- Author: ישראל זר אביב
- Language: English
- Category: ביוגרפיה, יהדות, שואה
The German Orphan: A WW2 Historical Fiction Novel Based on a True Story
He could change his name. He could not change his past.
Frankfurt, 1939. Herman Lehrer was only eleven years old when the Nazis destroyed his orphanage on the Night of Broken Glass. An orphan since the age of six, young Herman was no stranger to the hate and cruelty of the people who, until recently, had shared his childhood landscape.
Now, young Herman—“Manny” to his friends—is left to fend for himself.
Manny knows the terrible fate that awaits Jews in Eastern Europe under the growing shadow of Nazism. As he travels from Frankfurt to occupied France, Manny learns to conceal his true identity and become whoever he needs to survive: a French POW’s long-lost son, a devout Catholic choir boy, or a German factory worker making boots for the Nazi war machine. He changes his name frequently. He never stays in the same place twice. Before long, Manny adapts to a world of lies and deception, where danger lurks at every corner—and every mistake could be his last.
Based on the true story of a Holocaust survivor, The German Orphan is an unputdownable, powerful novel of courage and strength, perfect for fans of Kristin Hannah, Ellie Midwood, and Limor Regev.