W. F. Aspenwall

Y: a Holocaust Narrative W. F. Aspenwall

Auschwitz/Birkenau, Kaufering, Dachau ... In 1945, Yacob (Jack) Adler was sixteen years old-the average age of an American high school student-yet weighed only sixty-five pounds and could barely stand. Stories of the Holocaust have been told numerous times, but Jack's candid narrative and firsthand account take us deep into the psyche of Nazi foot soldiers, their brutality, [add the Oxford comma here] and insatiable appetite for the vicious treatment of innocent citizens. Jack was only a boy when Nazi soldiers occupied his home of Pabianice, Poland. Plunged into a world of extremism, he witnessed the death and decay of humanity while enduring the tortures of concentration camps. Blending narrative with heartbreaking description, Jack watches hopelessly as his youngest sister is led to her death. "Peska turned one last time. We locked eyes...her blonde hair fell over her face as she twisted to see me. Her beautiful, full eyes should never have been consumed by that much fear. She turned back when the woman behind her pushed, and then they all moved on to the gas chambers." How can a man lose his entire family to Nazi slaughter but still have hope for the human race? As Jack crosses an ocean and begins his journey of self-resurrection from soulless slave to freed American citizen, you will learn of one man's survival and his determination to liberate himself and others of bigotry and hatred. His is not only riposte to Holocaust deniers but more importantly an articulate story of the will to survive, overcome, forgive, and enlighten those still affixed to the yoke of prejudice. Y: A Holocaust Narrative is Jack's personal and honest portrayal of compelling events from his childhood and beyond. Spirited recollections archived in the memory of a man now eighty-three years old who still grapples with the question, "Why", come to the fore. Jack takes on the hatred, racism, bigotry, and misused religious beliefs-all precursors to the Holocaust-by addressing them directly and challenging his readers to analyze their own beliefs.