Unlikely Warrior: A Jewish Soldier in Hitler's Army

“A fascinating account of what it was like for a partial Jew to serve in the German military during World War II.” —Bryan Mark Rigg, author of Japan’s Holocaust

As a young adult in wartime Vienna, Georg Rauch helped his mother hide dozens of Jews from the Gestapo behind false walls in their top-floor apartment and arrange for their safe transport out of the country. His family was among the few who worked underground to resist Nazi rule. Then came the day he was drafted into Hitler’s army and shipped out to fight on the Eastern front as part of the German infantry—in spite of his having confessed his own Jewish ancestry. Thus begins the incredible journey of a nineteen year old thrust unwillingly into an unjust war, who must use his smarts, skills, and bare-knuckled determination to stay alive in the trenches, avoid starvation and exposure during the brutal Russian winter, survive more than one Soviet labor camp, and somehow find his way back home. Unlikely Warrior is Rauch’s true account of this extraordinary adventure.

“An astonishing rediscovered memoir.” —People

“An exceptionally well-written account of unimaginable hardship, it's also an engaging read that serves as powerful testimony to the insanity of war and the human will to survive.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“The story is well paced, offering a fascinating and intriguing look at the era.” —School Library Journal

“With honesty and affection Georg Rauch tells of the love and respect between a mother and son as well as the nightmare experiences of a young soldier fighting and barely surviving a war he never wanted, understood, or could justify.” —Lake Chapala Review

© 2024 Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Ebook): 9780374301439

Release date

Ebook: 4 September 2024