The Jew with the Iron Cross, A Record of Survival in WWII Russia
By Georg Rauch
Based on 80 letters sent home from the Russian trenches, The Jew with the Iron Cross is a riveting tale of paradox and survival during the second world war. As a teenager, author Georg Rauch helped his mother protect the Jewish couples hidden in their Viennese attic. Officially classified as one-quarter Jewish by the Nazi regime, Rauch is drafted into Hitler’s army and sent to the Russian front to fight for causes he detests. Rauch finds himself near death many times, but his talents as a shortwave radio operator, chef, and even harmonica player all play a role in his survival. Captured by the Russians in the autumn of 1944, Rauch faces brutality and near-fatal illness as a POW. Recruitment for Russian espionage saves his life once again, but his long journey isn’t quite over yet.
“A fascinating account of what it was like for a partial Jew to serve in the German military during World War II. Rauch’s experiences and hardships dramatically depict the physical and emotional struggles of a ‘mischling’ during the Third Reich.” – Bryan Mark Rigg, athor of Hitler’s Jewish Soldiers
“Not about combat tactics but about what it meant to be in an army at war. Rauch has put a human face on aspects of the war that are usually only referred to in passing.” – Tom Houlihan, WWII cartographer.
“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.'”
You can purchase the book online from Smashwords in multiple eBook formats at http://www.amazon.com/The-Jew-Iron-Cross-Survival/dp/0595379877.
eBook formatting by Shelley Glasow Schadowsky.