What do you think?
Rate this book
Dreams and Jealousy: The Story of Holocaust Survivor Jack Repp
A unique memoir with gripping stories and an amazingly smooth read, there is plenty to be learned from these pages. Merchant. Prisoner. Smuggler. Spy. Survivor. Immigrant. Speaker. In his 90-some years, Jack Repp has been all of these and more. The lessons he hopes to impart in this collection of his stories are rooted in the teachings of his father, whose example always inspired him. “We never cried,” says Jack Repp, talking about his survival strategies in Nazi death camps. He and two fellow prisoners made a pact to help one another stay strong by focusing on good memories and the hope of the war’s end. And after he was liberated and recruited by U.S. intelligence agents to help track down his captors, after he built a business in post-war Munich, then arrived to Greenville, Texas, and began again, he chose once more to focus on the hope of a better life. For decades, Jack kept quiet about his past as a Holocaust survivor. Now, for the first time, he’s put his journey into a book. “I consider telling my story part of my purpose—to make sure that others remember,” he says. Dreams and Jealousy aims to convey more than merely the history of man’s inhumanity to others. Jack shares the mindset that helped keep him alive, the struggles and strength needed to start over in a new land and to stand, in his own way, against the racism that underlaid the mid-century years in the USA. Jack’s tales are heartbreaking and horrifying, honest and gritty, sometimes humorous and even exalting—but they are also a reminder of resilience and the lifelong determination to define himself rather than letting others dictate who he must be.
150 pages, Paperback
Published September 11, 2017
2 people are currently reading
13 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 18, 2020
Dreams and Jealousy: The Story of Holocaust Survivor Jack Repp is by Jack Repp as told to Dan Lewin. Jack Repp was a Holocaust Survivor who lived in Dallas, Texas until his death in January, 2020. He was a regular speaker at the Dallas Museum as well as one of the survivors behind the building of the Museum in the first place. He was very pleased when the new museum opened in 2019. Jack will definitely be missed at the museum and in Dallas.
Jack told his story in a forthright manner and didn’t try to “inspire or move his audience, nor was he diplomatic”. He told what happened to him and what he saw in the camps. He was a little more diplomatic when he spoke to children than when he spoke to adults. His story is told in parts. He tells about his life before the invasion of Poland, the camps, after the camps and his recovery and work with the Allies, and finally his life in Dallas. Jack had never wanted his story written as a book and had turned many authors down when they were doing it for money. Dan Lewin was different; he was doing it to make sure Jack’s story and the story of his family was not forgotten. Although Jack was 93 when he told his story to Dan, he still remembered the incidents as well as the exact days and times as if it just happened.
The book is easy to read and although it tells of the atrocities, it does not dwell on them so the book would be useable in middle school situations. It is intense; but at the same time, you see that the little boy Jack was never completely got lost. His love and admiration for his family members comes through loud and clear, especially for his Father. Of his family of five children and a large extended family, only those from a cousin who had come to America before the war and his sister, Nacha, survived.
Jack told his story in a forthright manner and didn’t try to “inspire or move his audience, nor was he diplomatic”. He told what happened to him and what he saw in the camps. He was a little more diplomatic when he spoke to children than when he spoke to adults. His story is told in parts. He tells about his life before the invasion of Poland, the camps, after the camps and his recovery and work with the Allies, and finally his life in Dallas. Jack had never wanted his story written as a book and had turned many authors down when they were doing it for money. Dan Lewin was different; he was doing it to make sure Jack’s story and the story of his family was not forgotten. Although Jack was 93 when he told his story to Dan, he still remembered the incidents as well as the exact days and times as if it just happened.
The book is easy to read and although it tells of the atrocities, it does not dwell on them so the book would be useable in middle school situations. It is intense; but at the same time, you see that the little boy Jack was never completely got lost. His love and admiration for his family members comes through loud and clear, especially for his Father. Of his family of five children and a large extended family, only those from a cousin who had come to America before the war and his sister, Nacha, survived.
March 24, 2020
Never Forget
I remember this mantra from the first Holocaust survivor I heard speak. A powerful and frank description of Mr. Rep-‘s life. Thank you for writing this powerful life story.
I remember this mantra from the first Holocaust survivor I heard speak. A powerful and frank description of Mr. Rep-‘s life. Thank you for writing this powerful life story.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews