On the Run in Nazi Berlin by Bert Lewyn and Bev Saltzman Lewyn
All of us known the terrible history of what happened to Jews in WWII. That is, we know in GENERAL what happened. Of course, we know about the Nazis and their evil regime. In ON THE RUN IN NAZI BERLIN, we get to know a lot more--up close and personal. We learn how a young man--still in his teens--managed to survive a brutal regime looking to exterminate his race.
As the persecution of the Jews in Berlin intensified, the situation for Jewish people in Berlin grew desperate. Bert's parents were finally dragged away by the Gestapo--never to be seen again. Young Bert, having skill in metal-work, was required to work in an armaments factory. He and a friend were able to steal and sell motors by lowering them through a window when no one was around.
Finally, even Bert's special machinery skills were not enough to save him, and the Nazis came to take the remaining Jews away. Bert got word of this, and went underground, as a "U-Boat," as the remaining Jews were called.
As a "U-Boat," Bert lived by his wits, and was able to scrap by, living sometimes in shabby rooms, and sometimes in basements of bombed-out buildings. He couldn't be seen in public, and lived in constant fear of informants. Food was rationed, and he had to buy goods on the black market to survive. Adding to the fear was the constant bombing of Berlin by the Allies.
Perhaps the most amazing chapter describes how Bert was finally captured by the Gestapo, imprisoned, and beaten for supposedly being a spy for the British. Over a period of weeks, Dagobert, as he was orginally named, was able to create a key out of a piece of lead pipe! Eventually, he and some other prisoners unlocked a gate and escaped down a tunnel. Of course, that just meant he was on the run again as a fugitive.
Another chapter describes how the author and a friend dressed up in SS uniforms to deliver movie projectors to the Germans! They even had a car pick them up--since they were VIP's!
ON THE RUN IN NAZI BERLIN is a sobering read. It's hard to believe that these events actually happened. I can't but wonder, would I have been as resourceful as Bert Lewyn? Could I have survived in a world set out to exterminate my kind?
It is astonishing that the author survived. Of course, most didn't--including his parents. There are a few heroes in this book--kind-hearted people who opposed the Nazi regime, and were willing to hide Bert. There was also a blind communist who hated the Nazis with a passion.
On the Run in Nazi Berlin by Bert Lewyn and Bev Saltzman Lewyn
