FAKE PAPERS: Survival Lessons from Grandma's Escape

by Aaron Rockett

Fake Papers is a real-life escape story about a Holocaust survivor, who passes on survival lessons to her grandson, a documentary filmmaker working in war zones like Afghanistan.

Letty is waiting to die. She is 90 years old and eaten by regret. She once told her story of survival to her grandson to help him through a tragedy when he was a child. Now in his thirties, he rushes to learn the details of her story before it disappears, because in it are answers to questions that have haunted his life.

When World War II began, seventeen-year-old Letty from a rigid Orthodox Jewish family in Belgium is trapped in a resort nestled in the French Pyrenees with her mother and two sisters. Her oldest sister disowns the family to save herself as her mother's distress turns into violent panic attacks. Ahead of Letty lay razzias, the French police round-ups of Jews, Nazi aircraft, young love, and uncertainty about who to trust or where to go in a country hell-bent on capturing her. Now her family's fate, whether triumph or catastrophe, hinges on Letty's escape plan.

At its core, Fake Papers is about a girl coming of age in a time of brutal intolerance and how it shapes her relationship with her grandson years later, addressing identity, and the tangled emotions and patterns of family relationships, repeated through generations, that make us who we are.

Genres: Holocaust, Biography, History, Nonfiction, Ebooks, Historical, Memoir

278 pages, Paperback

Published April 27, 2019

About the author

Aaron Rockett is a writer and video journalist. He has worked on numerous projects in Afghanistan including, Inside the Taliban, broadcast on the National Geographic Channel. Aaron holds a master’s degree in strategic communication from American University and an undergraduate degree from Saint Mary’s College of California.

http://www.facebook.com/AaronRockettB...

Reviews

[Elyse Walters]

Update.....This book is going places!!! Its great --and will be 'free' on Amazon only until May 8th!!



Update:
This WONDERFUL book is available on Amazon - best 99 cent deal of the day!


I was crying — tears rolling down my cheeks at the end.

I’m in a trance at the moment. My brain went on a get-a-way. I’m speechless!!!!!
Yet my heart is bathed with love.
I’ve fallen in love with Aaron and his family. I’m grateful to him for writing this book.
It’s PAGE TURNING!!!!!

Letty was a force to reckon with...even as a young child. Oh... how I loved her - wish I had met her in person.
You’ll feel as if you know the major and minor characters.

Letty still enjoyed her chocolate at 90 years of age - a woman after my own heart. 🍫

HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!!

This Holocaust story is VERY SPECIAL!!!
Go in blind... trust me!!!
Anybody who loves anybody will love this book!!!

Thank you Aaron!!!

[Fran]

Lessons learned from a Holocaust survivor's escape story are imparted to a war zone documentary filmmaker. It is a story of survival, against all odds, and despite tangled family dynamics. Aaron Rockett visited his ninety year old grandmother, Letty and asked that she allow her story to be told. How difficult it must have been for seventeen year old Letty at the start of WW II. Letty, the youngest child, lived with her mother Blima and sisters Suzy and Annie. According to Blima, Suzy could do no wrong while Letty could do no right. Blima dished out guilt and blame to Letty in equal measure.

Survival Lessons Learned included the following:

Question Wants
"I was young and stupid,...I wanted the war to come".

Mind Your Signature
Aaron Schmidt and partners had a sweater business in Antwerp, Belgium. Aaron was the only one to sign documentation requesting a business loan. He would bear the burden of responsibility for the debt amassed after his partners embezzled money from the company account.

Some Know Better Than Others, Listen To Them
"If they [the Germans] invade Belgium, leave. Leave fast. Don't wait"

The Best Option Isn't Always The Best
The Schmidt family was planning to travel with the Weiner family to catch a refugee boat to England. The Weiners hurriedly left without them. As it turned out, the evacuation boat was intercepted by a cruising German Schnellboot.

Letty Schmidt and family spent a significant amount of time sequestered in France while trying to formulate an escape plan. Every step of the way, Letty had to contend with Blima's berating and unpleasantness toward her. Additionally, fear of roundups and the trustworthiness of others weighed heavy on her mind. "Not everyone plays by the same rules".

