Selected testimonials from readers of the first edition of On the Run in Nazi Berlin
Prof. Leslie Baruch Brent (Holocaust survivor, was best friends with Bert in the Jewish Orphanage in Pankow_
I found it a riveting and profoundly stirring and moving story, and my admiration for your ability to survive all that and emerge as a sane, balanced and humorous man is absolutely boundless. I found that the racy way in which you and your daughter wrote the book a real page-turner and I would have thought that you should try and interest a reliable film director to put the story on celluloid.
John Ingersoll (Former Associate Vice President of Arts & Sciences Development, Emory University)
I am loving your book! I read it everywhere -at my desk, stealing time from Emory; at home [...] every possible free minute.It is exciting and engrossing. So many exploits. It could be made into a movie. You were such a good looking young man we’ll have to cast Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt as young Dagobert.
Prof. Dov Levin (Holocaust survivor, cousin to Bert, anti-Fascist partisan, Holocaust scholar and Professor at Hebrew University)
Anyone who has ever asked themselves whether they would have been able to survive World War II should read this book. It is the story of an ordinary man who must accomplish extraordinary feats to stay alive. While much has been written about those who endured the hunts of the SS and Gestapo, many of these events took place outside of Germany. The value of Mr. Lewyn’s book is that it takes us inside wartime Berlin, allowing us to see how the Nazi war machine changed the lives of everyday citizens. It’s worth as an eyewitness account of life under Hitler is beyond calculation.
Ahavia Scheindlin (formerly of The Shoah Foundation and Holocaust Museum of Houston)
I finally had a chance to begin your book this past Wednesday and I could not put it down until I finished it. What an extraordinary story! What most captivated me was how powerful you were. I didn't get any feelings of victimhood from reading, not even your daily and ongoing sense of fear gave you any of the qualities of a victim. I was really shocked by your overwhelming memory lapse regarding Ilse. I think your experience would make for a fascinating study of the selective processes of memory under the drastic circumstances of constant hunger, discomfort, extreme fear and extraordinary stress. Thank you so much for sharing this with me. I will never forget you. And I will share your book with others.
Howard Margol (former president, The Jewish Genealogical Society of America)
An amazing story of one man’s fight for survival while surrounded by death and destruction. Bert Lewyn’s masterful description of his life on the edge gives the reader the feeling that you are there with him throughout every agonizing moment of his struggle to survive. A true tribute to the invincibility of the human spirit when faced with extinction.
Anne Lebrecht (wife of Horst Lebrecht)
I have not been able to put this book down. I am at the end and reading about the aftermath and what happened to people in it. [...] Your book was fascinating in the details of what you went through from day to day. You deserve so much credit for choosing to remember the details and for sharing them with your readers. You must be so proud of your Daughter in Law, for the help you received, who obviously sacrificed a great deal of time and effort. The pictures and documents were so interesting and a wonderful collection that added to the understanding of the details and events of that time. I cannot thank you enough for sending us this book, and for allowing me to share your experiences even if only through the words on a page.
Joseph Berchenko
I received the book late Saturday and can barely put it down...it’s a fascinating and amazing story!! My God, I had no idea! And so well written. What a powerful piece! I hope it sells a million copies: it deserves to.
Carol Teplis
I finished it in less than a week, staying up late, reading it at lunch at work and even at traffic lights as I was driving. I could not, in essence, put it down. It is so amazing that you survived the war wandering from place to place as you did, with only a few 'regular' places and people on whom you could depend for brief periods. I feel humble, small, in awe of your strength, determination, skill and luck throughout your struggle. Since I finished your book, I read 3 or 4 more books about the Holocaust. One is also about the Jews of Berlin and recounts portions of the stories of several individuals and their survival under the Nazis. [...] It often feels overwhelming to me to think about those years and the horrors faced by you and so many others. I wonder if I could have survived. Thank you for sharing your past with me and so many others through your book.
Melody Federer
As I read the first few pages I became glued to the book and could not put it down. I was overwhelmed with emotion upon hearing your life story. All throughout the book I could vividly see God’s hand upon you as if you were meant to live through the turmoil and strife to eventually pass on this story. I think it would do this country a tremendous deal of good if everyone read your story. After reading at I felt so blessed to live in a country where I could freely worship God without fear of harm or death. I have all my friends reading your book. I am 15 years old and have studied different accounts of the Holocaust in the past but none have portrayed the true reality of it as well as your book. As each chapter would go buy I would find myself praying and hoping for your safety. I felt compelled to write this letter simply to thank you for sharing your story. Someday I know you will live peacefully with your parents and lost loved ones. Thank you for your story and may God bless and keep you and your family all of your days.
Rainer Helmig
I hope you are well and I would like to thank you once again for your thought-provoking book. It has taken me a long time to be able to write to you about your book. I had a hard time forming a clear idea as I felt very upset und [sic] angry about what the Germans did. Your description of your fight for survival after the loss of your parents made me see what pain, fear, deprivation and disappointments you experienced. World War II was bad enough, but what happened to people is incomprehensible, monstrous and unpardonable. The crimes were based on an ideology which could not be more inhuman. It is to my deepest shame that so many Germans blindly followed this ideology. Your writing of how you were chased through the streets of Berlin, always looking for food and hiding-places, with all the pain of the uncertainty regarding the whereabouts of your parents, made me see how much Jewish people suffered in this time. You had courage whereas the Germans in Germany gave in to their fear.
