Overview

Benzion Malik was on a path of discovery. He was keen to learn about everything in life through the teachings of his faith and only something cataclysmic could throw him off this course. In 1939, the 21-year-old Benzion was called up to the Romanian Army. Little did he know that he would not be a free man until 1945. During six long years, Benzion served in three further armies. He was forced into hard labor and was constantly abused because of his Jewishness by the Hungarian army. He was then made to serve the German army which simply needed disposable bodies to be targets for Soviet bullets. Finally, the Soviet army needed young men like Benzion to help with the effort to fight the Nazis. None of these acts of service and servitude were easy. Benzion was in a continuous dance with death but clung to life through the goodness of strangers. When WWII was over, Benzion had to make the 2,600-kilometer walk home and narrowly escaped being poisoned to death by mushroom soup. At home he was confronted with the ruins of his family, community, and people. Yet, he was not defeated. Lovingly written by his grandson, this book provides an account of a man’s resilience to not give up on the world after extreme destruction, but instead to help rebuild a community and practice Tikkun Olam - Repairing of the World - by believing in cosmic justice and leaving an imprint on his family, friends, and strangers for generations.

Full Product Details

9789493276475

Table of Contents

Reviews

There are jaw-dropping moments (no spoilers here) in Martin Bodek's multi-layered tribute to his grandfather, the kind of stories that become mythic. Zaidy's War begins with an easy-to-read, almost breezy account of a terrifying time, informed by the author's youthful admiration of his grandfather's WW2 experiences coupled with an adult understanding of what it actually meant. Included here are chilling details of a Nazi killing center gleaned from the first-hand accounts by other family members. When the narrative abruptly ends, about halfway through the book, I admit initial disappointment. What follows are transcripts of interviews with Zaidy that, surprisingly, I found fascinating. Hearing Zaidy (Benzion) in his own voice gave me a deeper understanding of his character, the nature of being a Hasidic Jew, and the work it takes to transform the wandering recollections of an elderly person into a cogent narrative. Later charts and lineages are easy to ignore, but don't. When you realize that the author's 10th great-grandfather is the Ba'al Shem Tov, a Jewish mystic and healer regarded as the founder of Hasidic Judaism, you recognize the heft of Bodek's heritage. - Bettie Denny This is an amazing story of survival, determination and resilience!! A must read for everyone 💪🏻💪🏻 Kudos Martin on an amazing recall of your Zaidy's life. - David Mishler Martin Bodek has written an unusual and heartwarming tribute to his beloved Zaidy, his maternal grandfather, Benzion Malik. This cleverly constructed account of Zaidy's unlikely survival during six long years of war is well structured and absorbing. The first part is a chronologically consistent biography of Zaidy's extraordinary journey from his call up in 1939 to the Romanian army, his subsequent pressed service into slave labour for the Hungarian and German forces and finally conscription into Soviet forces until the end of WWII. Chronicling the horrors of war and the many personal losses Zaidy suffered is just the first part of the story. The tale is leant authenticity in the next section detailing the transcripts of several interviews the author conducted with his grandfather in old age. The consistency of an old man's failing memory, prompted by his daughter and grandson serves to underscore the accuracy of Martin Bodek's account. Finally, the appendices bring to life the extended family and their tribulations in the notorious Nazi death camps. The book highlights triumph of the human spirit and the life of a remarkable man who survived to live an honorable life of decency and to raise a large, faithful and loving family. Absorbing and well worth reading. - Helen J. Mays

Author Information

Martin Bodek was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He currently lives in New Jersey with his wife and three children. He is an avid marathoner, Daf Yomi participant, Wordler, vexillologist, and halvah aficionado. He is a technologist by day, and a writer by night.
He has been writing freelance for over two decades, mostly on Jewish interest topics. He is the co-creator of a popular Jewish news satire website called TheKnish.com. His work has been published in The Huffington Post, The Denver Post, The Washington Times, The Jewish Press, Country Yossi Magazine, Modern Magazine, The Jewish Link of NJ, The Jewish Book Council, bangitout.com, scoogiespin.com, jewcentral.com, and israelinsider.com. His work has also been translated for Germany's only weekly Jewish newspaper, The Jüdische Allgemeine. He has served as the beat reporter for JRunnersClub.org and as the surname columnist for jewishworldreview.com. 
The Emoji Haggadah, The Festivus Haggadah, The Coronavirus Haggadah, and The Shakespeare Haggadah generated much praise and media attention, and were covered in The Jewish Week, The Jewish Link of NJ, Jewish Vues, Vos Iz Neias, Jewish Book Council, NorthJersey.com, The Forward, Jewish Journal, J-Wire, Vox, The Jewish Press, The Jewish Fund, The Jerusalem Post, The Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Jüdische Allgemeine, Moked, various blogs, eater.com, nj1015.com, New York Shakespeare Instagram Live, The Cindy Grosz Show, and The New York Times. This is his eleventh book.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available