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Life on Both Sides of the Wall
At the age of 18, I had already lost all of the people I loved. I was not old enough to make my first communion when I lost my loving mother. My oldest sister, Agnes, at the age of eight (who had taken care of her four little siblings) followed my mother only six months later. My second oldest sister, Maria, was left to care for us at the tender age of seven. Our father struggled daily just fighting to survive, working hard to provide food during the worst depression of our times. My older brother, Bernhard, was then only four, I only 18 months, and my little sister Anna was only 7 months old at the time my mother and oldest sister passed away. Sadly, none of us really got a chance to know neither our mother nor our oldest sister; the only place they can be together or watch over us in heaven.
With the eruption of the horrible WWII in September of 1939 and the subsequent invasion of our country Poland by the Nazi army, came the unimaginable and unerbittliche (inexorable) suffering and the subsequent separation from my home and family, I gradually became aware of my true path. In fact, I have been asked many times if I was angry, disappointed, or acrimonious about what has happened to me, the answer would be, only about the fact that I did not have a chance to get to know my biological mother and my sister Agnes. The rest "je ne regrette rien," "I regret nothing."
With the eruption of the horrible WWII in September of 1939 and the subsequent invasion of our country Poland by the Nazi army, came the unimaginable and unerbittliche (inexorable) suffering and the subsequent separation from my home and family, I gradually became aware of my true path. In fact, I have been asked many times if I was angry, disappointed, or acrimonious about what has happened to me, the answer would be, only about the fact that I did not have a chance to get to know my biological mother and my sister Agnes. The rest "je ne regrette rien," "I regret nothing."
- GenresFiction
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
3 people are currently reading
50 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 9, 2021
As a WWII history buff, I found this book to be quite interesting. Whether it's a piece of fiction or a factual autobiography was beside the point to me. These incidences were someone's story and paint a vivid picture of life in Poland and Germany during the war. The book would have benefitted from professional copy editing and formatting, but the story itself was compelling.
June 29, 2025
The account is NOT from an eyewitness, rather simply a fabricated and partially plagiarized tale from a disturbed and disturbing person.
Forrest Gunther Gump loses his family to WW II (1939-45).
Forrest Gunther Gump survives the Holocaust in his native Poland (1940-43).
Forrest Gunther Gump escapes the Auschwitz extermination camp (1943).
Forrest Gunther Gump serves in the German army (1944-45).
Forrest Gunther Gump captured and survived as POW in Russia (1945).
Forrest Gunther Gump outsmarts the KGB torture (1945-46).
Forrest Gunther Gump escapes from Siberia (1946).
Forrest Gunther Gump endures Cold War spies (1947-48).
Forrest Gunther Gump escapes the Berlin Wall between East Berlin and West Berlin (1948) before the Wall is built (1961).
Forrest Gunther Gump overcomes all adversity then learns culinary arts in Switzerland (1950-58).
Forrest Gunther Gump enters USA and joins White House staff (1961).
Forrest Gunther Gump becomes kitchen chef for President Lyndon Johnson (1963-69).
Forrest Gunther Gump nominates himself to traveling motivational public speaker (1995).
Forrest Gunther Gump promotes self to famous author with biography (2006).
Reality: A semi-literate fraud attempts to elevate himself to the status of a celebrity.
His faux inspirational "Never stop trying" should read "Never stop LYING."
The author's grade school-level writing style is deplorable.
There are myriad grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors in both English and German.
The entire book desperately needs proofreading and editing.
No legitimate publisher would even consider printing such trash.
Are there undiagnosed psychological issues with the author of this nauseating morass?
The title itself defines the dreadful nature of the book.
The Berlin Wall was erected in 1961.
By his own account, author Gunther Skaletz was already in the US at that time.
He was never on Both Sides of the Wall!
Fact Check exposes FRAUD:
1) There is no record of Mr. Skaletz in the Shoah Foundation database of Holocaust survivors:
https://sfi.usc.edu/vha
2) The Jewish Claims Conference, New York, has no record of Gunther Skaletz as a Holocaust survivor: 1-646-536-9100
3) There is no record of any Holocaust survivor or victim named Gunther Skaletz in the Yad Vashem Archive, Jerusalem:
https://yvng.yadvashem.org/
4) Skaletz cites he was in Auschwitz, yet the database of inmates at Auschwitz has no Gunther Skaletz.
https://www.auschwitz.org/en/museum/a...
5) Skaletz has no ID number tattoo on his left arm from Auschwitz.
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/conten...
6) There is no record of Gunther Skaletz in the extensive Holocaust archive, Bad Arolsen, Germany:
https://collections.arolsen-archives....
7) The German military archives in Freiburg and Berlin have no record of Gunther Skaletz serving in the German army from April 1944 to April 1945:
https://www.bundesarchiv.de
8) The German Agency of the Federal Commissioner for the Records from the former East German State Secret Police (Stasi), has no record of any Gunther Skaletz in East Berlin.
There is no record of Skaletz living anywhere at any time in East Germany (GDR).
https://www.bstu.de/en/
9) There is no reference to Gunther Skaletz in the Lyndon Johnson presidential library, Austin, Texas.
The complete lack of any reference to a chef or an employee "Gunther Skaletz" exposes the lie that he worked for LBJ.
http://www.lbjlibrary.org/
The well-organized archival material there includes White House Central File, Name File, White House Social Files, Office Files of Macy.
10) May 2010 Skaletz was exposed as a fraud by the Marshfield News Herald, Wisconsin.
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/62547...
11) Gunther's younger sister Anna G., Berlin, Germany, refutes his presentation as a complete fiction.
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/62547...
https://www.islam-radio.net/historia/...
12) Gunther's daughter Anne H., Missouri, renounces his story:
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/62547...
https://www.islam-radio.net/historia/...
13) Circa 2013, Skaletz fled his home in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and now resides in Lake Ozark, Missouri, where he still parades his pompous person to the gullible public: https://vimeo.com/263002665
https://www.lakeexpo.com/calendar/upc...
14) One YouTube interview may reflect the nature of mental health issues with Skaletz. BDS Productions, Chapman, Kansas:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cT5wu...
The bizarre body language with lack of eye contact displayed here may indicate an undiagnosed neurological impasse.
15) Mr. Skaletz would do well to read legitimate accounts from child Holocaust survivors.
Ragdolls by the late Henry Golde
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...?
The Boys by historian Martin Gilbert
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...?
However, with his present example of plausible mental health issues, Skaletz may simply add these histories to the bizarre account of his own fabricated biography.
16) Two plagiarized sources of information for Skaletz's vomited fiction are I Escaped from Auschwitz and As Far as My Feet Will Carry Me: The Extraordinary True Story of One Man's Escape from a Siberian Labour Camp and His 3-Year Trek to Freedom.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 11, 2022
A utterly fabricated book … the one star rating is actually a negative rating … the so called published author for lack of a better description of him , plagiarized sections out of a book called ; As Far As My Feet Will Carry Me / Clemons that was made into a movie back in 2001. The entire plot of the plagiarized book , the so called author used to exploit his fabricated ESCAPE from so called KGB … it’s laughable .. The entire time line is incorrect… after interviewing his sister in Berlin , Germany who mot only was with him during the entire war , but, made sure that she washed his cloths , darned his socks as they both worked for the same employment. There are photos of him in a Tuxedo in 1943 !!!! In 1945 both him and his sister were sent to the city of Gentin they were only apart for 6 months , and reconnected in 1946 in the city of Berlin . He worked as a waiter in a restaurant/ hotel with a KINO ( movie theater) and she at a butcher shop, located in Hohen-Neuendorf , which is north of Berlin . He took a train to work . His brother in law was with Anni ( sister ) in 1947 and she was given permission from the landlord to have her brother stay with her , she gave him her FOOD STAMP war bonds aka meant for food … there he met his FIRST wife Annelise who also stayed with his sister … Anni also gave him her BROTMARKEN to help her brother overcome a few bad months ! His sisters husband to be actually met Gunther in 1947 -1948winter in the city of Hohen - Neuendorf . He moved suddenly to Helmstedt because Anneliese was pregnant and they married in the summer of 1948 and Gunther’s first SON was born 7-21-1948!
