A Gripping Tale: Where Was God During War? Aaron's Journey

"Aaron's Journey: From Slave to Master" takes us on a true life journey experienced by Aaron Herskowitz - a 5'2" Jewish farmer who escaped from being a Nazi slave and ended up being a Russian spy and ruler of a conquered German town.

I had the privilege of interviewing Howard Herskowitz, the son of Aaron and author of the book, who shared that for many years, his dad struggled with the very same question many of our service members struggle with today - "Where is God" in all the destruction?

See, Howard's dad was part of the Czech Army in 1936 and then in 1939 Germany gave Aaron's little town over to the Hungarians. He went from being a soldier to a slave - and the Hungarians, unlike the Germans who hunted Jews for sport, kept the Jews alive to do all their hard labor work.

Aaron would have none of it - while many Jews had immigrated to the US prior to the invasion, in 1939 the American State Department shut down the immigration of Jews - so Aaron had two options: remain a slave or fight.

And fight he did. He went from a slave of the Hungarians to being captured by the Russians who valued his ability to speak 8 different languages and subsequently made him a spy and later an overlord of a captured town.

Often soldiers will recount the good they find among the evil in war. For Aaron, he ran the labor camp holding his former tormentors; and in the first few weeks of doing so, there was retribution on many of those captured - but as Howard explained, it didn't take Aaron long to figure out his actions, should he not change them, would make him no different than his German tormentors. So he changed.

Aaron is attributed to having contributed to changing the outcome of a major battle. He engineered the retreat of the Germans and their Hungarian allies before the Russian onslaught. A few weeks later, the Nazis surrendered at Stalingrad.

Howard tackles some pretty tough questions in this recount of his dad's life - questions like, "How many Nazis did you kill" and "Why didn't more Jews attempt escape" - but the most compelling for me was his answer to "Where is God" in all the killing. His answer is one that I am sure resonates with many soldiers.

Aaron answers this question and many more in "Aaron's Journey: From Slave to Master" - this is the perfect holiday gift for you history buffs who want a "behind the scenes" retelling of one of the most devastating wars in history.

--Michael Schindler of The Military Wire

"The book is indeed riveting."

With such cruelties constantly met upon you, vengeance can easily be the only thing on your mind. "Aaron's Journey: From Slave to Master" is a unique memoir of the Holocaust as an oppressed Jew finds himself with control over a Nazi town after escaping and joining the Russians. He hopes to bring a new take on the psyche of the Holocaust victim and why many Jews did what they did. "Aaron's Journey" is a fascinating read that should prove hard to put down.

Just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed your book. It took a while to pick it up, but once I did, I couldn't put it down. Finished it in three days.

...my advice is to leave it exactly as it is -- every word. It is excellent. You have a real talent as a writer and a story-teller.

Aaron's Journey is probably the most amazing journey I've ever read. From his scrapes with death as a slave laborer to his escape from the Soviet secret police, I couldn't put the book down.

I have taught World History and American History at different levels. I'm convinced this book would engaged the students in a much deeper, more meaningful way than the current routine of key words and boring textbooks. The adventure is real and you can't put the book down. The author does a great job of incorporating maps and historical facts so it would be perfect for a history class.

This is a must-read.