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Religion, Theology and the Holocaust
Harry Haft: Survivor of Auschwitz, Challenger of Rocky Marciano
Alan Scott Haft provides the first-hand testimony of his father, Harry Haft, a holocaust victim with a singular story of endurance, desperation, and unrequited love. Harry Haft was a sixteen-year-old Polish Jew when he entered a concentration camp in 1944. Forced to fight other Jews in bare-knuckle bouts for the perverse entertainment of SS officers, Harry quickly learned that his own survival depended on his ability to fight and win. Haft details the inhumanity of the "sport" in which he must perform in brutal contests for the officers. Ultimately escaping the camp, Haft’s experience left him an embittered and pugnacious young man. Determined to find freedom, Haft traveled to America and began a career as a professional boxer, quickly finding success using his sharp instincts and fierce confidence. In a historic battle, Haft fights in a match with Rocky Marciano, the future undefeated heavyweight champion of the world. Haft’s boxing career takes him into the world of such boxing legends as Rocky Graziano, Roland La Starza, and Artie Levine, and he reveals new details about the rampant corruption at all levels of the sport. In sharp contrast to Elie Wiesel’s scholarly, pious protagonist in Night, Harry Haft is an embattled survivor, challenging the reader’s capacity to understand suffering and find compassion for an antihero whose will to survive threatens his own humanity. Haft’s account, at once dispassionate and deeply absorbing, is an extraordinary story and an invaluable contribution to Holocaust literature.
172 pages, Hardcover
First published April 19, 2006
18 people are currently reading
280 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
April 29, 2022
HBO/HBO MAX film streaming now!
"Generally favorable" score of 72 on Metacritic, worthy of the book.
Rating: 3.75* of five, rounded up because it's too important not to
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: I'm not the first person to pick up a boxing story. The violence and brutality inherent in the "sport" (which was used by ancient Greeks as military training) are, honestly, repulsive to me. I'm not famous for my delight in Holocaust stories, either.
What's going on here?
Stories like Pollak's Arm and The Vanished Collection feature the Jewish élite's fates, the kind of people who knew people whose names get into history books. Statistically not all the Jews in the Holocaust, dead or alive, could be those people; Hertzka Haft was a street kid, a hard-luck story from before there was a Holocaust, and whose survival was down to the fact that he could—and would—knock the ever-livin' snot out of other people to amuse and entertain his jailers.
There was nothing easy about Hertzka...Harry, in later life...Haft's life. He was the eighth and final child his mother bore...but she was so used to it she thought she was having gas pains, and *pow* Harry hit the floor under the tub of washing she was doing. His father died when he was three; his oldest siblings blamed him for infecting their mother with typhoid fever. His rock-tough self, and her with such rugged health, barely knew they had it; poor ol' papa passed beyond the veil from it in about a week.
Things really didn't get a lot easier from there on.
What I expect will shock readers is how...clear...Author Alan Haft, son of Harry, is. He doesn't linger over Dad's hurts. He doesn't shy away from the abuse Harry endured at the hands of his oldest brother, at the hands of the "christian" establishment, at the hands of the German invaders, the New York boxing establishment. He survived it all and didn't do it by being sweet, or intellectually pondering and systematizing the awful, painful stuff he's forced to endure simply for the privilege of continuing to breathe.
He was angry and he was strong and Harry Haft used those things as rocket fuel to extract his price for the sufferings he endured. Nothing, and I mean not one thing, stood between Harry and what he knew was his due. He hit people, and I don't mean polite punching like you see in sanitized boxing movies. I mean Alan Haft, clearly a good listener, understood that Harry never hit anyone without being extremely clear that 1) he had no choice but they'd see it coming and b) he was going to make sure that he got what was coming to him.
Given my uninterest in this sort of violence...ego-driven, honor-bound, these aren't ways to earn my sympathy...why am I rating this book so close to four stars? Because I think Harry Haft was the kind of man you'd want to know, to get in good with. Harry Haft suffered fools not at all, and those men are special friends who never once let your b.s. stand in the way, who never once fail you in a pinch. The Harry Hafts of the world love hard...an entire boxing career so he could be famous...not for fun, or even money, but so his lost Leah would hear about Harry Haft, see his photo, know to come find him.
That man, that force of nature, is getting a biopic tonight, this Holocaust Remembrance Day, on HBO Max. If it's among your channels, go look for The Survivor. I question that title. Given the horrors of his life inside the camps, did he survive? His body lived on. But...how much damage can a being endure, death, cannibalism, the unfathomably cruel suffering of existing in the Land of Plenty when so many didn't make it out? Is that "survival" in any meaningful way?
Alan Haft asks that question, not out loud, by exploring his psychotically angry, guilt-stewed, violent father's world. Interviews conducted before Harry Haft's death fifteen years ago probably saved both of their lives. How Alan Haft put together an identity is little short of a miracle, and how he dug around his own PTSD and located enough grace to offer his father this generous, honest, and deeply loving send-off is the reason you should read it, watch it, listen to the audiobook. The world's never been short of Harry Haft-like souls. We've got more incoming from the new wars.
Learning what happened will help you be that much better at reaching for their broken, abused hands instead of staring coldly, vacantly past them. Truth to tell, your world will get bigger and be better for it, like theirs.
"Generally favorable" score of 72 on Metacritic, worthy of the book.
Rating: 3.75* of five, rounded up because it's too important not to
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: I'm not the first person to pick up a boxing story. The violence and brutality inherent in the "sport" (which was used by ancient Greeks as military training) are, honestly, repulsive to me. I'm not famous for my delight in Holocaust stories, either.
What's going on here?
Stories like Pollak's Arm and The Vanished Collection feature the Jewish élite's fates, the kind of people who knew people whose names get into history books. Statistically not all the Jews in the Holocaust, dead or alive, could be those people; Hertzka Haft was a street kid, a hard-luck story from before there was a Holocaust, and whose survival was down to the fact that he could—and would—knock the ever-livin' snot out of other people to amuse and entertain his jailers.
There was nothing easy about Hertzka...Harry, in later life...Haft's life. He was the eighth and final child his mother bore...but she was so used to it she thought she was having gas pains, and *pow* Harry hit the floor under the tub of washing she was doing. His father died when he was three; his oldest siblings blamed him for infecting their mother with typhoid fever. His rock-tough self, and her with such rugged health, barely knew they had it; poor ol' papa passed beyond the veil from it in about a week.
Things really didn't get a lot easier from there on.
What I expect will shock readers is how...clear...Author Alan Haft, son of Harry, is. He doesn't linger over Dad's hurts. He doesn't shy away from the abuse Harry endured at the hands of his oldest brother, at the hands of the "christian" establishment, at the hands of the German invaders, the New York boxing establishment. He survived it all and didn't do it by being sweet, or intellectually pondering and systematizing the awful, painful stuff he's forced to endure simply for the privilege of continuing to breathe.
He was angry and he was strong and Harry Haft used those things as rocket fuel to extract his price for the sufferings he endured. Nothing, and I mean not one thing, stood between Harry and what he knew was his due. He hit people, and I don't mean polite punching like you see in sanitized boxing movies. I mean Alan Haft, clearly a good listener, understood that Harry never hit anyone without being extremely clear that 1) he had no choice but they'd see it coming and b) he was going to make sure that he got what was coming to him.
Given my uninterest in this sort of violence...ego-driven, honor-bound, these aren't ways to earn my sympathy...why am I rating this book so close to four stars? Because I think Harry Haft was the kind of man you'd want to know, to get in good with. Harry Haft suffered fools not at all, and those men are special friends who never once let your b.s. stand in the way, who never once fail you in a pinch. The Harry Hafts of the world love hard...an entire boxing career so he could be famous...not for fun, or even money, but so his lost Leah would hear about Harry Haft, see his photo, know to come find him.
That man, that force of nature, is getting a biopic tonight, this Holocaust Remembrance Day, on HBO Max. If it's among your channels, go look for The Survivor. I question that title. Given the horrors of his life inside the camps, did he survive? His body lived on. But...how much damage can a being endure, death, cannibalism, the unfathomably cruel suffering of existing in the Land of Plenty when so many didn't make it out? Is that "survival" in any meaningful way?
Alan Haft asks that question, not out loud, by exploring his psychotically angry, guilt-stewed, violent father's world. Interviews conducted before Harry Haft's death fifteen years ago probably saved both of their lives. How Alan Haft put together an identity is little short of a miracle, and how he dug around his own PTSD and located enough grace to offer his father this generous, honest, and deeply loving send-off is the reason you should read it, watch it, listen to the audiobook. The world's never been short of Harry Haft-like souls. We've got more incoming from the new wars.
Learning what happened will help you be that much better at reaching for their broken, abused hands instead of staring coldly, vacantly past them. Truth to tell, your world will get bigger and be better for it, like theirs.
December 15, 2022
zakończenie bez happy end'u pozdro
September 6, 2022
A fantastic story that had to be told.
Potential spoiler alert:
Harry Haft as a teenage boy watched and endured things that I cannot even comprehend.
Loading dead bodies in a furnace and fighting a defenceless fellow Jew for the entertainment of the German officers against his will.
Written by his eldest son we get a glimpse into the world of a prisoner of war and one we question if he was lucky to survive or not.
The afterword given by his son gives us a wonderful perspective of the effects it had on Harry, carrying the emotional and physical scars into his adult life and his treating of his sons in horrific ways.
The book is written with the flow of a great novel with stories of love s ash’s friendship, but a sad truth that reminds us of barbaric inhumane reality of what millions of innocent people endured through the wartimes.
Harry’s destiny as a prizefighter wasn’t a chosen one but one that was moulded through his experiences as a prisoner of war.
Asked if he was scared of an upcoming fight he famously said, ‘After what I’ve been through what’s the worst a man with gloves really do to me?’
As I was reading the book I thought what a wonderful film the story would make.
A quick google search and I discovered that it was made into a film as recently as 2021.
Potential spoiler alert:
Harry Haft as a teenage boy watched and endured things that I cannot even comprehend.
Loading dead bodies in a furnace and fighting a defenceless fellow Jew for the entertainment of the German officers against his will.
Written by his eldest son we get a glimpse into the world of a prisoner of war and one we question if he was lucky to survive or not.
The afterword given by his son gives us a wonderful perspective of the effects it had on Harry, carrying the emotional and physical scars into his adult life and his treating of his sons in horrific ways.
The book is written with the flow of a great novel with stories of love s ash’s friendship, but a sad truth that reminds us of barbaric inhumane reality of what millions of innocent people endured through the wartimes.
Harry’s destiny as a prizefighter wasn’t a chosen one but one that was moulded through his experiences as a prisoner of war.
Asked if he was scared of an upcoming fight he famously said, ‘After what I’ve been through what’s the worst a man with gloves really do to me?’
As I was reading the book I thought what a wonderful film the story would make.
A quick google search and I discovered that it was made into a film as recently as 2021.
September 13, 2022
One of the most insanely hard hitting stories I have ever read. Harry Haft is a man who refused to break. I struggled to put the book down!
May 9, 2022
After watching The Survivor on HBO I wanted to know more about Harry Haft so I read this book which the movie is based on. This is a very realistic portrayal of the hardships that survivors of the holocaust faced. It really showed how these experiences and choices that people made during the holocaust affected the rest of their lives. The hardships did not end when the holocaust was over. Their lives did not become wonderful and the trauma did not go away. Harry did the best with what he had but his trauma affected his family for the rest of their lives. This book was written by his son who was very honest in his portrayal.
September 30, 2019
Harry Hart urodził się w Polsce w biednej żydowskiej rodzinie. Jako dziecko pomiatany był z kąta w kąt, szwendał się po ulicach, na targowisku szukał reszek jedzenia i wody. Życie na ulicy oraz wczesne podjęcie pracy wykształciło w chłopcu niezwykle wielki spryt, zaradność, śmiałość, rezolutność. Cechy te przydały mu się w późniejszym etapie jego życia. Czas II Wojny Światowej nie był dla niego łatwy. Skierowany został do wielu wyczerpujących prac: murarskich, przy kładzeniu torów, w kamieniołomie czy niewolniczej pracy w Auschwitz. Z każdej jednak wychodził obronna ręką, a nawet pięścią bo właśnie w obozie stoczył swoje pierwsze 77 walk. Nieustannie myślał o swojej miłości i to go trzymało najbardziej przy życiu.
