In the Shadow of the Swastika

By Hermann Wygoda

Book Overview

He was known first as a Warsaw ghetto smuggler, then as Comandante Enrico. He traveled under false identity papers and worked at a German border patrol station. Throughout the years of the Holocaust, Hermann Wygoda lived a life of narrow escapes, daring masquerades, and battles that almost defy reason. Unique among Holocaust memoirs, In the Shadow of the Swastika, now in paperback, celebrates the memory of a man who received decorations from three Western powers and who, years later, was honored posthumously by the Italian city he helped to liberate.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0252071395
• ISBN13: 9780252071393
• Release Date: March 2003
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.86 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Interesting Read

I found this book to be an interesting and realistic tale about a very resourceful, intelligent, and daring individual who's understanding of human behavior kept him alive in very stressful situations. A controlled individual who did not let dangerous situations prevent him from manipulating the enemy and successfully survive the war. Interesting read.

Mesmerizing and important...

I met Mark Wygoda at a Yom Hashoah event last night in New Orleans. After watching his presentation on his father, Hermann Wygoda, I bought the book and read it cover-to-cover last night. Absolutely stunning and fantastical - lost in the detritus of human tragedy is often the point that adversity creates heroes of ordinary people. Hermann Wygoda was just that - a hero. This is an important story to be shared throughout the generations.

Awe Inspiring

"One of the best stories I have ever read." This is an eye witness account of an able bodied Jewish man who decided not to give up without a fight. Despite terrible personal loss he fought back, and helped many people along the way. It is extremely hard to write a review of such an unbelievable story. There don't seem to be any words to do it justice. The story tells a side of the war many people never hear about. It explains through Wygoda's experiences what the war was like for Jews from the very beginning. Why so many Jews didn't fight back, and how the Nazi's got them into those horrible death camps. I have personally thanked Hermann Wygoda's family for letting the world know him, and his unbelieveable story. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who does not believe that one man can make a difference in the world. Kelly Mallett Lowe

A Man of Indomitable Will

I would like to share what my father, Harry L. Meyer, a B-17 radio operator during WW II, recently wrote me about this book (with his permission): " In the Shadow of the Swastika" is fascinating reading about the exploits of a remarkable individual. Hermann Wygoda was a man of indomitable will who was blessed with courage, ingenuity, resilience and, by his own admission, occasional good fortune which allowed him to escape some desparate circumstances. The horrendous conditions wrought by the ruthless Nazi regime in Poland and wherever it came into power is the stuff of an appalling nightmare. For a man of his ethnic persuasion to escape the suffocating death trap the Nazis created borders on the miraculous. To do so and ultimately become a respected leader of a heroic partisan resistance movement is the material of legends. His normal disposition was not to be a warrior, for I believe by nature and cultural influence he was philosophic, altruistic and tolerant. This is manifested in his just dealings with others even in the trying and dehumanizing conditions of war. I respect him for not passively submitting to his tormentors, but opposing them with determination and fortitude, thereby helping in no small way to defeat them. When the fabric of a decent society is threatened by the forces of an unconscionable tyrrany, it is to be hoped that individuals like Hermann Wygoda will always be there to oppose them. I have always been proud of my combat service in WW II, but by reading works such as this which so graphically portray the consummate evil of a regime that operated outside the scope of human decency, I am more proud than ever to have contributed in some measure to destroy it.

Amazing true-life adventure.

If Wygoda's story wasn't documented, you wouldn't believe it. "Audacity", he said, "is a prerequisite for survival", and Wygoda had plenty. Escaping occupied Poland, actually travelling into Germany to work under the noses of the Nazis (even those who could "smell a Jew"), and eventually commanding a division of Italian partisans, the author exhibited a rare courage and determination that earned awards from three Allied nations. His story, written in later life for his children, is recommended for WWII readers, Holocaust students, and anyone else who enjoys true-life action adventures.(The "score" rating is an unfortunately ineradicable feature of the page. This reviewer does not "score" books.)