They divorced in 1953 , he sold their small home in Helmstedt and moved to Frankfurt a/ main in Germany where he worked as a waiter at Frankfurter/ Hoff . He met his second wife in 1954 , engaged in 1955 and married in January 1956 and his second child / a daughter was born 7-1956 . He immigrated with the help of his second wife because she was a German citizen and could proof who she was with all documents , whereas Gunther could not provide ANY DOCUMENTATION! So his second wife , in order to immigrate to the USA , HAD to accompany him and set foot on American soil so his AMERICAN SPONSOR had assurances on who he was actually sponsoring. That was in NJ at Mr Rebers invitation at his Resort in Berrville NJ . That was in 1962 . In 1963 he returned and the family immigrated to the USA in 1964 back to Berryville NJ . In 1964 , the family moved to Austin, TX 1965 to Arlington TX., 1968 to San Antonio TX, 1975 OKC , 1974 his second child ( daughter ) had moved out started to show high end show horses and eventually started her own horse breeding farm , winning on a National level . Gunther didn’t see her again for 48 years , he showed no interest whatsoever in her accomplishments! 1977 to Osage Beach , His second wife DIVORCED him…
He moved to Omaha Nebraska 1978 , 1980 to Oshkosh WI , from there to Milwaukee, onto to Two Rivers WI , remarried his third wife and started to promote this false narrative of complete and udder CRAP! moved to lake Ozark in 2013 . The Dept of INS was questioning his family members on the validity of his fabricated book …
They divorced in 1953 , he sold their small home in Helmstedt and moved to Frankfurt a/ main in Germany where he worked as a waiter at Frankfurter/ Hoff . He met his second wife in 1954 , engaged in 1955 and married in January 1956 and his second child / a daughter was born 7-1956 . He immigrated with the help of his second wife because she was a German citizen and could proof who she was with all documents , whereas Gunther could not provide ANY DOCUMENTATION! So his second wife , in order to immigrate to the USA , HAD to accompany him and set foot on American soil so his AMERICAN SPONSOR had assurances on who he was actually sponsoring. That was in NJ at Mr Rebers invitation at his Resort in Berrville NJ . That was in 1962 . In 1963 he returned and the family immigrated to the USA in 1964 back to Berryville NJ . In 1964 , the family moved to Austin, TX 1965 to Arlington TX., 1968 to San Antonio TX, 1975 OKC , 1974 his second child ( daughter ) had moved out started to show high end show horses and eventually started her own horse breeding farm , winning on a National level . Gunther didn’t see her again for 48 years , he showed no interest whatsoever in her accomplishments! 1977 to Osage Beach , His second wife DIVORCED him…
He moved to Omaha Nebraska 1978 , 1980 to Oshkosh WI , from there to Milwaukee, onto to Two Rivers WI , remarried his third wife and started to promote this false narrative of complete and udder CRAP! moved to lake Ozark in 2013 . The Dept of INS was questioning his family members on the validity of his fabricated book …
March 10, 2011
I very much enjoyed this book. The history covered was interesting to me. His story of survival and the need for freedom moved me. The writing itself was not award winning, but the story was. I am sure many other people involved in that terror could also tell you their stories, but most have not choosen to do so. Freedom is something one should never take for granted.
June 21, 2018
Knowing the author personally, this was an incredibly interesting book to go through. The story itself is absolutely amazing. Although the writing itself gets a little repetitive at times, Gunther's story is one for the ages. Truly remarkable that he was able to make it through all he did.
January 10, 2024
The book desperately needs proofreading and editing.
There are numerous grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors.
The author's usage of both English and German is deplorable.
The author has self-published this nauseating morass because no legitimate publisher would even consider standing behind such fictitious self-promotion.
Mr. Skaletz may have experienced WW II as an adolescent, but the account is NOT legitimate, rather simply a fabricated tale.
Major discrepancies:
1) There is no record of Mr. Skaletz in the Shoah Foundation database of Holocaust survivors:
https://sfi.usc.edu/vha
2) The Jewish Claims Conference, New York, has no record of Gunther Skaletz as a Holocaust survivor: 1-646-536-9100
3) There is no record of any Holocaust survivor or victim named Skaletz in the Yad Vashem Archive, Jerusalem:
https://yvng.yadvashem.org/
4) Skaletz cites he was in Auschwitz, yet he has no ID number tattoo on his left arm.
5) There is no record of Gunther Skaletz in the database of Auschwitz inmates.
https://www.auschwitz.org/en/museum/a...
6) There is no record of Gunther Skaletz in the extensive Holocaust archive, Bad Arolsen, Germany:
https://collections.arolsen-archives....