Po wojnie udało mu się wyemigrować do Stanów Zjednoczonych. Tam zaczął zajmować się boksem na poważnie. Kilkanaście walk udało mu się wygrać, niestety nie miał szczęścia do trenerów. Jego technika nie była zbyt dobra co wiązało się z przegraną. Boks szybko przestał być sposobem na życie. Zmienił prace, ożenił się i dorobił się dzieci.
Książka Alana Harta to bardzo krótka, zwięzła biografia jego ojca - Harrego Harta. Poszczególne etapy jego życia są opisane pokrótce, bez szczegółów. Dopiero w posłowiu autora oczy czytelnikowi nagle się otwierają, bo w końcu zaczyna odkrywać prawdziwą naturę Harrego. Jak się okazuje Hart nie był „typowym” dobrym ojcem. Był porywczy, przeklinał, krzyczał, bił dzieci, rzucał przedmiotami, groził rodzinie, że się zabije. Piętno wojny bardzo odcisnęło mu się na psychice. Nieustannie wracał myślami do Polski, do piekła obozu koncentracyjnego.
Bardzo dziękuję Wydawnictwu Otwartemu za przesłany egzemplarz książki
Po wojnie udało mu się wyemigrować do Stanów Zjednoczonych. Tam zaczął zajmować się boksem na poważnie. Kilkanaście walk udało mu się wygrać, niestety nie miał szczęścia do trenerów. Jego technika nie była zbyt dobra co wiązało się z przegraną. Boks szybko przestał być sposobem na życie. Zmienił prace, ożenił się i dorobił się dzieci.
Książka Alana Harta to bardzo krótka, zwięzła biografia jego ojca - Harrego Harta. Poszczególne etapy jego życia są opisane pokrótce, bez szczegółów. Dopiero w posłowiu autora oczy czytelnikowi nagle się otwierają, bo w końcu zaczyna odkrywać prawdziwą naturę Harrego. Jak się okazuje Hart nie był „typowym” dobrym ojcem. Był porywczy, przeklinał, krzyczał, bił dzieci, rzucał przedmiotami, groził rodzinie, że się zabije. Piętno wojny bardzo odcisnęło mu się na psychice. Nieustannie wracał myślami do Polski, do piekła obozu koncentracyjnego.
Bardzo dziękuję Wydawnictwu Otwartemu za przesłany egzemplarz książki
December 14, 2023
I haven’t read a WWII survival story that wasn’t compelling and heartbreaking. Still, at times the storytelling felt disjointed and by the end of the book I had way more questions than I started with. The telling of Harry’s boxing history was impressive but not what I wanted. I wish there had been some kind of closure to the Leah story line although I appreciate that Harry’s final visit with her may have been kept private because of its utmost precious nature.
For all its disjointed parts, jumps in storytelling, and dangling storylines, it was the author’s Afterward that put the book and its purpose into perspective. This book wasn’t for me so it doesn’t matter that some things were unfulfilling. This book makes sense when if you can imagine an old man recounting his memories, devoid of linear timelines. And it makes sense if you can sense the desperation with which Allen Scott Haft authored this book to try and finally earn the love of his father.
For all its disjointed parts, jumps in storytelling, and dangling storylines, it was the author’s Afterward that put the book and its purpose into perspective. This book wasn’t for me so it doesn’t matter that some things were unfulfilling. This book makes sense when if you can imagine an old man recounting his memories, devoid of linear timelines. And it makes sense if you can sense the desperation with which Allen Scott Haft authored this book to try and finally earn the love of his father.
November 21, 2022
Never knew about Harry Haft. Learned about him cause I saw a writer who Talked about Hlucast Survivers who had to box in the Camps.
