In September 2020, a nationwide survey revealed that adults under 40 exhibit a “worrying lack of basic Holocaust knowledge,” including the startling statistic that one in ten said they never even heard the word “Holocaust.” The survey, conducted by the non-profit Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, called the lack of Holocaust knowledge among young people “shocking” and “saddening.” An NBC News article reporting the survey results quoted experts who believe that social media may be to blame. About half of millennial and Gen Z respondents reported having seen online posts denying the Holocaust happened or minimizing its impact.
Another survey, done by Pew Research Center, released in January, 2020, found that less than half of U.S. adults correctly answered multiple choice questions about the Holocaust, including how many Jews were killed or the way Adolf Hitler came to power. (The answers: more than six million Jews were murdered, and Hitler became chancellor of Germany by a democratic political process.)
Tod Lending (Photo Credit: Dave Monk)
Those who remain ignorant of history, are doomed to repeat it, as we are witnessing now in our country. That’s why non-fiction books, novels, feature films, streaming series, and documentaries are so critical at this junction when so many school districts are banning books and restricting what students now study in their history classes.
Tod Lending’s novel, The Umbrella Maker’s Son, is an important addition to modern Holocaust literature. An Academy Award-nominated and Emmy-Winning producer, writer, and cinematographer, Lending brings his incredible talents – a sharp eye, research skills, and the ability to put a human face on historical events – to the story of one young man trying to save himself, his family, and the woman he loves from the horrific German onslaught.
Reuven Berkovitz lived with his Jewish family in Kraków, Poland, where his father owned a shop that turned out umbrellas with handles carved from various woods or ivory and decorated with precious jewels. Besides his father, Reuven lives with his mother, grandmother, and two sisters. Reuven is in love with Zelda, and the two often dream about their future, where they will live and how many children they will have. But in 1939, their world began to change when the Germans invaded Poland. Papa’s shop was given to a Pole, and he and Reuven ordered to report to a work crew.
One night truly changes everything. Encountering the German guard that took away the family shop, Reuven stabs him with a dagger that comes out of his umbrella’s handle. They know they have to leave Kraków before his body is discovered. Papa met someone on his work crew who gave information on a way to leave the city. They pack their bags and find their way to the Vistula River, waiting for a boat that never comes. Reuven will find himself on his own, running for his life.
Making his way to the Polish countryside, he’s taken in by a Polish farmer who is happy to have a young worker to help out on the farm. The farmer’s wife, Kaja, however, has other ideas, and Reuven knows it’s only time before he’s killed, either by the Germans or the farmer.
Even though Reuven knows he should make his way to Russia occupied Poland, he’s consumed with his need to find Zelda. That search will find him back in Kraków, now a Jewish ghetto, where he’s befriend by Mr. Malinowski, the Catholic pharmacist he once worked for, who helps him acquire the proper paperwork and promises to find out where Zelda and her family are living. Will he find her in time and will the lovers be able to escape the Nazis and finally be free?
The Umbrella Maker’s Son is, in some parts, not an easy read, but any story about the Holocaust should not pull punches. While Reuven’s story is fictional, Lending makes clear in his acknowledgments that its drawn from true events. Hopefully, those who want to know more about the Holocaust will read some of the research he lists, including Julius Feldman’s The Kraków Diary.
The Umbrella Maker’s Son
Tod Lending
Top Bigstock photo: Old photos on the theme of life Krakow Jews during the Second World War. Schindler’s Factory Museum in Krakow.
Our editors love to read and independently recommend these books. As an Amazon Affiliate, Woman Around Town may receive a small commission from the sale of any book. Thank you for supporting Woman Around Town.