"Fake Papers:Survival Lessons from Grandma's Escape" by Aaron Rockett was a captivating piece of Holocaust literature. This reader felt like a "fly on the wall" experiencing Letty's attempts to satisfy an impossible mother while searching for a path to safety. Author Rockett has written an excellent, thought-provoking work of non-fiction that I highly recommend.

Thank you Aaron Rockett, XpressoReads and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review "Fake Papers".

[Minnesinger]

Thanks to Aaron Rockett (See endnote with bio) and NetGalley for an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) of this book in exchange for an impartial review.

I gave this book 3.5 stars. I don’t award many books with 5 stars; even 4 stars must be well above average. I consider 3 stars “average”: not bad, but not worthy of 5 stars. I think 3.5 stars is fair for a new author’s first book. I awarded an extra half-star for the clever way he organized the book: each chapter title a lesson Letty learned in survival. The family photos of Letty and her family put a face to the story and are a welcome addition. I wish Rockett had included one of his mother as well, since she was Letty’s daughter, thus the link between grandmother and grandson. But he does offer notes at the end about where the sisters are now. (He just does not say what happened during the decades between Luchon and later life.)

It is no doubt a challenge to switch from writing documentaries to writing a book, and it does unfortunately show at times. There are jumps in time, gaps in the narrative, and not enough detail (in my opinion) about Letty’s experiences. I would have liked to know more about her sister Annie, too. It would have been nice to be told something about Aaron’s mother as well, Letty’s daughter Karin. There is no mention at all about his father, which is too bad. An Author’s note or end note would have sufficed. But perhaps the author felt he should limit each chapter to only one example pertinent to the particular “survival lesson”.

This book is a true story, about—and a tribute to—the author’s Jewish grandmother Letty (Schmidt) Bird, a war survivor who grew up in Antwerp, Belgium. It is her story, but partly the author’s as well because he was clearly influenced by his grandmother.

Aaron was only eight when he lost his mother, Letty’s daughter Karin, to cancer. He was then sent to California to spend time with his grandparents. (His grandfather, Letty’s husband, sounds like quite a character.) Letty was the first to tell Aaron that he was Jewish, which was understandably a shock to the boy after being told all his life that he was Irish Catholic. I find it curious, though, that he never thought to ask his mother or grandmother—who both called him bubele as a young boy—what the foreign word meant. Bubele is a common Yiddish term of affection for a little boy, typically used by a Jewish grandmother for her grandson, though Aaron’s mother called him that, too. Bubele literally means ‘little boy’ (bub=“boy” plus the -(e)le diminutive ending meaning ‘little’). Yiddish is spoken by Jews. Why didn’t he “get” the connection earlier, on his own? (Did his mother want to hide her Jewish heritage?)

Letty told her grandson something else after his mother died that also deeply affected him. He asked her where she thought his mother was “now”, assuming Grandma would say “in heaven”, but she didn’t. She told him she didn’t believe in God. He must have questioned her further, because she backtracked and said it was fine to believe in God, and fine to believe his mother was in heaven. (Not exactly a vote of confidence, or ringing endorsement. ;)

Even before 17-year-old Letty and her family were transported into Vichy France, she had already had a hard life. Their father abandoned them, which her mother never forgave, taking out her anger on her two youngest daughters, Annie (nickname for Hanna) and Letty (nickname for Zlata). From what Letty related about her mother, it’s clear that Blima was verbally abusive. Growing up in that environment, then being abandoned by her father, would scar any child. I can imagine it would be hard to believe in a loving God if raised by an abusive mother who favored one daughter and abused the others. I imagine it would be equally hard to believe in a just God after being persecuted in World War II.

Both parents, Aron and Blima, were Hasidic Jews born in Poland, who met—for the first time—at their wedding. Blima apparently berated Aron often about the other man she could have married who later became wealthy (unlike Aron). They moved to Antwerp, Belgium, where they raised their three daughters. Aron was not a cruel man, but he clearly neglected his wife and children. He abandoned them one day without a word, a cowardly and unconscionable act. Once he reached London, he sent them a letter to let them know where he was—but sent no money, leaving Blima to pay his debts and support the girls. It’s not surprising that Blima was bitter.