Amazing life story.
A young kid in Poland who suffers from Polish Hatred for Jews , no Nation Haited and Haits the Jews like the Pols and Germans do in my opnion.
So when a Polish anishemi Slapt Harry he fought back as and one being Buklied should and was Susspended. His older brother came to take him and slapt him from that day on.
Harry loved a 14 year old Lea who loved him .
But his brother was detained and he rescued him and was detained him self and Transfered to a German Camp.
He became friends with a Getman officer who liked him
And in Auschwits this German arranged fot Harry boxing matches. That pritty much saved his life. He beat every other boxer,strugle vs A jewish French world champion who moved fast but he got in rage and knocked him out.
He succeded in Running away from a train ride with another prisoner, got in to a house with An old German couple. The old man kept adking questions, Harry shoot him .
Harry met American Soldiers he moved to America and tried to become a boxer.Training with Artie Levin, Colley Wallace when he trained in harlem with Afro American boxers.
Met Mayer Lansmy when he needed money in Miami.
One of the best books Ive read thanks to his Son Alan Haft who needed to tell his fathers life story.
Thank U.
Amazing life story.
A young kid in Poland who suffers from Polish Hatred for Jews , no Nation Haited and Haits the Jews like the Pols and Germans do in my opnion.
So when a Polish anishemi Slapt Harry he fought back as and one being Buklied should and was Susspended. His older brother came to take him and slapt him from that day on.
Harry loved a 14 year old Lea who loved him .
But his brother was detained and he rescued him and was detained him self and Transfered to a German Camp.
He became friends with a Getman officer who liked him
And in Auschwits this German arranged fot Harry boxing matches. That pritty much saved his life. He beat every other boxer,strugle vs A jewish French world champion who moved fast but he got in rage and knocked him out.
He succeded in Running away from a train ride with another prisoner, got in to a house with An old German couple. The old man kept adking questions, Harry shoot him .
Harry met American Soldiers he moved to America and tried to become a boxer.Training with Artie Levin, Colley Wallace when he trained in harlem with Afro American boxers.
Met Mayer Lansmy when he needed money in Miami.
One of the best books Ive read thanks to his Son Alan Haft who needed to tell his fathers life story.
Thank U.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 19, 2020
The story of Harry Haft is breathtaking. It’s the true story of a survivor, a fighter who had to overcome incredible obstacles and was never rewarded with a real happy ending in the end.
If it were a novel, one would have the impression that the author exaggerated. But it is the true story of a Polish Jew who truly went through hell.
Harry is a brave, rough man, who was faced with many incredible obstacles by fate. Again and again I asked myself how I would have reacted in his situation.
It is not surprising that the story of the concentration camp survivor Harry Haft is now being made into a hollywood movie. It is to be hoped that the film will dignifiedly portray the brutality of the Nazi era, the time of hope as a professional boxer in America and the eternal search for his great love.
If it were a novel, one would have the impression that the author exaggerated. But it is the true story of a Polish Jew who truly went through hell.
Harry is a brave, rough man, who was faced with many incredible obstacles by fate. Again and again I asked myself how I would have reacted in his situation.
It is not surprising that the story of the concentration camp survivor Harry Haft is now being made into a hollywood movie. It is to be hoped that the film will dignifiedly portray the brutality of the Nazi era, the time of hope as a professional boxer in America and the eternal search for his great love.
March 16, 2025
I'm interested in boxing and found this book at a used book store, and it turned into out to be a little gem of a book, starts pre-fight with harry about to fight rocky marcanio three toughs come into the locker room wanting harry to take a dive...then we go to harry's childhood a large poor family in Poland were survival was hard enough then goes into impossible when harry is captured by the nazi's and put into concentration camp, he's one in a million that can survive on his wits, but what he and others had to do to survive mad me question if death was a better option. after what harry went thru boxing is easy, the opponent has gloves and the ref can stop the fight. but this is no cindereallla story or Rocky Balboa. this book is as good as Night be Elle Wiesel or Maus as to the horrors of the holocaust and I'm glad harry survived to tell the tale.
