Description:
Written by a third-generation survivor, this book provides a sober but loving account of her refugee family's extraordinary efforts against the Nazis, the survivors' remarkable ability to embrace life amid so much death.
Brief description: Laura is a lawyer and an especially proud granddaughter. Her grandparents' experiences influenced her decision to pursue a career in law. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University, where much of her coursework focused on anti-discrimination studies, and a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School. Laura spent years researching her family history, interviewing survivors, and writing The Shoemaker's Son so that her ancestors' heroic acts-and the horrors inflicted on them-are documented and preserved for future generations.
Review Quotes:
The Shoemaker's Son sheds a vital light on Jewish resistance efforts in partisan detachments, refuting the misconception that Jews were passive victims of the Nazis and their collaborators. A gripping read, it is both heart-wrenching and inspiring in recounting the heroic acts the Bakszts undertook to thwart German operations, save Jewish lives, and simply survive in Eastern Europe's forests. - Sheri Rosenblum, Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation
It is said that one dies twice. First, when you take your last breath. And second, when there is no one alive who remembers you, and who knows and tells your story. This new and breathtaking book, The Shoemaker's Son, an exquisite addition to the sacred library of testimonies about the horrors of the Holocaust and the bravery exhibited by so many during it, ensures that David Bakst and Paula Silberfarb will continue to live on through those who know, and will remember, and will retell their story of heroism and determination. The world must continue to know about who died at the hands of the Nazis, and how they died, so that we can defend against the would-be tyrants that lurk and threaten. Through this book, we can also continue to learn about who lived, and how they lived, despite the Nazis' attempt to eradicate them and the Jewish people. The Shoemaker's Son is required reading for all those who wish to remember, sacredly, and to keep the Nazis' victims alive. - Rabbi Adam Kligfeld, Senior Rabbi, Temple Beth Am, Los Angeles
As one of the last works of non-fiction sourced directly from interviews with Holocaust survivors, The Shoemaker's Son is a remarkable story of heroism, ingenuity, defiance, and survival. Through the lens of David Bakst's and Paula Silberfarb's extraordinary lives, it provides a powerful and engaging account of the destruction of two Jewish communities in Eastern Europe, Jewish resistance efforts, and the ability of survivors to rebuild in the aftermath. This is a story that must be told. - Benjamin Ferencz, Chief Prosecutor for the United States in the Einsatzgruppen Case before the Nuremberg Military Tribunal and Nazi war crimes investigator