I have read The Diary of Anne Frank, I have seen the movie Schindler’s List and have been to the concentration camp at Sachsenhausen. All these things moved me deeply and made me ashamed that I am German. Your book has affected me as nothing else has before. I tried to talk to people who lived through this time about this period. I discovered that very few of the people of this generation were willing to talk about the crimes of the Third Reich and none would talk about the holocaust.
In school I was taught that the Third Reich was a bad mistake in our history, which should not happen again. I think many Germans still have problems with this period of our history. Your story has shown me that running away does not help. On the contrary we have to make every attempt not to forget so it does not happen again. I am grateful for our brief encounter. I thank you for your book, which has helped me see things differently. I wish you and your family all the best and that none of them will ever have to experience what you did.
Stephanie Irvey
I could hardly put it down, and even though it was heartbreaking it was also inspiring to learn about his courage and will to survive. As you probably know, my grandfather was Jewish and I have such a love for the Jewish people. I truly appreciate you letting me read this book.
John Krisa, Esq.
Thank God you wrote your book! [...] Your ordeal, survival and success are remarkable. History and mankind would have suffered a terrible loss had you not reduced your experiences to writing. In a plain way, you recorded the incremental development of the “final solution.” Yours is a story on par with those told by Primo Levi, Eugene Kogon, Filip Muller and, other original sources. The motion picture will certainly be made.
Dr. Inge Lamell
It really is amazing what a young Jewish man, as you were at the time, could endure. It was deeply moving to read about all the dangerous circumstances you braved and to realize what you had to go through in those years. Astonishing also how you remembered so many details of your odyssey. It is a very good and valuable book, an important document of horrible times. That is why I want to thank you and your daughter-in-law for having written it.
Matt Venable
I am not sure how to adequately express my thoughts to you on both the writing of the book, as well as the stories held within the book. Your writing and the structure of the book allowed me to visualize the situations that were suddenly thrust upon you. I, in no way, can pretend to say that I could fully understand the feelings that must have been going on inside you. But I tried to imagine myself in such horrible circumstances. I want to thank you, not only for giving me the book, but also for telling your story. I think that it is very important for those of us who have been fortunate and not been put in such a position, to understand the fragility of our state-of-being, as well as our very existence. The book tells a story that can teach all of us valuable lessons.
Helene and Gene Quirini
Overwhelming. Your experiences left me limp! You are the true “fugitive.” I enjoyed your book immensely. Your book was better than any fiction thriller I have ever read... always waiting to see what was going to happen next. You answered all the questions I had in due time. Your life is testament to mans will to live and succeed. Most things are possible if we think in a calm and rational manner. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us.
Pam Kirke
I started reading it the other day and have been unable to put it down!! Mr. Lewyn, you have a remarkable story. I feel honored to have met you and have great admiration for you. As I read your words, I wondered how simple my life has been, Though I have had trials , they compare nothing to yours. I think you are a great inspiration to many. I hope your book does well, though I know the reason you Wrote it, is to educate, it truly is a great story. Thank you so much for allowing me the opportunity to be a part of your history.
Joe Strouse
I underestimated how riveting your story would be. Even after having the experience of visiting the Holocaust Museum in DC I was still somewhat unprepared for the insight into the personal tragedy and suffering that must have been endured by countless humans at the hands of the Nazis. It is well beyond my comprehension how inhuman the treatment of Jews under the hands of Nazis. I have a new appreciation for the importance of bringing the few remaining butchers to justice and especially for the importance of keeping the memory of these terrible times alive so the same savagery is not inflicted on future generations.
I can honestly say that your book has made a bigger impression on me and has reformed my outlook on life more so than any other book or event in my life. I thought I had some understanding of the events during Nazi influence but I was not even close. Now I am certain there is no place in life for discrimination and this goes well beyond religious intolerance.Reading your story has also given me some insight into the pain, and even guilt, that is felt by the survivors of tragedies. These thoughts have come back into focus as I watched the coverage of the 9-11 events. The lifelong pain that must be felt by you and other similarly affected people is truly beyond the comprehension of those of us- so fortunate that have not had to endure the suffering. God Bless. Thank you for making a difference in my life.
Judy Carson
I have spent every spare minute of the last three days reading the book...the book itself was well-organized and written and very easy reading impossible to put down I was awake from 3 -5am this morning reading it I couldn’t fall asleep until I got to the chapter in which the war had ended as I didn’t want to abandon you while you were still fleeing!!!! I admire you even more for knowing better your story and how you persevered with wit, skill, and, incredibly enough given the circumstances, with great decency. No Hitler could ever overcome a people who, like you, survived to pass on a legacy of decency, dignity, and kindness.
