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I Will Come Back for You: A Family Torn Apart by War and a Son's Search to Save Them
The incredible story of Manfred Gans, who raced across Germany in May 1945 to free his parents from a concentration camp
Four days after Germany’s surrender in May 1945, a young British officer hopped in a Jeep and headed east into Germany. But this was no ordinary soldier. Manfred Gans was searching for his family.
As a Jewish boy in Nazi Germany, Manfred Gans had fled to England. As soon as he could, he signed up to fight, serving in the legendary British “Three Troop,” an elite unit made up of German-speaking refugees, and joining in the D-Day Normandy landings. Working undercover, Gans obtained vital intelligence, helped liberate occupied France and the Netherlands, and saved countless lives on both sides of the front. All the while, he dreamed of being reunited with his family.
As the war came to an end, chaos reigned in defeated Wehrmacht soldiers faced columns of American and British soldiers, concentration camp survivors crossed paths with SS guards, and Soviet military roadblocks controlled the route to the east. But Gans managed to overcome all these obstacles to finally reach the place where his parents had last been Theresienstadt. There, incredibly, he found his parents still alive. I Will Come Back for You is Manfred Gans’s remarkable story.
Four days after Germany’s surrender in May 1945, a young British officer hopped in a Jeep and headed east into Germany. But this was no ordinary soldier. Manfred Gans was searching for his family.
As a Jewish boy in Nazi Germany, Manfred Gans had fled to England. As soon as he could, he signed up to fight, serving in the legendary British “Three Troop,” an elite unit made up of German-speaking refugees, and joining in the D-Day Normandy landings. Working undercover, Gans obtained vital intelligence, helped liberate occupied France and the Netherlands, and saved countless lives on both sides of the front. All the while, he dreamed of being reunited with his family.
As the war came to an end, chaos reigned in defeated Wehrmacht soldiers faced columns of American and British soldiers, concentration camp survivors crossed paths with SS guards, and Soviet military roadblocks controlled the route to the east. But Gans managed to overcome all these obstacles to finally reach the place where his parents had last been Theresienstadt. There, incredibly, he found his parents still alive. I Will Come Back for You is Manfred Gans’s remarkable story.
256 pages, Paperback
First published February 2, 2022
9 people are currently reading
128 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 31, 2025
very interesting book which enjoyed reading about a German Jew who fled nazi Germany and became a member of three troop and helped liberate Germany also after the war the search for some of his family.
July 12, 2023
Een heel aangrijpend en opmerkelijk levensverhaal van een slachtoffer van de Jodenhaat in de nazitijd. Hoe dan ook inspirerend en beklijvend samengesteld en tot leven gebracht door de auteur. Knap werk.
May 4, 2024
Heel interessant en makkelijk te lezen. De zinnen zijn alleen heel kort, waardoor het een beetje robotachtig overkomt. Hierdoor kreeg ik ook niet echt feeling met de hoofdpersonen. Maar wel blij dat ik het gelezen heb en goed dat dit geschreven is!
August 2, 2025
I Will Come Back for You: A Family in Hiding During World War II is a moving and accessible picture book that introduces young readers to the Holocaust through the lens of personal family history. Author and illustrator Marisabina Russo beautifully intertwines fact and memory in this semi-biographical account based on her mother’s childhood in Italy during World War II.
The story follows a young girl whose Nonna tells her about growing up in Rome as a Jewish child under Mussolini’s rule. Through evocative watercolor illustrations and gentle yet honest narration, readers learn how the girl’s family was forced into hiding and separated due to anti-Semitic laws. Her father is sent to prison, and the family relies on the courage and kindness of friends and strangers to survive.
What makes this book especially powerful is its ability to present complex historical realities with emotional clarity and hope. Russo frames the story through the relationship between grandmother and granddaughter, making the past feel personal and relevant. The recurring image of a charm bracelet, with each charm representing a part of the family’s journey, adds a tender and symbolic touch to the narrative.
This is a poignant, age-appropriate introduction to the Holocaust, emphasizing resilience, love, and the importance of remembering. Perfect for families and classrooms, I Will Come Back for You honors those who survived and those who helped, encouraging young readers to ask questions, show empathy, and understand the value of history.
The story follows a young girl whose Nonna tells her about growing up in Rome as a Jewish child under Mussolini’s rule. Through evocative watercolor illustrations and gentle yet honest narration, readers learn how the girl’s family was forced into hiding and separated due to anti-Semitic laws. Her father is sent to prison, and the family relies on the courage and kindness of friends and strangers to survive.
What makes this book especially powerful is its ability to present complex historical realities with emotional clarity and hope. Russo frames the story through the relationship between grandmother and granddaughter, making the past feel personal and relevant. The recurring image of a charm bracelet, with each charm representing a part of the family’s journey, adds a tender and symbolic touch to the narrative.
This is a poignant, age-appropriate introduction to the Holocaust, emphasizing resilience, love, and the importance of remembering. Perfect for families and classrooms, I Will Come Back for You honors those who survived and those who helped, encouraging young readers to ask questions, show empathy, and understand the value of history.
November 24, 2025
When I saw this book was about a Jewish boy from Nazi Germany I was immediately intrigued. I've read extensively in this area and heard about this all my life. I love the title as it shows a positive side to the book at the outset and that encouraged me to read Huhn's story. This Jewish boy was sent to England for his own safety when Hitler's Germany turned into a huge purge of the Jews. The author did his research well and managed to tie all of the facets of that time period into his story. Without going further than telling the time period of this book and drawing on the vast story that is Germany's prewar and WWII history, let me just say that there is some good news which had me in tears as I read on and finished the book. Well done, Daniel Huhn!
January 19, 2025
A quite remarkable book: a military history, a journey into manhood, tales of love and hope, redemption, loss and horror. The author chillingly describes in a few pages Germany’s descent into authoritarianism and the creation of a gangster state - a cautionary tale for our times.
August 21, 2025
A really interesting story and quite different to most of this genre.
November 16, 2025
I totally enjoyed this! It’s my kinda book! The hardships people went through to survive, a never ending love story…
December 19, 2025
This has to be one of the best books I have read in 2025.There are so many elements to this story
December 31, 2025
A very good document of how Jewish survived a shocking war - with a dire warning about anti-semitism and how it propagates today.
April 20, 2023
Daniel Huhn beschrijft de geschiedenis van Manfred Gans (Frederick Gray) een in de aanloop van de Tweede Wereldoorlog naar UK wist te komen en daar in een speciale legereenheid van Duits sprekende (joodse) militairen in het Britse leger kwam. Belast met inwinnen van informatie en verhoren van Duitsers. Hij rijdt vlak na de bevrijding naar concentratiekamp Theresienstad waar zijn ouders gevangen zaten. Bijzondere geschiedenis over deze legereenheid, over de manier waarop Manfred, zijn ouders en broers en overige familie hun leven na de oorlog oppakken. Goed geschreven. Nederlandse vertaling ‘De herovering’, Alexander van Kesteren, 2022.
October 14, 2023
Indrukwekkende biografie van Manfred Gans die opgroeiende in joods gezin in Borken voor de oorlog, vecht in Brits leger en zijn ouders ophaalt uit Theresienstadt, nazi's verhoord en later vanuit Amerika Borken bezoekt en op scholen daar verteld over het verleden.
May 21, 2020
A beautiful exchange of letters, love story from contemporary witnesses of the second world war.
January 1, 2024
Amazing story … sad, enlightening, sobering, enjoyable, …
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews