Mark Kurzem (–2009)

After seeing his mother lined up at a pit and shot, and his siblings bayoneted, young Alex Kurzem flees into the forest and survives a season alone before being found by soldiers. Instead of killing him, the unit adopts him and uses him to boost morale. In uniforms tailored to his small frame, he hands out chocolates, visits the invalids in hospital and attends ceremonies. Eventually they send him to a family in Latvia but he self-identifies as a solider and, due to his behavior, is sent back to the unit. When WWII ends, he is returned to the family and spends four years in a refugee camp before immigrating to Australia.

The elderly Alex, who has kept his past from his family, begins having night terrors and decides to reveal what little he can remember to his son, Mark. Together they embark on finding out Alex's true name and his village. They received little help from Holocaust groups, who stated that Alex might have been born a Jew but he did not suffer as a Jew did and he was not one of them. Even psychologists doubted that Alex was telling the truth, certainly no military unit would take in a child! Alex and Mark continue to explore Belarus to discover the place they came from, the place it all began and, finally, the truth.

I read this in about two sittings. It is very readable, like sitting down hearing a story from your grandfather. It's hard to imagine that soldiers who could so easily slaughter thousands of people would grant mercy to one small boy. Although, as messed up as young Alex was by his trauma, I'm not sure it was a mercy. I can fully see how Alex identified with them as a survival mechanism, they had clothes and food and weapons for protection. An interesting memoir.

"You don't understand the way it was," he murmured. "I just made the best of my situation. I stayed as silent as possible, all my time with them. I was never one of them. Ever! Deep down I knew they were not my people. They were strangers to me. All the time, strangers. They loved me, cared for me, treated me as one of their own. But I always knew what I was, even if I didn't know who I was. I was a Jewish boy. That meant I had to be on guard every moment I was with them. I couldn't risk being discovered. I would have been killed. I feared for my life all the time. The fear was ingrained in me. Can you imagine how it would be for a child to live like that every waking moment?" … (mehr)

The author's father, Alex Kurzem, has been keeping a secret from his family forever. It's only when he is older and all his sons are grown up and long gone that he starts to confide in Mark. Mark grew up in Australia and was living in England when he father, who Mark believed grew up in Latvia, began to reveal his secrets and to ask for help to find out who is really is. He remembers only two words as clues, and remembers that when he was 5 or 6, he saw his mother and siblings shot by the Nazis. He escaped and was later found by soldiers who dressed him up like a little soldier himself, and used him to bolster spirits. The story goes on, and Mark tries to research to help Alex figure out who he really is.

Wow, what an amazing story. As Mark tried to get help, some people didn't believe the story, but Alex had photos and newspaper clippings to back up what he remembered. Alex's story coming to light even became dangerous for them all. Of course, it was also extremely difficult and emotional for Alex to relive all these memories. Some questions were answered by the end of the book, but there were still some mysteries surrounding it all. Definitely an intriguing story.… (mehr)