As the son of a Jewish woman, it was unlikely that he would survive in the early 20th century .
Now in his mid-80s, journalist, television author and writer Ralph Giordano gives an account of how he managed to stay alive – as fervently and passionately as ever.
It is shocking to read how a ten-year-old in 1933 is suddenly confronted with a force that soon shakes the entire world. How desperate must a seventeen-year-old be to want to end his beloved mother’s life to spare her an even worse fate? How does he manage to endure increasing torment until, at the age of 22, he can finally experience what he had given up hoping for: liberation! One thing remains the same in his life – he is constantly confronted with forces that affect the entire world: National Socialism, fascism, Stalinism and Islamism. This book is a review of an era, reflected in the biography of a man of tireless creativity and energy. We learn how his vow to leave Germany gradually vanishes, how the former victim of persecution develops a sense of sympathy towards the people who were his enemies in the most critical years of his life. And how he persistently struggles to achieve a sense of belonging. However political his entire existence, this is a highly personal book, a crucial document about a unique life, a review by a great humanist – Ralph Giordano, memories of a survivor.