When word came that the Germans had reached Antwerp, the Schmidts caught the last train heading south, but they had no idea that the supposed one-day trip south would turn into eight days of starvation. Everyone had to beg strangers outside the rail cars for food. The sun beating on the cars and the lack of toilets made the interior stifling. The numerous delays were a result of destroyed rail lines, targeted by German bombers, and by frequent stops by the Vichy French police to search for spies and saboteurs. Their train was literally shunted from one track to another to avoid destroyed sections, and if met by another train, one had to back up. Roads were targeted too, to prevent French troops from getting through. The troops were mainly stymied however by the 4 million refugees clogging roadways throughout France, all fleeing for their lives. It’s hard to imagine—to envision—such a staggering number of people all on the move at the same time.

Their train eventually stopped at Luchon (Bagnères-de-Luchon), a ski resort in the Pyrenees, just north of the Spanish border. The mayor of Luchon had lied and told the refugees he would stamp their passports with a visa authorizing entry into Spain, but it was a trick: He had no authority to issue visas; he just wanted as many people as possible to leave, probably because they were using up limited resources. Those who had trusted his word and walked 12 miles to the border were turned back. The escape route over the Pyrenees into Spain** is a chapter of WW2 history I’d never read about before, and plan to learn more about it.

Letty was outspoken even as a girl, and clearly felt strongly about justice. She was the only passenger in the train car who spoke up for the elderly rabbi when a French policeman boarded the car and—upon hearing the rabbi speaking Yiddish—seized him because he thought the rabbi was conveying secrets in German. He shouted at the bewildered rabbi who did not understand French and had only been praying with the other passengers. Letty yelled “Stop!”—but then she too was pulled off the train.

The most harrowing event, in my opinion—at least the most demanding physically and mentally—was Annie’s trek alone from Luchon to Marseilles, a staggering 540 km, or 394 miles. Why she had to go alone is unclear. (So she could travel faster? Why not send the older Suzy?) At any rate, Blima appointed Annie to deliver the documents required by the US simply to apply for asylum. The papers were proof that Blima’s American relatives were willing to sponsor her, and were financially able to support her. (It was also unclear whether the application was for Blima alone or the whole family, but I assume the latter.) Her American relatives were the Hassenfeld Brothers of Providence, Rhode Island, wealthy toy manufacturers. (Whose company name, incidentally, was later shortened to “Hasbro”—now famous worldwide.)

After walking and hitchhiking from Luchon to Marseilles, Annie had to wait with thousands of other refugees crowding outside the Embassy. She had the requisite forms—in triplicate, times two—but when it was her turn to be interviewed, the US official rejected her application over a petty detail (there was only one brother’s signature, not both). It was ridiculous, because the Hassenfelds clearly had more than adequate resources. The official could see their bank account balance on one of the documents. It was criminal that a single petty bureaucrat could destroy a family’s chance to escape***.
———

**Added note (written days later):
I just watched a Ken Burns documentary on PBS about the Sharps, an American clergyman and his wife who were called to help European Jews escape the Nazis. I could not help but think of Letty et al when the narrator mentioned one escape route Sharp took through the Pyrenees to Madrid then to Lisbon (where they boarded a ship to America).
Sharp was conducting a group of notable Czech Jews whom the Nazis wanted badly. Among them was writer Leon Fuerchtwangler and a Nobel Prize winning biochemist (whose name I can’t recall). They probably took the same train south to Luchon, only Sharp received warning en route that the Nazis were waiting for them at the end of the line, so they left the train at the stop before, wandered the town for a few hours as though tourists, then boarded the next train, which terminated in the Pyrenees. Sharp continued on with all their luggage while the refugees got off, split up, and started walking over the mountains to Madrid. There they reunited with Sharp, who led them to Lisbon.
It seems extraordinary to us today to think of walking hundreds of miles, but at that time, all of Europe was on the move, mostly by foot. When the Burns film showed photos of the thousands fleeing France on foot, I could not help but think of Annie, Letty, and their family.