January 29, 2025
The story of Harry’s life in Belchatow, Poland, his survival of Auschwitz, and later years in New York are shared at a fast pace. One reason Harry was able to survive Auschwitz was because the SS forced him to fight fellow prisoners. There are so many horrors Harry endured, and his life experiences are heartbreaking.
Harry Haft’s son, Alan, is the author of this book. Alan reveals his own childhood trauma of living with a survivor of the Holocaust at the end. I think Alan could write another novel based in these five pages.
“Though it took only one person to betray a fugitive, it took a network of about twenty-five people to hide a single Jew.”
“Between 1900 and 1939, twenty-four Jewish American boxers won world championships.”
Harry Haft’s son, Alan, is the author of this book. Alan reveals his own childhood trauma of living with a survivor of the Holocaust at the end. I think Alan could write another novel based in these five pages.
“Though it took only one person to betray a fugitive, it took a network of about twenty-five people to hide a single Jew.”
“Between 1900 and 1939, twenty-four Jewish American boxers won world championships.”
January 21, 2024
Amazing Story
How people survived during the holocaust is incredible. I picked up this book and read it from start to finish. Its a very well written, non stop story of a man that was born with an ability to survive and to box. Like all of us he had his flaws, but his flaws were rooted in his horrific experiences. Its not a feel good story in anyway, a real man struggling to survive, driven by a fleeting hope of finding his lost love. If you like stories of people that find a way to survive against all chance, you will love this book
How people survived during the holocaust is incredible. I picked up this book and read it from start to finish. Its a very well written, non stop story of a man that was born with an ability to survive and to box. Like all of us he had his flaws, but his flaws were rooted in his horrific experiences. Its not a feel good story in anyway, a real man struggling to survive, driven by a fleeting hope of finding his lost love. If you like stories of people that find a way to survive against all chance, you will love this book
September 9, 2022
Book Club 2022.
An audacious story of a man who wouldn't let his oppressors/captors hold him down.
Harry Haft was captured and used as slave labor in WWII Concentration camps, but his wit and unrelenting motivation to get back to his sweetheart allow him some privileges that help secure his future, including boxing/"performing" for the cruel SS Officers. Harry finds himself in America trying to make a name as a boxer, all the while never forgetting his roots.
An audacious story of a man who wouldn't let his oppressors/captors hold him down.
Harry Haft was captured and used as slave labor in WWII Concentration camps, but his wit and unrelenting motivation to get back to his sweetheart allow him some privileges that help secure his future, including boxing/"performing" for the cruel SS Officers. Harry finds himself in America trying to make a name as a boxer, all the while never forgetting his roots.
July 25, 2022
Reads like exactly what it is: a son telling his father’s story. I couldn’t put it down, and is another reminder of the atrocities committed during the Holocaust and how survivors process that trauma in their post-concentration camp lives. Harry Haft’s story is one that should be widely told in Holocaust studies, and also one that would be intriguing to a wide range of students.
May 12, 2025
I really enjoyed the film adaptation of this book, which motivated me to explore the original text. Watching the story come to life on screen has enhanced my appreciation for both the narrative and its characters.
February 27, 2021
An interesting story poorly told.
Read
November 25, 2021Wow. A heart-wrenching story that is hard to read at some points. There is no happy ending, but it is so worth reading.
May 4, 2022
The Champ
The life and times of a true champ. A book I couldn't put down. A must read for those interested in boxing and those interested in reading about the Jewish Holocaust.
The life and times of a true champ. A book I couldn't put down. A must read for those interested in boxing and those interested in reading about the Jewish Holocaust.
March 28, 2016
This short, concise biography follows Herschel Haft from his hardscrabble roots in the streets of Poland's Jewish ghettos to the horrors of the concentration camp, on into his career as a professional boxer in America when the sport was at its seediest and organized crime held sway. The author doesn't waste much time on exposition. The story is presented in unvarnished, spare language. Nevertheless, the complex character of Harry Haft, and his turbulent, tragic life comes through in stark relief. The story is true, and equal parts tragic and uplifting, and ultimately unforgettable.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews