In the Shadow of the Swastika

by Hermann Wygoda

The author, who passed as a Gentile throughout the war, shares wartime observations and describes his experiences with the Italian resistance movement

Genres: History, Memoir, Jewish

167 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Christine]

Hermann Wygoda has one of the most amazing stories of survival I've ever read. This is certainly a hidden gem of a book. Thanks to my good friend Heather for lending me this because it's not a something widely in print. This is an account of WWII that Hermann wrote to document events. It wasn't meant to be a book or published so it is a very dry read. Very powerful.

Grade: 4/5

[Sue]

A friend knew one of the author's children, & she recommended the book to me.

Fascinating memoir of a Polish Jew whose physical appearance & German fluency let him pass as a "Volksdeutsche" (ethnic German). He survived the war, first going TO Germany & working there, then ending up in Italy & leading partisans against the Nazis! An almost unbelievable story, but it is independently documented. The author kept detailed notes during the events; many years later, living in the USA, he translated them into English for this extremely well-written book.

[Sheryl Rose]

Hermann Wygoda lived in Chattanooga and one of his daughters was in my Sunday school class. We had no idea that he was a partisan during WWII. He kept a journal during the war and, at some point translated it into English. The book relates not only what happened, but how he felt. If I hadn't known it was true, I would never have believed it. He was an amazing man and the book tells an amazing story of courage, intelligence, and ingenuity.

[Freyja Vanadis]

Well-written book about a Polish Jew's escape from Poland, eventually ending up fighting as a partisan in Italy.