***A statement in the Sharp documentary clarified in my mind Annie’s Embassy experience. The narrator said that the prevalent attitude in America at the time was anti-immigrant, and the US government had strict quotas, allowing (approximately) only a few thousand immigrants per country per year. The figures should have been adjusted for time of war, but they were not.
_____
End note:
*The following bio is from the author’s website, and highlights the fact that he is no average young author, he is already a talented writer and video journalist who has risked his life interviewing and filming in Afghanistan and other danger zones. He is only in his early 30s but has already made documentary films to better understand Afghanistan. He was field producer there for two National Geographic Channel documentary specials, “Inside the Taliban,” and “Inside Al Qaeda.” He also worked on “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” (PBS) “before forming www.thefullmonte.com in 2004, a website dedicated to reporting on conflict zones around the world. Throughout his travels he has produced numerous independent documentaries and video diaries. His independent short documentary, “Vacationing in Afghanistan”, was screened at film festivals, aired on PBS, and now has over a hundred thousand views online.” ... “In 2008, Aaron directed a feature length documentary film, “The Fixer: Afghanistan Behind the Scenes,” which was critically received at international film festivals and featured on CNN.”

[Lacey Bard]

A new perspective on a world tragedy. Made me hold my breath with every page.

[Goth Gone Grey]

Surviving during WWII

Words like engaging or compelling seem trite here, reading the author's tale of his family struggling during WWII. For every harrowing moment and triumph of survival, there are darker moments of loss, the bleak reality a stark contrast.

The numbers of those murdered during the war are staggering. This first hand account of the portion of a family who managed to escape gives a glimpse of light, but shows the difficulties in survival: unbearable living conditions, starvation, moving against their will, violating their religion, and losing nearly everything to save themselves. Add in the uncertainty of the fate of their loved ones for a glimpse into what they endured. I spent a moment of silence for those lost, and for what the survivors lost, after finishing the book.

The writing is well done, with a few small typos. It places you in the time and heart of the events described. An example:

"Warplanes flew overhead on May 10, 1940 as Nazis invaded Belgium. Letty first heard their rumble and then their outlines chopping through the air above. It was Friday and Shabbat. The sky was dotted with them for as far as her eyes saw. They flew low and they flew high. People stopped in the streets and they all stood with their heads cocked to the sky. In the distance the explosions thundered as bombers let their payloads flutter to earth."

[Carolyn Scarcella]

The book I’m reading is called “Fake Papers” by Aaron Rockett. He is the grandson of a Holocaust survivor, his grandmother, Letty. It gives us an insight into the relationship between grandson, Aaron and grandmother, Letty, which she is helping him telling the story about her survival skills to get through a tragedy when he was a child. What a keen eye for a brilliant story. I thoroughly enjoy the book. It is a powerful, factual story made all the more stirring by the riveting imagining, Letty, has gifted us with. The story is about Letty, 90 years old, she was born in Belgium, with her parents and sisters. She is the only one who helped her family to survive by escaping from France to Switzerland. As a result, did her family survive the holocaust? You can decide.

[Molly]

FAKE PAPERS

Fake Papers is a really terrific memoir written by the grandson of a Jewish woman who escaped from Antwerp Belgium during WWII. It tells the story of how Letty and her two sisters Suzy and Annie, and her mother Blima, traveled throughout Vichy France avoiding razzias - the capturing of foreign Jews in France. They moved by train, hitching rides with strangers, and by foot from Lourdes, Montauban, Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, and Aix-les-Baines in their attempt to find a way out to safety.

What I thought made this memoir so special is that it is told from the viewpoint of a 17 year old young girl. Being the youngest of the three sisters, and dealing with a very neurotic mother, her perspective includes many innocent and naive ideas about war, men, sibling rivalry. Just plain simple excitement of youth and adventure. Each chapter involves a life lesson, some very painful, that she learned throughout her journeys.

Mixed within the fears and exhaustion of avoiding Nazi horrors and navigating the Resistance maze were beautiful youthful moments, including sneaking away in the French countryside with a young man, kind unexpected help from strangers, and using their brains and beauty to distract and divert the gendarmes. Many very difficult decisions had to be made by these young ladies and the complexity of feelings was conveyed so genuinely in this book.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Aaron Rockett for the opportunity to read and review this book.

[Emma Snesavage]

One of the best I’ve read. This country (USA) would do well to remember the plight of refugees.

