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The Fields of Ukraine: A 17-Year-Old's Survival of Nazi Occupation

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Average Customer Rating:	4.5
Release Date:	2010-05-12
Brand:	Dallci Press
Author	Haim Tal
Format:	Kindle Book
Language:	Unknown: English; Published: English;

Product Categories

Jewish; Memoirs; Eastern; Poland; Ukraine; Kindle Books; Memoirs; Eastern; Holocaust

Product description

Yosef Laufer is just 17 years old when war breaks out in Eastern Europe in 1941. With his father, he barely escapes deportation to Belzec, a Nazi death camp, and for two long years they forge a precarious existence in the fields and woods outside of their village of Zurawno. Faced with the constant threat of discovery by both the occupying troops and the local townspeople, Yosef’s gripping ordeal – told in his own words – becomes an amazing narrative of the intense will to survive and the power of the human spirit, where every single day of life outside of the camps stands as a victory against the Nazis. This true eyewitness story leaves an indelible impression long after the last page is read.

"The Fields of Ukraine shows movingly how a Jewish father and his teenage son survived the horrors of the Holocaust by relying on their mutual courage, sacrifice and love. This book deserves a wide readership." - Nechama Tec, Ph.D., Holocaust scholar and Professor Emerita at the University of Connecticut, author of eight books including Defiance, now a major motion picture.

Customer reviews

« A Compelling and Inspirational True Story »

The Fields of Ukraine is a vivid glimpse into the real life of a young man and his father as they battled hatred, fear, their own and others' fear of them, and the elements, to survive the Nazi invasion of their village and the surrounding areas. As most of their family and friends disappeared or were killed, Josef Laufer and his father overcame their own terrifying reality and left us with a memoir that is a most compelling tale of the sheer will to survive under the worst of circumstances. It is a story of unbearable hardship and, at the same time, a story of sheer determination and a deep love between father and son. This book will stand as an inspiration to those who struggle to survive and to overcome, even in the face of overwhelming challenges.

This book includes enough historical and photographic data to help the reader get a good feel for the very real people and places depicted in this nightmare. For a little book, it packs a huge wallop!

Rating: (5 out of 5) @ 2010-06-25

« A gripping story of surviving the Holocaust »

After escaping a ghetto in Eastern Galicia, and avoiding deportation to a death camp, the teenager Yosef Laufer spent over a year in hiding with his father in the forest. They begged and pilfered potatoes and whatever else they could scrounge from the fields or from obliging and not-so-obliging Polish neighbors. They survived one winter in a hole in the ground, covered by a roof of forest materials, with stores of potatoes and sugar beets. Two Polish neighbors, and one in particular, showed great kindness over an extended period of time until the Nazis permanently retreated in the summer of `44.

Laufer's story is harrowing and remarkable. It's a cliche to speak of a "triumph of the human spirit," but that is exactly what it was. He goes into detail on how his father helped sustain them spiritually, observing Jewish holidays and traditions as best they could, and reinforcing their will to endure.

Yosef Laufer went on to Palestine and to fight in the 1948 war for Israel's independence, serving under the command of Yitzhak Rabin. He became a baker, had a family, and passed away in February, 2009. The Fields of Ukraine is the English version of a book written by Haim Tal in Hebrew, originally published in Israel in 1993. Appropriately, Tal wrote the book in Laufer's narrative voice. (Sadly, Mr. Tal passed away just as this translation was coming out.)

Rating: (4 out of 5) @ 2010-05-26

« Unusual Holocaust story through the eyes of a 17 year old »

The Fields of Ukraine is a true story, an amazing story, about a boy named Yosef Laufer, who lived in a small Galician village (Zurawno) in the Ukraine during the years leading up toand including WWII. There is a short historical prologue that provides valuable background information, and then the story begins on June 22, 1941, the day that Russia and Germany went to war, leading to a long period of German occupation, and persecution of the Jews by both the Germans and the Ukrainian nationalists.

I don't want to give away the story but suffice to say that Yosef, at 17 years of age, makes what is essentially an extremely difficult life-or-death choice. I found myself wondering how many of us would be able to make that decision. What ensues is an amazing story of personal survival and perseverance.

There are a couple things that I think made this book a very interesting read. First, the author pays a lot of attention to the details. Names, dates, places and historical background gives the reader enough context to understand the people and the locale, and to paint an extremely vivid picture. There are also some old photos - a nice extra, especially in a Kindle version. You really feel like you are "on the ground" with Yosef, witnessing things through his eyes.

Secondly, even though it is almost beyond belief to realize the horrific things done by the Nazis and many of the Ukrainians, I found hope in the message that there are people who see evil for what it is and aren't afraid to do what is morally right. As I write this, remembering those individuals in the book, it still affects me emotionally.

Finally, this book really shines in one very important area and that is that Yosef is not afraid to talk about how events, large and small, affected his family and neighbors, and how it made him feel. He provides his own perspective and talks about his own despair and hope. By the end of the book you feel like you know Yosef very well. It also makes it very easy to try to imagine if you could have done what he did.

In my opinion the content would be appropriate for mature tweens, teens of any age, and adults. I recommend this book for anyone looking for an unusual story about the Holocaust that is very moving and thought provoking.