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796 days : hiding as a child in occupied Amsterdam during WWII and then coming to America
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A mesmerizing first-person story of a young Jewish boy pushed into hiding over a period of nearly two and a half years during WWII with total strangers who did not know who he was, while his parents hid in an attic elsewhere, not knowing where their son was or whether he was alive. This all in the heart of Amsterdam during the brutal occupation by the Nazis.
Their family, long established, leading honest, law-abiding, normal and comfortable lives were suddenly forced to (in their own words) <">disappear,<"> to <">become illegal,<"> and to <">live like rats<"> to avoid capture and deportation to killing camps. Yet they survived, facing constant fear of death, house-to-house searches, betrayal, disease and hunger, until liberated by the Allies.
They then left their home, their country and their friends to start anew, in the U.S., seeking freedom from oppression. They quickly grew roots, becoming active and involved in their chosen community, and were able to succeed with zeal and good fortune.
This chronicle includes not only Leo Ullman s own personal story, but stories of other family members and their often miraculous survival. The book contains numerous unique photos, copies of documents and correspondence in support of the stories, as well as valuable historical and factual context of those terrible times.
A mesmerizing first-person story of a young Jewish boy pushed into hiding over a period of nearly two and a half years during WWII with total strangers who did not know who he was, while his parents hid in an attic elsewhere, not knowing where their son was or whether he was alive. This all in the heart of Amsterdam during the brutal occupation by the Nazis.
Their family, long established, leading honest, law-abiding, normal and comfortable lives were suddenly forced to (in their own words) <">disappear,<"> to <">become illegal,<"> and to <">live like rats<"> to avoid capture and deportation to killing camps. Yet they survived, facing constant fear of death, house-to-house searches, betrayal, disease and hunger, until liberated by the Allies.
They then left their home, their country and their friends to start anew, in the U.S., seeking freedom from oppression. They quickly grew roots, becoming active and involved in their chosen community, and were able to succeed with zeal and good fortune.
This chronicle includes not only Leo Ullman s own personal story, but stories of other family members and their often miraculous survival. The book contains numerous unique photos, copies of documents and correspondence in support of the stories, as well as valuable historical and factual context of those terrible times.
402 pages, Paperback
Published February 1, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 27, 2016
The author was a very young child when he was hidden in Amsterdam during World War II. The book isn't so much about him, singularly, as it was about how all of his family were able to, or not able to, survive the Nazi rule in Holland, and their lives after, mostly in the United States, and very locally (to me) Port Washington, Long Island. There is a very good section about the climate for Jews, in general, in Holland, during the war, which led to devastating losses in the Jewish community. I am drawn to books such as Mr. Ullmans, and found it to be a quick read through simple, charming text that is liberally illustrated with documents and pictures.
August 26, 2016
A different , personal slant on the subject
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews