A powerful, moving, and very personal memoir of "dancing around death" under the Nazi regime, by the father of billionaire financier George Soros. "Life is beautiful," begins Tividar Soros in this powerful and very personal memoir. "But luck must be on your side." Nevertheless, when faced with the daunting task of protecting his family during the Nazi occupation of Hungary, Soros, the father of billionaire financier George Soros, made his own luck.
The Nazis came late to Hungary because, until early 1944, Germany and Hungary were allies. But when they did arrive, their orders were to put "the final solution" into effect with deliberate speed. Soros, a Jewish lawyer in Budapest, secured fake Christian identities for himself, his wife, and his two sons following the invasion of Hungary by the Germans on March 19, 1944. In a narrative reminiscent of the great Primo Levi, Soros recounts his experiences with a beguiling humor, deep humanity, and a wisdom that is humbling.
Soros, who had escaped a Siberian prisoner-of-war camp during the Russian revolution, was no stranger to life and death situations. In constant fear for his life as a prominent prisoners' representative in that camp, young Soros had quickly learned the value of anonymity, of becoming "invisible." This lesson served him well under German occupation, as he became the non-Jewish Elek Szabó, quietly flying below the radar of Nazi officials. The virtue of grace under pressure and the survival skills he had learned decades before allowed Soros to save not only his beloved family but many other Jews searching for the strength and resources to either continue their lives under the oppressive and deadly regime or escape to freedom.
Superbly translated by Humphrey Tonkin, Masqueradeis a unique account of how one man managed not only to survive but to retain his integrity, compassion, family unity, and humor by "dancing around death." Like Klemperer's Diary of the Nazi Years,this very personal, low-key testament of the Holocaust is a gripping depiction of "normal" daily life under the Nazis—told by a man who triumphed by leading an ordinary life under extraordinary and terrifying circumstances.
This volume also includes two moving forewords by Tivadar Soros's sons George and Paul, which offer illuminating insights into and memories of their charismatic and highly influential father.
