Dianne McMahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read,a memoir in fact of a Polish boy who at twelve years of age,lost his entire family of 62 persons during the early 1940's,due to the heinous escapades of Hitler's henchmen in their attack on innocent persons.
I read this in one setting,as I do most & this was an especially hard one not to finish in one go.
He changed his name twice,before finally settling on Maxwell Smart.
After two nightmare yrs.of escaping to the woods,the nightmare ended for him,when he turned fourteen.
He eventually found a forever life in Canada,had a great,family & career as an artist.
After more than sixty-five yrs.he finally decided to tell his story & a great one it is !

[Vikki Siemens · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Adam Cormier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly emotional read about one boys journey to survive the Holocaust. This book will affect you and stay with you. Highly recommend. A quick read, and highly impactful.

[Renaud Maurin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first 90 pages of this book are the most heartbreaking thing I've ever read. It's difficult to come to grasp with what this man experienced when he was just a boy.

The writing is straight forward and to the point, a memoir written by someone who isn't a writer.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[Aneth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Es un libro con una expectativa diferente de la guerra, un niño que sobrevive escondiéndose en el bosque y que logro llegar muy lejos a pesar de todo en antisemitismo.
Al principio el libro le atrapó mucho de como el niño describía como se las arreglo para sobrevivir, todo lo que hizo la gente que conoció y la gente que perdió entre su familia hasta su pequeño amigo Janek.
Posterior al final de la guerra, el modo de sobrevivir y buscar una familia hasta decidir mudarse a Canadá donde ahí crearía la vida que tanto había esperado.
A mí parecer a pesar de ser un niño, siento que no fue tan difícil o es lo que me dio la impresión, si perdió a toda su familia pero como el mismo niño dice no alcanzaba y visualizar todo el contexto y el peligro en el que en realidad estaba.
al final cada quien tiene sus batallas internas y la más grande de el fue la perdida de Janek.
Es de fácil lectura pero no sé si sea porque estamos acostumbrados a escuchar leer y ver historias más crudas pero no me gustó tanto, no sé si sea la narración o lo que te transmite que no es mucho por eso solo le dejo 2 estrellas.

[Manja · Rating 5 out of 5]

My husband read this book and thought it was well done.

[Paracosm · Rating 1 out of 5]

Listen, no matter how much stuff you've been through, no matter how interesting they might be, it doesnt mean you can write a good memoir. And this isnt it.

Its just so unbelivably dry. The true meat of any good memoir is the self reflection, the looking back. And theres barely any of it in this book. It feels like a first draft where the author makes a list of all the events that he wants to talk about, but instead it the final version. I swear that this man spends more time talking about his real state bussiness than about his first wife and kids combined.

And I mean, that first section where hes actually in the woods is interesting, but everything after that, which is over half the book, is ridiculously boring. And that first part was good enought that it might have earned this book at least 2 starts if it wasnt for the zionist propaganda I didnt know it was there. You can even say that this book aged badly because it was published in 2022. At one point he partners with an israeli organization thats mean to prefent any genocide and talk about the horrors of war. Ironic.

[Kendra · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a real sense of direct, matter of fact, honestly about the death, fear, hope and kindness that Maxwell experienced. I think of the extremely rare chances, resilience, resourcefulness and kindness that it took my own Grandparents and other survivors to somehow make it out of Poland.

Having Grandparents who survived WWll, the Holocaust, lost family, had everything taken away, escaped Poland and somehow arrived in Canada; this meant a great deal to be able to be taken through Maxwell's experiences.

I have tried to learn though documents, visiting Poland and reading non-fiction/historical fiction about WW2 but to have such a detailed first hand account from a survivor really allowed me to sit quietly with the memory of my incredible family.

I am so incredibly grateful about the way that Maxwell shared his experiences with us.

[Emily Macdonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t even comprehend that a human can go through what he went through, this memoire is so beautifully written. Reading this novel gave me so much insight and knowledge about world war 2 and the beginning years of it as well as post. He is such a brave person, to do what he did at such a young age is incredible, he’s truly a hero.

[Christy MacCallum · Rating 3 out of 5]

While an interesting story, the writing in this book was very straightforward and I think at times it did not do the story justice. Would have loved to see this in a love interview or as a documentary instead.

The book covers a lot of horrors but also features about the resilience y of Maxwell after the war as he builds a new life for himself.

[Travis Harkins · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poorly written, bounces around and repetitive. The man went through some unspeakable hardships and stories like these should be told. However some of his stories following his experiences during the war come off as self aggrandizing in my opinion. Was a struggle to finish.

