Robert Stein

Jemp: a Life Among Castles, Collaborators, and Nazis Robert Stein

This autobiographical account vividly portrays the vulnerability of a country at war and the personal dilemmas faced by those caught in the midst of evil in a time when the Nazi regime threatened to invade and conquer Europe and beyond. Robert Jean-Pierre "Jemp" Stein, an eleven-year-old boy, must learn how to survive when the Nazis take over his family's home country of Luxembourg. Forced to join the Hitler Youth to remain in school and avoid far worse consequences, Stein outwardly exhibits his loyalty to the Nazi cause while secretly working for a patriot group. He continues his covert work by helping Allied flyers escape through France, and in a grand conclusive moment in the war, Stein sees his country liberated by General Patton's army. Jemp recounts the horrors of how war rips into the heart of a community and takes over one boy's life. At the same time, it expresses the blessings received by Jemp, an active participant in restoring peace to the region.