7) The German military archives in Freiburg and Berlin have no record of Gunther Skaletz serving in the German army from April 1944 to April 1945:
https://www.bundesarchiv.de
8) The German Agency of the Federal Commissioner for the Records from the former East German Secret Police, has no record of any Gunther Skaletz ever having lived in East Berlin nor in East Germany (GDR).
https://www.bstu.de/en/
9) There is no reference to Gunther Skaletz in the Lyndon Johnson presidential library, Austin, Texas.
The archival material there includes White House Central File, Name File, White House Social Files, Office Files of Macy.
http://www.lbjlibrary.org/
The complete lack of any reference to a chef Gunther Skaletz exposes the lie that he worked for LBJ.
10) May 2010 Skaletz was exposed as a fraud by the Marshfield News Herald, Wisconsin.
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/62547...
11) Gunther's younger sister Anna G., Berlin, Germany, refutes his presentation as a complete fiction
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/62547...
12) Gunther's daughter Anne H., Missouri, renounces his story:
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/62547...
13) Skaletz fled his former home in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and now resides in Lake Ozark, Missouri, where he still parades his pompous person to the gullible public: https://vimeo.com/263002665
14) One YouTube interview may reflect the nature of mental health issues with Skaletz.
BDS Productions, Chapman, Kansas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cT5wu...
The bizarre body language with lack of eye contact displayed here is an example of an undiagnosed neurological impasse.
15) Mr. Skaletz would do well to read legitimate accounts from child Holocaust survivors.
But then, Skaletz may simply add these histories to the bizarre fiction of his own fabricated account.
Ragdolls by the late Henry Golde
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...?
The Boys by historian Martin Gilbert
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...?
There are numerous grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors.
The author's usage of both English and German is deplorable.
The author has self-published this nauseating morass because no legitimate publisher would even consider standing behind such fictitious self-promotion.
Mr. Skaletz may have experienced WW II as an adolescent, but the account is NOT legitimate, rather simply a fabricated tale.
Major discrepancies:
1) There is no record of Mr. Skaletz in the Shoah Foundation database of Holocaust survivors:
https://sfi.usc.edu/vha
2) The Jewish Claims Conference, New York, has no record of Gunther Skaletz as a Holocaust survivor: 1-646-536-9100
3) There is no record of any Holocaust survivor or victim named Skaletz in the Yad Vashem Archive, Jerusalem:
https://yvng.yadvashem.org/
4) Skaletz cites he was in Auschwitz, yet he has no ID number tattoo on his left arm.
5) There is no record of Gunther Skaletz in the database of Auschwitz inmates.
https://www.auschwitz.org/en/museum/a...
6) There is no record of Gunther Skaletz in the extensive Holocaust archive, Bad Arolsen, Germany:
https://collections.arolsen-archives....
7) The German military archives in Freiburg and Berlin have no record of Gunther Skaletz serving in the German army from April 1944 to April 1945:
https://www.bundesarchiv.de
8) The German Agency of the Federal Commissioner for the Records from the former East German Secret Police, has no record of any Gunther Skaletz ever having lived in East Berlin nor in East Germany (GDR).
https://www.bstu.de/en/
9) There is no reference to Gunther Skaletz in the Lyndon Johnson presidential library, Austin, Texas.
The archival material there includes White House Central File, Name File, White House Social Files, Office Files of Macy.
http://www.lbjlibrary.org/
The complete lack of any reference to a chef Gunther Skaletz exposes the lie that he worked for LBJ.
10) May 2010 Skaletz was exposed as a fraud by the Marshfield News Herald, Wisconsin.
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/62547...
11) Gunther's younger sister Anna G., Berlin, Germany, refutes his presentation as a complete fiction
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/62547...
12) Gunther's daughter Anne H., Missouri, renounces his story:
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/62547...
13) Skaletz fled his former home in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and now resides in Lake Ozark, Missouri, where he still parades his pompous person to the gullible public: https://vimeo.com/263002665
14) One YouTube interview may reflect the nature of mental health issues with Skaletz.
BDS Productions, Chapman, Kansas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cT5wu...
The bizarre body language with lack of eye contact displayed here is an example of an undiagnosed neurological impasse.
15) Mr. Skaletz would do well to read legitimate accounts from child Holocaust survivors.
But then, Skaletz may simply add these histories to the bizarre fiction of his own fabricated account.
Ragdolls by the late Henry Golde
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...?
The Boys by historian Martin Gilbert
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 29, 2013
Not the best of writers, but the story was incredible. I can't image anyone surviving such adverse conditions.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews