Brothers on the run: Fleeing Hitler, fighting Franco, by Pat Lorraine Simons

Our book club selected this title partly because the local author is a friend of one of our members.  It was a great pleasure to have Pat Simons attend our meeting and join the discussion.  The author’s father and uncle are the two Jewish brothers who are forced to leave their home in Germany in 1933 as Hitler begins to come to power.  Written in a colloquial tone, the book give you the feeling that you are sitting around a fireside listening to Gottfried and Rudolf, now Freddy and Rudy and in their eighties, reminisce about the several years it took them to finally reach America.  They are young – the eldest had just turned 20 when they flee – and although the book has many disturbing parts, there is also a sense of adventure as the two make their way through Switzerland, France, Spain, Cuba and Mexico. It is not a typical Holocaust memoir as they, and most of their extended family, successfully escape Europe before the very worst of the Hitler era.  As such, it gives an alternative picture of that time.  I recommend it and think that inviting Pat Simons (who, herself, has had and interesting life as a lawyer, author, and the founder of ReadyReaders) to speak at the library would be a great program.  She is very knowledgeable about the entire era.  350 pp.