Another stunning book released by Amsterdam Publishers is part memoir and part autobiography, written by the author, Oren Schneider, a detailed, beautifully written story about the author's grandfather’s experiences before, during and after the Holocaust. The first part of the book relates the story of Schneider’s Jewish grandfather’s elegant and successful life in Central Europe prior to World War II, the destruction of that life by local Hungarian Nazis and later German Nazis, the survival of Grandfather by his wits and talents and the reconstruction of his life in Israel after the war. The second part of the book is the story of the author, a then self-absorbed young man, who connects with his grandfather in a deeply emotional way during a trip to Europe with his grandfather and the concentration camp in which his grandfather was incarcerated. This is a deeply inspirational and moving book about how Grandfather’s technical skills, language skills, personal courage and fearlessness led him to victory over his Nazi captors. The story is riveting, exciting and satisfying. The writing is superb as the author pulled me in to the story. I liked the occasional touches of humor that helped round out the personalities of both grandfather and grandson. Many books are described as “page turners.” This one really is. Once I started reading this book, I didn’t put it down until I turned the last page. The book’s subtitle is: “The true story of the teenage boy who sabotaged Hitler’s war machine.” It’s true. Schneider’s grandfather sabotaged hundreds if not thousands of Mauser rifles in collaboration with Russian POW’s in the arms factory in which they all worked as slave laborers. There is a hint — unable to be confirmed — in the last section of the book, how the sabotage could have ironically boomeranged during Israel’s War of Independence. The Apprentice of Buchenwald is suitable for upper-level high school students and adults. It is destined to become a classic. You really need to read it.

Being an inmate of a Nazi concentration camp did not stop Alexander Rosenberg. It did not stop him from doing whatever he could to keep his father alive. And it did not stop him from sabotaging the Nazi war effort by subtly tampering with the weaponry he assembled. In telling this story, Oren Schneider does both of these things as well. He keeps his grandfather's memory alive. And he directly sabotages the efforts of those enemies of the Jewish people who deny the enormity of the Shoah, or who tell us that protection can be found in assimilation. Read this work and hear the messages kept alive from a grandfather by his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, messages as relevant for the Jewish people today as they were when Alexander Rosenberg took up arms for the creation of the State of Israel: Be grateful for life. Believe in what you can accomplish. And never rely on the world for your safety.

The Apprentice of Buchenwald is an incredible story of courage and survival, meticulously researched and masterfully told. Oren Schneider's historically significant memoir of his grandfather is thrilling, riveting and totally unputdownable. Contemporary events make this book relevant today more than ever.