A LIFE BUILT FROM FEAR - 6 x 9 - 10 Pt.

Milton Kahl, a young Jewish boy in Austria, begins to feel the wave of anti-Semitic sentiment as the Nazi incursion draws near. His closest friend, Alfred Hoflager, is not Jewish. Alfred’s father, a university professor, feels the ominous warning of the advancing Nazi forces … and what will happen to the Jews and intellectuals if the Nazis control Austria.

The anti-Semitic mindset of many in Austria is painfully apparent when Alfred is physically beaten in school because his friend, Milton, is a Jew. Milton is warned again by another non-Jewish classmate of the impending dangers of being a Jew under Nazi control and is then assaulted by the same group that attacked Alfred. Milton confronts his father, Gottfried, about the possibility of the family leaving Austria. His father refuses to believe that if the Germans came to Austria, the Jews would be made second-class citizens as they were in Germany at the time. He believes the Nazis would still need him because of his expertise as a currency dealer. He does not want to give up everything he owns and leave for America … a land where he knows nobody and has nothing.
Milton and Alfred are set to attend Oxford in the autumn. When the ominous signs of an imminent Nazi invasion become clear, Alfred and his family prepare to leave for America and ask Milton to join them. Gottfried dismisses the thought of any danger from the Nazis and refuses. His mother finally signs the parental papers for Milton to emigrate.

Once in America, they settled at Albert’s brother’s house in Connecticut. A professor at Yale, Harlan, believes he can guarantee both boys a spot at Yale for the coming term. Though they insist Milton accept their hospitality and stay until he can start school, Milton believes he must earn his way and lands a job in Manhattan’s garment district. Milton’s boss, Erwin, is Jewish and ultimately sponsors Milton’s parents and brother Lawrence with no expectation of being repaid. Erwin hires his brother for a position in the factory. He is rewarded by being attacked and blinded by Lawrence, who turns to the streets of New York, where money is easier and more lucrative, using extortion rather than hard work.

The book explores the rise and ultimate victory of a young Jewish man during the Nazi invasion of Austria. The horrific impact and extremes of the Nazis on the lives of those in Europe reach other countries as well.

The book reflects on a stranger’s humanity for his fellow man. And a family, so long held together by fear and arrogance, ultimately reaped what they had sown.