Ben Samuels

Master of Secrets Ben Samuels

This inspirational true story of bravery and resilience is derived from interviews with Holocaust survivor John Saunders -- a staggering tale of one child surviving the war through wit and guile with dreams of emigrating to America. Born in Stanislawów, Poland as a Jewish boy with blonde hair and blue eyes, John is warned by his father to keep his secrets, or he will become a slave to them. Pretending to be Christian, John fools first the Soviets, then the Ukrainians and Nazis, as they force his family into the ghetto and then on to Pawiak Prison and the concentration camps. Always one step ahead of the Nazis, John comes of age carrying his secrets, outfoxing his captors as he escapes Auschwitz-Birkenau, making eccentric allies and evading the horrors around him. With a child's charmed resolve, he survives the war, only to set out alone on the hardest journey of his life: emigration to the United States, and the path to citizenship. An immersive retelling in first-person, present tense, John's story grows up with him. Emotional and ultimately uplifting, MASTER OF SECRETS is equally suited for a new generation of readers first discovering the Holocaust and those looking to expand their understanding further. MASTER OF SECRETS is a testament to the power of children to survive the impossible with dreams of the future.