[S.L. Berry]

WWII, the Nazi's, the Resistance, and Vichy France come alive in Aaron Rockett's Fake Papers: Survival Lessons from Grandma's Escape. When I first started reading Fake Papers, I thought that it was a series of short accounts. It is not. Rockett alternates between eras, the present and two past ones -- WWII and in the decades following Letty's emigration to the U.S. 

For readers of Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale, Fake Papers is a well-written account by Rockett who is the grandson of Letty the grandma. Letty is dying and at Rockett's request tells him her story, reliving it. Fake Papers takes off where Hannah left off in the The Nightingale; it is another part of the sacrificial effort of the Resistance to save so many who would have perished at the hands of the Nazis in concentration camps.

Fake Papers tells the true story of three sisters and their mother who escape from Antwerp Belgium as the Nazis are entering the city. The account begins before this with the father who discovers that he has been swindled and faces financial ruin, eventually becoming bankrupt. Unable to face his family, he leaves once, returning in the days before Hitler's army invades Antwerp. The father returns to relatives who ask him for him to return to Poland. He leaves just prior to his family's escape into occupied France. He is never heard from again. The family never learns what became of him.

From then, Letty and her family, from the tradition of strict Orthodox Jewry, are dependent on the mercy and help of strangers. Enter the Resistance though it is a  more subtle hidden element than in The Nightingale. It is the one of two undercurrents in Letty's account. The pervasive hunting of Jews, of singling them out for the worst of what the Nazi government has in store for the world, is the other. For Letty and her sisters it means staying one step ahead and being clever, out thinking the hunters, in ways that at times means playing nice with the enemy, of hiding in plain sight, pretending to not to be Jewish or disavowing your own family. In short, it is desperate times when doing the unspeakable becomes essential for survival. 

For the sisters' mother, who would be the great-grandmother if she had lived, she is one who can't run, at least not for long. She is the one who must be grounded to a particular hearth even if it means dying. Some of it is because of the fear of the outside world; some of it is because of the mother's stubbornness. She rules the roost before the war and after Belgium is invaded even as she leaves with her daughters, the mother maintains her Jewish identity, practices and religious traditions, en at the risk of being discovered. 

It is when the Vichy government steps up the roundups and living in France is no longer safe that Letty and her sisters decide to escape to Switzerland and they become Picards through the issuance of fake passports. The escape would be the best decision they ever made, but at a high cost. The mother remains in France whether out of fear of the unknown, distrust of her daughters' plans, plans which are based on Letty's belief that Switzerland is their best option for staying out the hands of the Nazis, refusing to run yet again or possibly understanding that she, the mother, is the weakest point, the factor that will cost her daughters their lives. The mother, as does so many others, ultimately pays with her life for staying behind. 

Letty's account of Switzerland's official "neutrality" while helping fleeing Vichy France under the radar was enlightening tidbit to this reader. 

The author's weaving of Letty's life after WWII (the present and the immediate past) is a nice touch, and is well-written (as is the rest of the account). It is not strictly necessary to tell Letty's story. It does however provide context in terms of wrapping up the sisters' lives after their escape into Switzerland and shows how living in those trying times while denying oneself, living under false pretenses, altered forever the sisters' futures and that of the succeeding generations, sometimes for good, sometimes for bad.      

The author provided a copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Yvette Tsiropoulos]

Amazing true story. The narrative flows and grabs the reader, pulling in, "there were three sisters" and next thing you know, you've finished the book in one sitting.

* Suggestion: needs editorial revision, grammar.
* The young adult sisters are repeatedly addressed as "madame". Correct: "mademoiselle"
** p.64: in Luchon, France near the Spanish border one of the Jewish refugees threatens to file a petition about inhumane living standards to the United Nations. There was no U.N. at the time.
The United Nations was founded in 1945, after the end of WWII.

