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Book SynopsisThe Boy Who Lost His Birthday is the uplifting story of one man''s journey from boyhood in rural Hungary to triumph over oppression during the Holocaust and finally to a role as a spiritual leader in America. Rabbi Laszlo Berkowits'' compelling memoir recounts his happy childhood memories in Derecske, Hungary where he was a member of a thriving Jewish community and aspired to become a cantor. Stricken with wartime poverty, Berkowits and his father left their home and family behind to seek work in Budapest. It was there that they were rounded up with other Budapest Jews and shipped by sealed train to Auschwitz in the summer of 1944. Berkowits vividly narrates his treacherous experience as a sixteen year-old boy surviving in the notorious Nazi concentration camp until its liberation by American troops. After recovery in Sweden, Berkowits immigrated to America were he completed his education, joined the United States Army, and became a chaplain''s assistant. After leaving the Army, he u
Trade ReviewLaszlo Berkowits' story is compelling, his narrative moving. . . . He does not exalt in his survival, but the reader must exalt in what Berkowits has done with his survival. He made his witness an offering and this work is testimony to the grace of the offering. -- Michael Berenbaum, director, Sigi Ziering Institute, American Jewish University
Laszlo Berkowits' life, his song, and this memoir remind us that there is a path to harmony that can bind the old and the new, the traditional and the modern, Orthodoxy and Reform, even Derecske and Washington. The voice of Laszlo Berkowits, though tinged with past sadness, resonates with hope for the future. -- Paul A. Shapiro, Director, Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
This is a marvelous tale of the deepest tragedy and the slow climb back to a full, meaningful life. I've long known that Laszlo Berkowits was a marvelous man and a rather ideal rabbi but just learned here that he's a masterful story-teller. -- Ambassador Ken Adelman, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations; Arms Control Director in the Reagan Administration
Table of ContentsChapter 1 Acknowledgements Chapter 2 Introduction Chapter 3 Preface Chapter 4 Chapter 1: My World Chapter 5 Chapter 2: Our Jewish Community Chapter 6 Chapter 3: The World Changed Chapter 7 Chapter 4: Budapest Chapter 8 Chapter 5: Arrest and Deportation Chapter 9 Chapter 6: Arrival Chapter 10 Chapter 7: Auschwitz-Birkenau Chapter 11 Chapter 8: After Chapter 12 Chapter 9: Toward Recovery Chapter 13 Chapter 10: A New Life Chapter 14 References
