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Soaring Underground: A Young Fugitive's Life in Nazi Berlin
Now in book form, this is the intensely moving first-person account of "the Auschwitz Memoirist's extraordinary manuscript" described in Philip Roth's A True Story. This is the true story of a young man born at the wrong time in the wrong place. Lothar Orbach's family proudly traces its German heritage back to the fifteenth century, but that is no help to a Jewish boy coming of age in Hitler's Berlin. At the center of this world gone mad is Lothar, outwardly a cagey, amoral street thug, inwardly a sensitive, romantic youth, devoted son, and increasingly religious Jew, clinging to his humanity and his belief in God but letting his irrepressible spirit soar while underground.
- GenresHistory
344 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 1996
21 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 21, 2019
Survival of the Holocaust, as well as the extermination of so many men, women and children, has been written about extensively in the decades since WW2. It is an abhorrent part of history, but one that we have a responsibility to learn about.
This book is a true memoir written from a different perspective than most. It chronicles the life of a teenage Jewish boy in Nazi Berlin, in his quest to stay alive and remain free. It highlights the love of family, and the lack of trust with almost everyone else outside his inner circle. His optimistic attitude allowed him to thrive where others may have given up. He becomes a person that, at times, seems so far removed from where he thought life would take him. He develops a strong survival instinct and almost an arrogance that enables him to survive.
This book is a great read and was very difficult to put down once started.
This book is a true memoir written from a different perspective than most. It chronicles the life of a teenage Jewish boy in Nazi Berlin, in his quest to stay alive and remain free. It highlights the love of family, and the lack of trust with almost everyone else outside his inner circle. His optimistic attitude allowed him to thrive where others may have given up. He becomes a person that, at times, seems so far removed from where he thought life would take him. He develops a strong survival instinct and almost an arrogance that enables him to survive.
This book is a great read and was very difficult to put down once started.
February 6, 2023
This true story of Larry Orbach, written by his daughter Vivien, reads like fiction and would be a phenomenal movie. However, the “story” is all too true. Still living life like a young man, Lothar defends his mother from the horrors in which they live, and yet still lives so much of the life of a man his age.
Soaring Underground, or the alternate title, Young Lothar, is a must read!
Soaring Underground, or the alternate title, Young Lothar, is a must read!
April 14, 2018
Thought I read them all, but this was one exciting and atypical Nazi-era memoir. Deviated sharply from Jew-as-victim. Spunky and complicated characters, in vivid scenes and nail-biting dilemmas. Wonderful romance balanced the horror. Hunker down - good luck putting this book away until finished!
October 25, 2019
Excellent, excellent, excellent - beginning to end!!!
May 10, 2014
Soaring Underground: A Young Fugitive's Life in Nazi Berlin
by Larry Orbach and Vivien Orbach-Smith
book blurb: Now in book form, this is the intensely moving first-person account of "the Auschwitz Memoirist's extraordinary manuscript" described in Philip Roth's Patrimony: A True Story.
This is the true story of a young man born at the wrong time in the wrong place. Lothar Orbach's family proudly traces its German heritage back to the fifteenth century, but that is no help to a Jewish boy coming of age in Hitler's Berlin.
At the center of this world gone mad is Lothar, outwardly a cagey, amoral street thug, inwardly a sensitive, romantic youth, devoted son, and increasingly religious Jew, clinging to his humanity and his belief in God but letting his irrepressible spirit soar while underground.
The book traces the life of Lothar (Larry) Orbach from his birth in 1924 in a small German village to his childhood and youth in Berlin before and during the war. Some of the accounts seem so surrealistic that I found myself having to remind myself that this a true story and not a fascinating coming-of-age novel with a unique twist. Its mixture of humor and optimism along with sadness and horror as we follow the breakdown of society during those years make it an unforgettable read.
Lothar's family considers itself proud Germans. His mother tells them that the deterioration in their status will surely pass in six months. His father insists that "If I ever leave the Fatherland, it will be on the very last train." Lothar's two older brothers do leave Germany (one after he is told he has to leave after being released from incarceration at an early camp, the other on the last train to leave with refugees).
But for Lothar's parents, and Lothar himself who, as a minor, is listed on their papers, leaving is forestalled first by the father's illness, then by bureaucracy, and finally by the closing of all avenues of escape.
We follow the fate of Lothar's father, and the escape of Lothar and his mother, who manage to go into hiding. Lothar manages to live through most of the war hiding in Berlin's underground until he's betrayed and sent to Auschwitz. However, only 14 of the book's 329 pages deal with his experiences in the camps.
The book deals more with the gradual degeneration of society, and along with it, provides glimpses of people who rise to the situation and those who prefer to ignore or betray those around them. Lothar is also shown both as the fugitive doing what it takes to survive and as the young man desperately trying to cling to some decency and finding growing comfort in his Gd and his Jewish roots.
Like The Diary of Ann Frank, the book is imbued with the author's optimism and humor which shine through the difficult experiences. Unlike Ann Frank, however, Lothar lives to tell his tale.
Hard to put down, this is a quick read, a five out of five.
http://storiesworthsharing.net/book-r...
by Larry Orbach and Vivien Orbach-Smith
book blurb: Now in book form, this is the intensely moving first-person account of "the Auschwitz Memoirist's extraordinary manuscript" described in Philip Roth's Patrimony: A True Story.
This is the true story of a young man born at the wrong time in the wrong place. Lothar Orbach's family proudly traces its German heritage back to the fifteenth century, but that is no help to a Jewish boy coming of age in Hitler's Berlin.
At the center of this world gone mad is Lothar, outwardly a cagey, amoral street thug, inwardly a sensitive, romantic youth, devoted son, and increasingly religious Jew, clinging to his humanity and his belief in God but letting his irrepressible spirit soar while underground.
The book traces the life of Lothar (Larry) Orbach from his birth in 1924 in a small German village to his childhood and youth in Berlin before and during the war. Some of the accounts seem so surrealistic that I found myself having to remind myself that this a true story and not a fascinating coming-of-age novel with a unique twist. Its mixture of humor and optimism along with sadness and horror as we follow the breakdown of society during those years make it an unforgettable read.
Lothar's family considers itself proud Germans. His mother tells them that the deterioration in their status will surely pass in six months. His father insists that "If I ever leave the Fatherland, it will be on the very last train." Lothar's two older brothers do leave Germany (one after he is told he has to leave after being released from incarceration at an early camp, the other on the last train to leave with refugees).
But for Lothar's parents, and Lothar himself who, as a minor, is listed on their papers, leaving is forestalled first by the father's illness, then by bureaucracy, and finally by the closing of all avenues of escape.
We follow the fate of Lothar's father, and the escape of Lothar and his mother, who manage to go into hiding. Lothar manages to live through most of the war hiding in Berlin's underground until he's betrayed and sent to Auschwitz. However, only 14 of the book's 329 pages deal with his experiences in the camps.
The book deals more with the gradual degeneration of society, and along with it, provides glimpses of people who rise to the situation and those who prefer to ignore or betray those around them. Lothar is also shown both as the fugitive doing what it takes to survive and as the young man desperately trying to cling to some decency and finding growing comfort in his Gd and his Jewish roots.
Like The Diary of Ann Frank, the book is imbued with the author's optimism and humor which shine through the difficult experiences. Unlike Ann Frank, however, Lothar lives to tell his tale.
Hard to put down, this is a quick read, a five out of five.
http://storiesworthsharing.net/book-r...
December 30, 2008
A fascinating book written by a cousin's sister-in-law and her father. I've read many Holocaust books written from a girl/woman's point of view so it was interesting to read about a boy/man and how he survived the horrors he endured.
August 9, 2012
Story filled with adventure, ethical dilemmas, and hope. Made me think what I'd do to survive and how definitions of right and wrong change in desperate times. Fast read. Inspiring to see how this young man makes it through such sad times with happy memories in tact.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews