It is never easy to read about the horrors that the German Jewish population had to endure to survive.  I was particularly impressed with the actions of Walter and his family, especially their daughter.  To be so bold as to fight for a position with the Reich and then to move his family to Austria for that position, it was like hiding in plain sight.  Then he had to fight for Austrian citizenship.  This was a man that genuinely loved his country, but not what Hitler had done to it.  Being Jewish will always have its problems, as will Italians, Irish, Native Americans, many other races, and religious preferences but not the same thing that Hitler wanted to do with eradication.  To completely destroy and rid the country of anyone, no matter their status was completely unbelievable.  But he tried, and those that survived those horrors of the camps, and their individual experiences need to tell the world about this time in their lives so that we don’t let it happen again. I believe in my heart that every person alive should read these books because that history is fading from the memory of the population.  You will learn from these books, not just the horrors of what happened, but the pride, determination, ingenuity, and perseverance that it takes to survive.  Some of those like Walter were fortunate in that he found a way to get his family to Austria, not that they were safe there, far from it!  But, through his efforts, they did survive, and we read today just how he managed it.  This is told from Walter’s diary by his nephew, giving us a look at everyday tasks, plus the difficulties that he faced in their daily lives.  A very emotional read that needs to be shared less we forget.

I enjoyed this book a lot. Very detailed. Truly an inspiration for people of all persuasions.

The story of Walter Leopold and his family is truly an amazing one. Standing out among Holocaust stories, perhaps because so few of his fellow Jews escaped the way he did, this book accounts for how Mr. Leopold managed to evade deportation and pass for an Aryan long enough to see Hitler’s and the Nazi regime’s downfall in Germany/Austria. And his small family survived with him. Walter Leopold was a German Jew living in Leipzig; becoming a war hero during WWI. He lived through the difficult times of the pre-WWII Nazi regime and when the war broke out, found himself an employee at the Leipzig Jewish Community office. There Walter witnessed how colleagues could turn against each other under the pressure caused by the deportations to the East. Finally, when he, his family and mother-in-law were on the list, he decided to escape. This was done through the help of his Socialist friends. And the diary Walter wrote during this period describes those little details that made this escape possible, his foresight, as well as those seemingly random incidents which he managed to turn into another step towards gaining the required documentation to pass as an Aryan. The irony used is stunning, adding a very pleasant element of insight into an alert mind with a great vocabulary through which to express his thoughts. The translation of his diary into English is very good. Walter found himself a job in the Alps, and finally was able to feel safe again. Strangely, he also seemed to start thriving, as he found opportunity to undermine his neighbours’ and co-workers’ belief in Hitler and the Nazi ideology. In 1944, he went so far as to call the day of their escape “our liberation”. That is, their liberation from the fire awaiting in the East if they had been deported. The real liberation for the Leopold family would come in early May 1945; bringing its own challenges because of Walter’s complicated way to survival. It seemed although Nazi German rule had surrendered, the Anti-Semitic spirit lurking behind it might not have followed suit. That is, Walter poses some very interesting questions about what kind of freedom the liberation had brought for the Jews who had survived twelve years of Nazi rule. This book was a very special read, a one of a kind I haven’t experienced before. One can’t help posing questions like “What if Nazi Germany had not lost the war? How far would Walter have had to bow to the existing system to be able to survive? Would Walter and his family forever have been able to pass as Aryans, living in a society where every trace of their Jewish heritage had disappeared? They yearned for their lost Jewish community in Leipzig. What if their vigilance had slipped, exposing them to their enemies?” Walter also gives us an inside view of what it is like to live in a totalitarian state for an extended period, although thanking the Almighty for the privilege of, after all, being alive to experience it. He describes it perhaps better than many other books I’ve read, with phrases like “... A tough test it is… a denial of self…”. He shows great ability for reflection on behalf of the Allies and the European post-war future. The diary form, held together by the comments by Walter’s nephew Les Leopold makes this a very exciting and informative read. I’m actually stunned because of all the complicated post-war issues this book presents.

Defiant German, Defiant Jew is a great book. Walter Leopold did everything he could to protect his family. A very inteligent and resilient man trying to keep his wife and daughter safe. Walter's diary is such a rich and detailed document about the war. His life was so hard but he never gave up and that was what made me admire him. I highly recommend the book to everybody who wants to know how was life during the Nazi regime. I really enjoyed reading, helped me understand what happened.

It's an unusual story about Walter Leopold, who to escape deportation, first became a submarine and then invented an aryan personality for himself. He and his family suffered persecution as Jews and then found life on the other side but still in fear of discovery. At the end of the war he finds persecution and anti-semitism start again, still at the hands of Austrians, but not overtly and also from the French liberators. It is Walter's own diary, written in real time, without hindsight. The narrative is maintained with historical updates. Well worth a read as the story is so unusual and communicates the terror and then disappointment.