[Jean Roberts]

Reviewer note: I was given a copy of this book to read and review. The opinions are my own. If you are interested in more information or in purchasing this book, click on the book cover which will take you to the book on Amazon.
Fake Papers, by filmmaker Aaron Rockett, is the biography of his Jewish Grandmother, Letty Schmidt. Aaron's mother died when he was a young child, his grandmother Letty tells him the story of her escape from the Nazis during World War II. Many years later, Aaron's work in Afghanistan causes him to confronts his feelings about his family and Jewish heritage; he seeks the full history from his grandmother in her waning days.
The Plot: Although technically a biography, this book reads more like a work of fiction. I had to keep reminding myself that the characters were real. This is not a criticism, in fact the book really pulled me in, unlike some dry biographies I've read.
The story of Letty Schmidt, a Polish Jew, begins in Antwerp where her family has fled. With an absent father, and an uncertain mother, Letty and her sisters, Suzy and Annie, are thrust into the role of decision makers. Staying one step ahead of the Germans, Letty and her family flee from one precarious town to another. Hungry and desperate the family ties begin to dissolve as survival becomes all consuming.
Letty's story is one of love, trust, betrayal and fear. The reader is taken on a harrowing journey as a young girl, forced to fend from herself in a cruel adult world, grows up too soon. As a dying old woman she learns to face and accept the scars that have shaped her life and relationships. She survived the war but, survival always comes with at a price.
The Characters: Letty and her sisters are well drawn, each with a distinct personality. Her mother is especially vivid, her pain and fear was palpable. The photos added to the story but I felt like they were icing on the cake.
The History: The author has a firm grasp on the history of the day and guides his readers through the events of the war that impacted Letty and her family. I found the reprehensible actions of the French Vichy Government to of particular interest. Family photos complement the story, especially of Letty in a Jewish workers camp.
The writing: The prose is simple and straightforward. There are some minor issues that might annoy grammar divas, but overall the pace and style were fine. I enjoyed the quirky chapter titles and discovering what they meant.
Conclusion and recommendations: I enjoyed reading Letty's story. I think it's very important to record the lives of our ancestors not only for posterity but for the lessons learned from them. I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in history, especially stories of the Jewish people in Europe during WWII. For those who have a special interest in the recording of family history, I think this book offers and excellent example.
I rate this book 4 Stars

My Ratings:
1 Star: Not good at all, do not read!
2 Stars: Read only as a last resort, no other books available
3 Stars: Good, enjoyed it, will recommend with reservations
4 Stars: Really good, read this book!
5 Stars: So good, I might read it again sometime! Highly recommend

[Beth]

Harrowing

A true story about how Jewish families, one in particular, were shuffled around, arrested, sent to die, managed escapes, & finally, for those who survived, found a safe place.
The author's MGM is the source of the accounts in the books.
We are living in an era of unprecedented antisemitism. In France, Jews whose families have been French citizens since before WWII are being knifed in their beds...in 2 cases I know of, by Muslim neighbors whom they saw as almost family, whom they trusted & loved...& who were not in the least ashamed...one actually proud...of what they had done. So much for how much peace there can be between some Muslims & even non-religious Jews. It does not inspire hope. As Europe has become inundated with refugees from Muslim majority countries (war & economic claiming to be war refugees), the rise in antisemitism has paralelled it. For all the decent, caring Muslims I have known, this is a heartache. Jews are now at least able to be evacuated to Israel. Charitable groups evacuate them from all over the workd, including South America, South Africa (the country), some Northern African nations, Muslim majority countries world wide, the former Soviet Union.
This time, though, antisemitism has a parallel group being persecuted worldwide, the same group that in many Western nations has helped Jews escape to Israel now has another call to answer: to help Christians (not those called the name because they attend a church in the broad category of "Christian," but those who believe the Bible is God's literal truth-because going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car, a distinction not noted by many except the Bible-believing Christians who actually hid Jews from the Nazis & tried to help them escape & often ended up in concentration camps themselves once discovered).
I believe this book is a call for the world, America included, to return to the fundamental freedoms the American Constitution has inspired other countries to emulate, however briefly some of them did so-the freedom OF religion, not the freedom FROM religion, or from all but one religion, that we see in the world today.
WWII is a reminder, & this book a clarion call. There is only one race: the human race. What religion we follow should not divide us. We share a common fate & common challenges.
I hope those who read this book will see, as I see in this & similar accounts, a call to put aside cruelty, put aside differences, & seek common ground, learn from one anothers' traditions & customs, & join together to make humanity one race with many beautiful differences but no divisions.
It is past time humanity learned the lessons of this book, & of the shameful ways in which in our pasts, we have harmed one another.