[thewanderingjew · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Boy in the Woods, A True Story of Survival During the Second World War, Maxwell Smart, author; Mack Gordon, narrator
No one alive today is unaware of the Holocaust, regardless of what they believe or say about it. It was a heinous historic event conducted by barbarians. It was no more heinous, however, than the recent horrific and savage massacre that was coupled with the taking of Jewish hostages, to further torture and murder them, that took place in Israel on October 7th, 2023. As we approach the first anniversary of that infamous day, it is fitting that this book should appear in print and be featured in film.
This is a story is about surviving the horrors of the Second World War. It is about how a ten-year-old child, finding himself completely alone in the world, did his best to survive the war years and beyond. The hunger, the cold, the deaths he witnessed, the fear and even the moments of joy he experienced as he was given something to eat, illustrate, the emotional and physical pain of his trauma that is writ large on each page. The book and the movie speak to the fortitude and tenacity of Jews throughout history, but also to the inhuman Jew haters that still walk the earth.
Jews will survive, no matter how hard evil people try to destroy them because they are innocent victims of the criminal and demented minds of madmen and madwomen. The book is hopeful in that it features some righteous people, no matter how few and far between, that did and do exist who will help them survive the barbaric attacks of barbarians.
This book speaks about the heinous behavior of the Nazis, of all stripes, the farmers, the Poles, the Ukrainians, as it features the suffering of this Polish boy from Buczacz, who had to change his name, morph into different people, assume different personalities and do whatever it took to survive, whether or not it was legal. Always, however, this child thought of others, and wanted to help those he came in contact with who suffered alongside him, sometimes risking his own life to save them.
This book highlights the behavior of the Ukrainian mobs that sought out the Jews so they could be sold for what amounts to pennies, as neighbors watched, so little did they value the lives of a Jew, so brainwashed were they that they thought of them as less than human, lower than animals. They trapped and caught them so they could be sold and/or tortured and murdered.
The proof exists in the mass graves, the stories told and in the memories of those who were never able to speak. These same barbarians exist today. The same brainwashing is taking place today. Innocent Jews are being demonized by monsters who killed men, women, children, infants, pregnant women and their fetuses, and even the animals they kept as pets, because they, too, have been brainwashed by barbarians. Too many walk among us today, here in America as well, supported by a weak government that has members who support the evil.
Maxwell Smart was bright, strong, courageous and motivated strongly to survive. His name changed, his personality and ambition morphed, but he remained the man his parents hoped he would be. Brought up in a home with Judeo-Christian values, he kept them his whole life, becoming successful and raising a family. The unspeakable horrors of the Holocaust never left his memory for an instant, and it took 8 decades for him to be able to speak of it, without fear, but now, in the present day, with the Pro-Palestinian marchers shouting from “the river to the sea” with the tacit approval of the powers that be, as they blame the victims once again, perhaps we Jews all need to be afraid to speak out. The evil has reawakened in our own backyards; some of our neighbors have been brainwashed and support them. “Never again” is happening now.
In the little town of Buczacz that was home to Maxwell, only 100 of the 8000 Jewish residents survived. Brutality and death, similar to what occurred in Buczacz, occurred in every place a Nazi breathed.
The book is written by a man in his 8th decade, so if it is not as detailed as you think it should be, cut him some slack. He was born Oziac Fromm, Jewish name Shaih Moishe Fromm. At one time he lived with Jasko and Kasia Rudnicki on their very modest farm. They did the best they could to offer him shelter and food, at great danger to themselves. He lived in the woods when they no longer could shelter him. When, years later, he met his friend Joe Schmerer in Canada, he became Munio Schmerer, and then, finally he became Maxwell Sharp. He is unusual, as he is endowed with courage, fortitude, talent, brains, and perseverance. He dealt in the black market, became an entrepreneur, a talented artist, a philanthropist and an activist. He was the quintessential survivor, the proof that the Jewish people will survive.

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

💫 The Boy In The Woods 💫
By Maxwell Smart
Publisher: HarperCollins (May 2022)
Genre: Nonfiction

The author writes at the start of the book that his wife urged him to write his story and to not be ashamed of all that he suffered…. And that right there is why I continually read books about the Holocaust.

Every single voice & Every single perspective matters.

Much like ‘Lily’s Promise (written by Lily Ebert), The Boy In The Woods is heartbreaking and raw but also focused on the after part.. the resiliency of the life he created after.

This is Maxell’s story: an 85 yr old Jewish Canadian who found a home in a Country who turned their back on Jewish refugees. It wasn’t until the war was over that the borders opened to these broken people who had lived a terror none of us can imagine. From escaping the trip to a concentration camp to living as a young boy in the woods, all alone, desperate and scared. This book will have you weeping and leave you with admiration of one person’s fight to live.

It’s Maxell’s story. And it matters.

Readers note: I’ve read a lot of fictional HF where the MC doesn’t tell family members what life was like during the war; even when they’re in the later years of life, it’s not uncommon for descendants to not know details of the trauma. I’ve seen it on here before but I guess after reading this, I’ve come to the conclusion of two things: it’s re traumatizing for someone to share their pain. And two, the world was very different then the lens we have now. Survivors were expected to move on, get jobs and have families. The trauma was always there but it was buried. Maxwell writing this book (and his relatives learning his pain) will have felt grief and triggers despite it being decades later. Again, trauma is trauma and it’s never gone. There’s always something there, simmering or hidden.

Ps. This book is written matter of fact; it can be read in a day.. and feels more like an interview blunt type of read. I just want to give the readers a heads up

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some reviewers have remarked that this is not a well-written book. Not sure what they expected, but this book contains the true events and memories of a Holocaust survivor, not a writer or published author.

The first half is about his horrifying experiences when the Nazis and Ukrainian sympathizers killed the Jews in his hometown. As a child, he was left on his own to survive in the woods in winter. Few people were ready to risk their own lives to help a Jewish child.

In the second half Max tells about his life postwar. This is where the revelations were for me. When Auschwitz and other camps were liberated, townspeople, governments and countries did not rush forward with open arms to help these people. Antisemitism didn't go away. Jews who survived were left with nowhere to go.

I knew that few countries were willing to take in Jews fleeing before the war, but I didn't know this persisted after the war. I am ashamed of Canada's lack of compassion and near hostility to accepting Jewish immigrants.