Overview

Through the darkness of the Holocaust: A Jewish family’s incredible survival story. A memoir 80 years in the making. How did two Polish-Jewish engineers defy the horrors of the Holocaust? Henry Reiss meticulously describes their decisions and their journey as the threats shifted with the progress of war. From the depths of discrimination in prewar Poland to the heart-wrenching choices made under Soviet and then German occupation, a world of fear, disguise, and unwavering determination in the face of danger is revealed. Their survival depended upon them engineering their own salvation. Henry’s memoir reveals how Hitler’s genocide was ignored or sometimes even facilitated because of local fear, hate, jealousy, or necessity. The relationships between Ukrainians, Poles, Jews and Russians in Galicia were clearly complex then and remain so now. Yet amidst this darkness, Henry’s appreciation for the beauty of nature and the human spirit shines through. With his gift for description, he effortlessly paints a tapestry of surroundings and emotions. The Engineers is an immersive, exciting and deeply resonant memoir.

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Reviews

Henry has written a devastating and powerful first-hand account of a remarkable life, a tale of strength and survival, of the bright light of humanity that shines through the darkest days and reminds us why it is so important to resist the forces of oppressive intolerance and discrimination, whatever the source or direction. A book of impregnable power that deserves the widest audience. -Philippe Sands, Author East West Street.
 Being a child of the Holocaust, I am very familiar with its narrative. However, rarely have I read a more riveting account of surviving the odds, as Henry Reiss's book The Engineers. The brilliant hour-by-hour suspense portrays the penultimate combination of man's will to survive and the ingenuity of finding ways to do so. It displays the brush stroke of a potential literary giant, painting the very worst of humanity, with the occasional glimpses of the very best in humanity, and the immeasurable consequences that unfold. We witness through his eyes the juxtaposition of Vienna 1988, with restaurants full of people eating, drinking, singing, and Vienna 1938... Hitler had annexed Austria, and the Viennese were celebrating the Nazis rise to power and the spilling of Jewish blood. The indomitable spirit of Henry Reiss, during the roller coaster of emotions, combined with the back drop of history keeps one enthralled at all times. -Eva Fischl OAM, President The Joint Distribution Committee (Australia). I was six years old at the outbreak of war. Henry knew me even before I was born. I remember much of what Henry tells here as my family joined the Reiss family at critical times in their survival. The Reiss' and Habers' lost almost all of their extended families in the Holocaust but it gives me joy that we remain connected. -Richard Haber, Author of Still Here.

Author Information

Henry Reiss (1907-1991), Engineer and Holocaust Survivor from Poland.

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