Hiding in Plain Sight: The Incredible True Story of a German-Jewish Teenager's Struggle to Survive in Mazi-Occupied Poland

by Betty Lauer

Book Overview

It is 1938. Berta Weissberger, twelve years old, lives in Hindenburg, Germany, with her mother and older sister. Her father has already left for America, and the family is awaiting the arrival of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1575253496
• ISBN13: 9781575253497
• Release Date: April 2004
• Publisher: Smith & Kraus
• Length: 563 Pages
• Weight: 1.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.1" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

You'll finish it if you start it

Written in a straight-forward style with at least surface artlessness, I found this an engrossing account of a teenage Jewish girl's struggle to survive in Poland after the Nazis took over. While it does not have the overpowering aura of authenticity that is inherent in Victor Klemperer's I Will Bear Witness (Volume I read by me on 11 June 1999 and Volume II on 7 Apr 2000), I was caught up by this account and though one knew she survived (else the book would not exist) one had to remind oneself of that as she went from situation to situation. I think it necessary for one to remind oneself repeatedly of the inhuman behavior of so many people during the Hitler years, lest one take civil liberty for granted. She does meet people who are human but also there are many who behaved in a way which they surely have regretted ever since--I hope.

meetin the author

While attending a Bat Mitzvah of a relative, I was fortunate to meet and talk with Betty Lauer, the author of "Hiding in Plain Sight". I told her that I enjoyed the book immensely but found it hard to believe that she could experience so many crises. She said"Believe me: it is true" I said that it must have been very difficult for her to change her faith. She said that was very easy because both of our faiths belive in one God. She is a very upbeat woman.

Comprehensive, detailed epic journey

Magnificent attenton to detail and an almost photographic like narrative characterise this Un-run of the mill Holocaust memoir. The author Betty is a modest teenager who is bold while being matter of fact and subtle- and she is able to convey with great nuance what is felt like to navigate the Nazi oocupied Poland during the height of the madness as a teenager .This lengthy memoir, a tale of youthful triumph against such huge odds, is satisfying and keeps the reader on the edge of one's seat.

A testament to the enduring human spirit

Hiding In Plain Sight: The Incredible True Story Of A German-Jewish Teenager's Struggle To Survive In Nazi-Occupied Poland is the story of Bertle Weissberger, a twelve-year-old Jewish girl who lived with her mother Ilona and sister Eva in Hindenburg, Germany when on October 28th, 1938 the Nazis began rounding up all the Jews in Hindenburg and forcibly expelled Bertel and her family into Poland. There for the next seven years Bertel learned to speak Polish, changed her appearance, used falsified documents, and lived as a young Polish woman under an assumed name in her struggle to survive the Nazi holocaust. Hiding In Plain Sight is a testament to the enduring human spirit and a welcome, highly recommended addition to the growing library of Holocaust Studies and eye-witness biographies.

A Compelling True Tale

The true story of Jewish teenager Bertel Weissberger's survival in Nazi occupied Europe. Ms. Weissberger, a German, survived the war by passing herself off as a Polish Catholic girl named Krystyna Zolkos. Her book contains many harrowing details, such as details of the Warsaw uprising and her "stroll" through downtown Berlin during the height of the war - with a defective identity document. She now lives in Vermont. I highly recommend this book.