[Ally]

I don’t usually prefer non-fiction but after seeing this has a Goodreads rating of 4.31 & centers around the story of the authors grandmother & her survival of WW2, my curiosity was piqued. This Indie author is a friend of a friend which made this read even better for me too!

The main character, Letty (his grandmother) was a spitfire throughout this book. I adored her in every possible sense. She was resilient, creative & unrelenting in her pursuits of finding safety for her and her family. I found myself so angry at Blima & her blatant favoritism towards her other daughters. But sweet Letty never wavered in her love for her mother despite her treatment.

The ending had me in tears. I’ll just never understand this war & the atrocities that went on. It was humbling to read Lettys story & experience through these pages, what she went through.

If you love reading WWII fiction, you have to pick this one up because although it’s non-fiction, it reads/flows as though it is fiction & Aaron provided pictures of his family members & all kinds of sources throughout the book.

Grab it on Amazon today! 👏🏼

[Elizabeth Fellows]

Fake Papers

Survival Lessons from Grandma’s Escape
This is a true story based on a families escape-out of occupied Antwerp, Belgium to France. It is heartbreaking to see how humanity turns on one another when severely frightened and threatened.
This book takes you on a journey that most folks cannot imagine. A lot of people would not be able to handle the horrendous situation that they had to go through. The story is unbelievable and upsetting, and somewhat painful. It is not for the faint of heart. As hordes of Jewish folks were escaping from being chased out by the Nazi’s, the Jewish folks stated “We must live as they hunt us, unsure of what we did”! I would most definitely recommend this book. It is a good dose of reality of what folks went through during WWII.
The story of this family is remarkable, how they had to constantly flee different countries, towns, and cities in order to be free. The tragic existence that they had during the war was inconceivable. Definitely worth reading.

[Gina]

Fake Papers is an easy read and a page turner. I just had to find out how each of the sisters made out on each step of their quest to get what was left of their family to safety. Each of the girls showed great courage, travelling to find their next place to stay or the next person to help or the next forger or the smuggler. They didn't always agree on where to go or how to get there but in the end, most of them made it to safety.
As always, it is such a lesson in world history to read about how governments dealt with their citizens and residents during the war; how other countries dictated those rules, and how countries managed their borders in a time of war.
Most of all, I love reading about the wins and when some individuals went against the rules to do the right thing and decided to help those on the run to safety. They made all the difference in someones' life or death.

[Captain Dady Mody]

An amazing, no holds barred true story. It is about the will & determination to survive in spite of all odds. This is not fake news but a real-life event as narrated & which occurred. Told, I believe, of incidents that are without any embellishments during those horrible days of our world's history.
It is a must-read for all those who doubt the veracity of these unfortunate events. The trials & tribulations of a family in turmoil & with uncertainties dogging every step of their hazardous journey are unbelievable, & what they endured & suffered un-imaginable.
An extremely moving real-life story of events that actually occurred, but are sometimes considered, by some who find it difficult to come to terms with & believe.

[EarnedIt]

Extremely compelling true story

This novel, based on a true story, did very well in telling the story of a young Jewish woman and her sisters who managed to escape the travesty of the Holocaust.

The author did well in capturing his grandmother's perspective on her experience while fleeing the Nazis all throughout Europe.

The Holocaust was a horrible event that ruined Europe, however this novel was also able to include some lighter moments despite the dark subject matter. Each refugee had such a different experience while trying to escape the Nazis, with much of it boiling down to luck, determination and courage. We cannot possibly imagine the impact this had on the people who managed to survive this horrendous crime against humanity.

[PAMpublish]

Mesmerizing WWII biography written by a grandson portraying his grandmother's use of survival skills to help her sisters escape capture from France to Switzerland during the holocaust. Born in Germany and raised in Belgium, Letty's mother and two sisters fled to France to escape the Nazis. Constantly on the move, at times the sisters separated but ultimately came together to flee to Switzerland, one step ahead of being caught. Clever and daring with a bit of luck, the sisters made it, however their mother hunkered down with friends in France. Constantly on the move even in Switzerland from one camp to another and even after the war, their story of survival is one to reflect upon and be remembered.

[Sarah B White]

Heartbreaking Story

When I read the title of this book, I had to investigate to see if this book was about the Holocaust. I quickly discovered that it is and just had to read the book. We have here the story of a family living in Eastern Europe who because of their religion we're sentenced to die by the Nazis. We have here the story of this family fleeing in an attempt to save their lives. Unfortunately the older generation was eradicated by the Nazis, but the younger generation lived to tell this story. I am not Jewish but my heart breaks for the suffering they experienced in their attempt to live.

[Patricia (Irishcharmer) Yarian]

Captures the heart of the story

Wonderful read!! Aaron managed to tell us,the reader,about his Grandmother's life-her struggles,her accomplishments,her devastating losses,her wonderful "wins", and her hard fought emotional and physical strength for living, adjusting and recovery!!

I would've like to have met his Grandmother. Through Aaron, we got to know and understand her. He through her history we have all witnessed just how strong she was and though most wouldn't have recognized it t the time, but a good leader!!

I enjoyed reading this book and plan to read more of his work!!---P/

[Pam]

This book is a biography about Aaron's grandmother during World War II. It also tells how Aaron came to write his Grandmother's story. The book is very good and is easy to break up and read slowly.June
Aaron's grandmother was the youngest of three girls. All three girls survived and lived to have children and grandchildren. Their mother and father died early on. By working g together, Suzy, Annie and Letty
survived.
Aaron does a good job telling Letty's story without ignoring her sisters. The story begins in Belgium carries over into France and then to Switzerland.

[Ashley Kies]

Extremely well written

I read this book in a day! I have read books about the Holocaust for most of my life. I am not sure why I have always been drawn to the subject, especially since I am a Catholic, with German heritage , no less. I have to say that this author really writes his grandma's story in an amazing fashion, and to where I felt like I was right there with his grandma and family. It still blows my mind that the Holocaust happened. A book like this is perfect, to keep on telling the stories that need to be heard...

[Mr G Diamond and mrs j diamond]

I can’t believe, after all that is written about the way the Hiltler staff treated the Jewish people Some unbelievers say it didn’t happen. Although all these books written about survivors are harrowing they must be read and told to the generations coming after them. I am not Jewish but I love reading about history of WW11 and must somehow spread the word so these true stories will never die. That hopefully will mean there is never a repeat of a race becoming so powerful that they could try to erase a whole race

[Willie. Van Den Hoek]

An amazing historical book about survival in the last war

I just finished reading this book and I am remembering so many details of that time. I lived in wartime Holland and the courage shown in this story was everywhere Our family sheltered some Jewish people and helped them move to safe accommodation. So sad the mother missed out on escaping. This story proves there are still a lot of good people in the world wanting to help and bless others.

[Raberta Beckwith]

Never to be forgotten

Such terrible times...so much sadness..Letty was very brave,and more intelligent than they gave her credit for.The girls kept their wits about them in those scary times- and managed to get things they needed to survive.A very well written story - I felt like I was right there with them !

[Rhona Bradley]

Fabulous book Letty was a very brave girl/young lady as was Annie, Pity her mother didn't have more faith in her instead of her very selfish sister Suzy it was a fascinating read from start to finish. No one could even begin to understand how terrified they must of been not knowing what could happen to them.

[a richards]

The author tells the true story of his grandmother’s escape from the Nazis using an easily read “novel” format that brings the characters to life. His simple retelling gives a picture of the evil and the good in people without using graphic descriptions. It is a very personal story and I found it charming and thought provoking.

[Elizabeth Westra]

Escaping Nazi death camps

This story kept me reading into the night. There was plenty of tension and danger. The story of how three Jewish sisters were able to avoid the concentration camps using their fake papers. They were able to stay alive while other Jews perished.

[gretchen megowen]

A story of WW2 from the inside

This story follows three sisters who exemplified the crisis Jewish families faced trying to get away from the Germans. Some survived but the mother died at Auswich

[sabrina briggs]

Holding

The intensity of the book made you not want to put it down. I read alot of books on this subject and I wonder at the spirit and will of the Jewish people to survive. Their struggles make me want to be stronger in my faith and if in their shoes if I could