★★★★★ 5
A thrilling account of survival
Format: Hardcover
The noted Holocaust author and scholar, Joshua M. Green's book, "Unstoppable" is a compelling read and the third book I have read by this gifted author. It is historically accurate and an inspirational story about Siggy Wilzig. It reads like a novel although it is a sweeping account of an Auschwitz survivor, his family and brilliance to reach great heights in business. By sheer will, wisdom and resilience, Siggy Wilzig survived the SS atrocities he was subjected to at the concentration camp.
Beautifully written with exquisite detail to Siggi's life, the reader is quickly drawn into the life of a remarkable man; from a penniless survivor to a highly successful businessman but never forgetting his life in the camps. Continually articulated in the book is Siggi's love for his Judaism as opposed to the disdain for antisemitism and Holocaust deniers.
As a society we refer to the Holocaust as a general theme. It just connotes numbers. However, more of an impact is made on the reader when it highlights the story of one human being as it relates to the Holocaust. Greene emphasizes that fact which the reader can immediately identify with. The book is written with uncommon sensitivity, breadth and depth.
Of German-Jewish descent, Siggi and his family were sent to Auschwitz in 1943. Siggi was a teenager and was subjected to unspeakable horrors. His mother was immediately sent to the gas chamber; his father was beaten to death and he lost 57 other family members from the gestapo's evil practices.
Starvation, beatings, shootings, subjected to being naked in extreme cold were normal occurrences. However, Siggi's strength of character and uncommon wisdom, he fought to survive the death camp.
After the liberation, he arrived at Ellis Island with only $240.00 in his pocket. He took several menial jobs such as shoveling snow, working in sweatshops and various traveling jobs.
As a survivor, he made 3 vows: Never to starve again, to raise healthy, productive children and to keep the Holocaust's memory alive. The reader will revel in the ways he kept those vows.
Joshua Greene clearly describes Siggi Wilzig from many aspects. He was an inspirational yet complex human being, tenacious, both personally and in business (he became the President of an oil company and built a bank) his Jewish pride, to never forget the Holocaust and uphold what is right and just.
"Unstoppable" is a must read no matter what your ethnicity might be. It is a work illustrating the unique strength of one human being in spite of the heinous crimes endured by one person if not humanity.
Lois S.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2021
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