Description
′But sleep just did not come for a long time. As I lay there, I couldn′t believe that this was really happening to me. I thought to myself: no longer am I a frightened little Jew running from one place to another, expecting a bullet at anytime simply because I was born a Jew. I am now a member of a group of men who have decided to defend themselves and fight against their oppressors.′
On the eve of the liquidation of the Jews of Hrubieszow, Poland, Chaim Ajzen escaped to the forest. His entire family was murdered, as were all but a handful of his companions. After many trials he found his way into a band of Jewish partisans and later joined a Soviet partisan brigade that sabotaged German supply lines and battled Nazi forces. At war′s end he was a Red Army soldier. When he was told that he would not be discharged to return to Poland to search for his loved ones for six more years, Chaim Ajzen resolved to perform one more mission: a daring escape from the Soviet Union.
Chaim Ajzen Remembers is the powerful and moving autobiographical account of a man who found a way to fight back.
The author emigrated to Australia in 1958 and lives in Melbourne with his wife and son. He may be contacted at steelhen@optusnet.com.au
