Interactive Index to people, places and events mentioned in the book. The text for each entry is excerpted from the book.
Munye witnessed the horrible murder of Lonye's father by Rembocha
Go
Chief regional SS officer who directed actions against Jews
German sportsman who developed Munye's pugilism
Survivor couple who lived with Munye in the aftermath of liberation
Red Army sergeant who collectivized Munye's tin "business"
Red Army officer who commanded unit that liberated Skala
The pious brother of Munye's mother was killed at Borki-Wielke
One of Michael's mentors in philanthropy
A visionary who was tough to the core
Grandson of the author who works in the family business
Lower East Side roofer who was Michael's first employer
Munye's bunker buddy who joined his household in the aftermath
Last rabbi from Skala's family rabbinical dynasty
The author's first-born child followed him in business
Michael's early partner in real estate investment
Beitar squad leader at Eschwege advised Munye not to join Irgun brigade
Jewish lawyer in Czortkov who obtained Shulem's discharge from the Red Army
The author reflecting on life
Educator and survivor who wrote the history of Skala’s Jews
The author's daughter also entered the family business
Polish resident of the Mazury who who scorned Munye in 1942-43
Son of the author who followed him in the roofing and property management trades
The author's mother who urged him to "Run, my child."
Holocaust survivor scholar; author of Against All Odds
German border guard who terrorized Jews in Skala
Jewish journalist and interfaith activist; co-author of Live Another Day
Shulem's younger brother who took his place at Borki-Wielke
The author's stern Hebrew school teacher
Educator and philanthropist who published her Skala survival memoir
He fired Edelstein & Sons from a roofing contract
Black market customer who hoarded Jewish relics
Ukrainian police official who brutalized Jews
Yiddish scholar who introduced Michael and Florence
One of many Israeli PMs with whom Michael met
Munye's closest companion in the bunkers
Friend from Eschwege and Brooklyn who advised Munye to change his name
Brooklyn union leader originally from Skala helped Shulem Edelstein find employment
The author's grandfather was a prominent figure in Skala
The author's partner in life and business
The author's father, a tinsmith by trade, was also a survivor
Ukrainian livery driver who smuggled Munye and Shulem out of Borshchow
Ukrainian townswomen of Skala who provided sustenance for Munye, Shulem and Lonye
Skala survivor and community leader who passed away in 2018
Colel Chabad Is Israel's oldest charity
Michael entered into the American zone of occupation
Michael and his father were smuggled out of the ghetto on the eve of its liquidation
Where Munye was held before his perp ride
U.S. Army base where the author served
The second of three displaced persons camp where the author was housed
Displaced Persons camp where the author first resided
Nazi extermination camp where most of Skala's Jews were murdered
Michael's childhood home until Skala was declared "Judenrein"
Close call as Ukrainian militia sweep the forest
Survivors are evacuated as Germans retake Skala
Shulem finds employment during his first week in America
Learning the gruesome fate of Munye's uncle while at work camp
Twelve days on board with American movies and Coca Cola
Antisemitic actions in postwar Poland reached their climax at Kielce
Smuggled by Brichah on the northern route through Szczecin
Against staggering odds, a Jewish state was born in 1948
Admission to DP camps was made possible for Polish Jews
Michael was training for deployment when active hostilities ended
Surviving Jews from annexed Ukraine were resettled in western Poland
A breakdown in Brooklyn tested Michael's mechanics skill
Mixing it up with a big fish for a rare deal in midtown
Ukrainian townspeople ransacked Jewish homes after the roundup
When Michael Met Florence at the David Marcus Club
Munye's grandfather died of natural causes and was laid to rest in the cemetery he had tended
With his mother's blessing, Munye rolled under the barbed wire and ran for his life
Michael was stirred to hear Ben-Gurion speak at Eschwege
Germany invades the USSR on June 22, 1941
The authorities tried to isolate the contagion within the Jewish ghetto
The same barn where Munye hid from the Nazis is still standing a half-century later