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The Secret Alliance: The Extraordinary Story of the Rescue of the Jews since World War II
The story of the secret intelligence network set up to organize illegal immigration operations, which made possible, argues Szulc, the birth of Israel. Based on previously confidential archives, extensive interviews, and private correspondence, The Secret Alliance uncovers the blood-for-money deals with Eichmann, Ceaucescu and Saddam Hussein; secret arms purchases; and the heroic efforts of heroic underground operatives who rescued more than two million Jews after Worl War II.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 1991
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About the author
Tad Szulc
32 books10 followersTadeusz Witold Szulc was an author and foreign correspondent for The New York Times from 1953 to 1972
Szulc is credited with breaking the story of the Bay of Pigs invasion.
Szulc was born in Warsaw, Poland, the son of Seweryn and Janina Baruch Szulc.
He attended Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland.
In 1940 he emigrated from Poland to join his family in Brazil; it had left Poland in the mid-1930s.
In Brazil, he studied at the University of Brazil, but in 1945, he abandoned his studies to work as a reporter for the Associated Press in Rio de Janeiro.
In 1947 he moved from Brazil to New York City, and in 1954, he became a US citizen.
His emigration had been sponsored by United States Ambassador John Cooper Wiley, who was married to his aunt.
In 2001, Szulc died of cancer at his home, in Washington, D.C.
Szulc is credited with breaking the story of the Bay of Pigs invasion.
Szulc was born in Warsaw, Poland, the son of Seweryn and Janina Baruch Szulc.
He attended Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland.
In 1940 he emigrated from Poland to join his family in Brazil; it had left Poland in the mid-1930s.
In Brazil, he studied at the University of Brazil, but in 1945, he abandoned his studies to work as a reporter for the Associated Press in Rio de Janeiro.
In 1947 he moved from Brazil to New York City, and in 1954, he became a US citizen.
His emigration had been sponsored by United States Ambassador John Cooper Wiley, who was married to his aunt.
In 2001, Szulc died of cancer at his home, in Washington, D.C.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 10, 2014
It hints at many stories but doesn't focus on any, this is the greatest minus. A very informative account of how secret intelligence networks and the Mossad set in motion operations to rescue more than 2 million Jews from Eastern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East after WWII.
The narrative becomes a little tedious at some points because of the many protagonists and their stories getting mixed up and not stopping to deal in full with any particular one. However, there are now and then some pearls of information, little details of a few lines that are worth the whole book. But these stories of true and anonymous heroism deserve a full book by themselves. Numbers, data, don't reach the heart. It's not the same to say "2 thousand people died yesterday" than to say "Jim Jones died yesterday".
It really makes you feel frustrated to get only a glimpse at the lives of these great men and women who dedicated themselves to saving others. Or not to know more about things for example: the Costa Rican consul in France who in 1947 traded with the lives of thousands of Jews (Displaced Persons) selling visa stamps at five dollars each, getting rich on account of the Holocaust. The story is just dropped as passing by.
The narrative becomes a little tedious at some points because of the many protagonists and their stories getting mixed up and not stopping to deal in full with any particular one. However, there are now and then some pearls of information, little details of a few lines that are worth the whole book. But these stories of true and anonymous heroism deserve a full book by themselves. Numbers, data, don't reach the heart. It's not the same to say "2 thousand people died yesterday" than to say "Jim Jones died yesterday".
It really makes you feel frustrated to get only a glimpse at the lives of these great men and women who dedicated themselves to saving others. Or not to know more about things for example: the Costa Rican consul in France who in 1947 traded with the lives of thousands of Jews (Displaced Persons) selling visa stamps at five dollars each, getting rich on account of the Holocaust. The story is just dropped as passing by.
Displaying 1 of 1 review