50 Children: One Ordinary American Couple's Extraordinary Rescue Mission into the Heart of Nazi Germany

by Steven Pressman

Overview

Two Ordinary Americans.
Fifty Innocent Lives.
One Unforgettable Journey.

In early 1939, few Americans were thinking about the darkening storm clouds over Europe. Nor did they have much sympathy for the growing number of Jewish families who were increasingly threatened and brutalized by Adolf Hitler's policies in Germany and Austria.

But one ordinary American couple decided that something had to be done. Despite overwhelming obstacles—both in Europe and in the United States—Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus made a bold and unprecedented decision to travel into Nazi Germany in an effort to save a group of Jewish children. This is their story.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062237484
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	05/05/2015
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	530,314
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Steven Pressman was a magazine and newspaper journalist for more than thirty years. He is the author of Outrageous Betrayal: The Dark Journey of Werner Erhard from est to Exile, and the writer, director, and producer of the HBO documentary film 50 Children: The Rescue Mission of Mr. and Mrs. Kraus.

Editorial Reviews

Both an extraordinary humanitarian act and a classic tale of American initiative and perseverance....A rich and rewarding read….Pressman paints a moving picture of the rescue.

Wall Street Journal

A remarkable book.” %COMM_CONTRIB%Forbes

02/03/2014
In this stirring account of determination against overwhelming odds, journalist Pressman (Outrageous Betrayal) expands on his eponymous HBO documentary wherein his wife’s grandparents, Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus, worked to rescue 50 Viennese Jewish children from occupied territory during the early years of WWII. Drawing from interviews, historical documents, and Eleanor’s private writings, Pressman reconstructs the chain of events, adding background and context. His flowing narrative breathes life into the America and Europe of 1938–1939, placing a spotlight on the impossible circumstances and contradictions of Nazi Germany’s anti-Jewish pogroms, as Jews were encouraged to leave yet hindered at every turn. He looks at the obstacles thrown up by American attitudes and policies: isolationism, rigid immigration laws and quotas, and rampant anti-Semitism made it unlikely that the Krauses’ plan would ever work: “During the years when it was possible for Jews to leave Germany for the United States, American public opinion, government insensitivity, lack of interest, and a depressing failure of human compassion all worked against them.” In contrast to his praise for the Krauses for spearheading their small but vital rescue effort, Pressman critiques American intransigence alongside more visible Nazi cruelties, and the whole makes for a story as troublingas it is inspirational. Illus. Agent: Elizabeth Kaplan. (May)

Publishers Weekly

A brilliantly written book that takes the reader on a journey back in time. Yet, it is relevant today because Gil and Eleanor’s story proves that individuals with courage and strength can overcome the odds. … A very insightful read.

Military Press

Excellent…. Pressman, the Krauses’ grandson-in-law, used Eleanor Kraus’s unpublished diaries as well as photographs, documents, and interviews to recreate a historical moment and a heroic act. Like Oskar Schindler and his list, the Krauses and their 50 children will now never be forgotten.

Sara Nelson

A remarkable book.

Forbes

The portrait of the Krauses that emerges is one of incredible resourcefulness, perseverance, bravery, and motivation to save lives. Pressman’s deeply affecting account is a tribute to a couple whose heroic efforts were a beacon of light during a time of unremitting darkness for the Jewish people.

Jewish Book Council

It can be challenging to create suspense in a tale for which the ending is known. Pressman does a good job with 50 Children: One Ordinary American Couple’s Extraordinary Rescue Mission in the Heart of Nazi Germany, a book whose title pretty much tells it all.

New York Journal of Books

Both an extraordinary humanitarian act and a classic tale of American initiative and perseverance....A rich and rewarding read….Pressman paints a moving picture of the rescue.

Wall Street Journal

The astonishing story of a Philadelphia couple’s resolve to help bring Jewish children out of Nazi-occupied Austria. . . .With a careful eye to detail and dialogue, Pressman vividly re-creates this epic rescue.

Kirkus Reviews