Two wheels to freedom : the story of a young Jew, wartime resistance, and a daring escape / Arthur J. Magida.

By:

Magida, Arthur J [author.]

Material type: Text

TextPublisher: New York : Pegasus Books, 2024Copyright date: ©2024Edition: First Pegasus Books cloth editionDescription: xxii, 277 pages, 16 unnumbered leaves of plates : illustrations (some color), map ; 24 cmContent type:

text

Media type:

unmediated

Carrier type:

volume

ISBN:

9781639367221
1639367225

Other title:

Story of a young Jew, wartime resistance, and a daring escape
2 wheels to freedom

Subject(s):

Genre/Form:

DDC classification:

940.53/183092 23/eng/20240830

LOC classification:

DS134.42.S375 M34 2024

Contents:

part 1. The wanderers: "You better go back" ; "In earlier times, they would have burned us" ; Hitchhiking on the Autobahn ; "This business could have gone very badly" ; "Nothing ever happened except one kiss" -- part 2. "It'll be our turn one day": The butter conspiracy ; An act of lunacy ; "Do not shed too many tears" ; A night on the town ; The kindest Nazi Fanja ever met ; A brainless Hitler and a stupid joke ; He took the job ; The yard sale of the century ; The reluctant forger -- part 3. Into the dark: "Better than dueling with sabers" ; "You shall be the emperor of my soul" ; Cioma, the German nobleman ; Cioma's comrade ; The tide turns ; "Don't show your face in public" -- part 4. The exodus: "Simple is what you are, Schönhaus" ; Hiding, loving, fleeing ; "The lifeboat is full" ; The great balancing ; Pigs to avoid ; "I'm crossing my fingers for you, Schönhaus" ; "I only want to warn you" ; No more hopeless plans -- Postscript: "I know you. I know you very well."

Summary: Though Cioma Schonhaus was only 11 years old when the Nazis first came to power, his cleverness and resourcefulness eventually made him an unlikely hero and bon vivant. As a young adult staying one step ahead of the S.S., Cioma would dine in swanky restaurants and frequent trendy bars and have plenty of romances--all while sabotaging weapons in the munitions factory where he worked. He even bought a sailboat and taught himself how to sail. These hijinks never distracted Cioma from a deeper mission. Trained as an artist, Cioma's masterfully forged fake IDs ensured that several hundred Jews survived the war. When he learned the Gestapo was closing in on him, Cioma masterminded a singularly daring escape: spending a month biking to Switzerland, he became the only person to cycle his way out of the Third Reich.

Average rating: 0.0 (0 votes)

Holdings
Item type	Current library	Collection	Shelving location	Call number	Status	Date due	Barcode	Item holds
Adult Book	Phillipsburg Free Public Library	Adult Non-Fiction	New Books	940.5318 MAG	Available		36748002604785

Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The extraordinary true story of a young Jewish art student who not just survived but resisted and saved hundred of lives--all while retaining his infectious zeal for life.

Though Cioma Schonhaus was only 11 years old when the Nazis first came to power, his cleverness and resourcefulness eventually made him an unlikely hero and bon vivant. As a young adult staying one step ahead of the S.S., Cioma would dine in swanky restaurants and frequent trendy bars and have plenty of romances--all while sabotaging weapons in the munitions factory where he worked. He even bought a sailboat and taught himself how to sail.

These hijinks never distracted Cioma from a deeper mission. Trained as an artist, Cioma's masterfully forged fake ID's ensured that several hundred Jews survived the war. When he learned the Gestapo was closing in on him, Cioma masterminded a singularly daring escape: spending a month biking to Switzerland, he became the only person to cycle his way out of the Third Reich.

Beautifully written and deeply satisfying, Two Wheels to Freedom is a story of survival and resistance unlike any other. Arthur J. Magida captures Cioma's exuberance, charm, spunk, and courage. His was a life lived with wonderment, one that the author sets seamlessly against the horrors of history while never losing sight of Cioma's "wily ways, his zest for life, and his appetite for improbable adventures--all of them delighting in the magic that's beyond the ordinary and the staid." Two Wheels to Freedom is an exhilarating read that by turns illuminates and inspires.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 251-277).

Though Cioma Schonhaus was only 11 years old when the Nazis first came to power, his cleverness and resourcefulness eventually made him an unlikely hero and bon vivant. As a young adult staying one step ahead of the S.S., Cioma would dine in swanky restaurants and frequent trendy bars and have plenty of romances--all while sabotaging weapons in the munitions factory where he worked. He even bought a sailboat and taught himself how to sail. These hijinks never distracted Cioma from a deeper mission. Trained as an artist, Cioma's masterfully forged fake IDs ensured that several hundred Jews survived the war. When he learned the Gestapo was closing in on him, Cioma masterminded a singularly daring escape: spending a month biking to Switzerland, he became the only person to cycle his way out of the Third Reich.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

Map (ix)
A Note from the Author (xi)
Dramatis Personate (xv)
Prelude (xix)
Part 1 The Wanderers (1)
1 "You Better Go Back" (3)
2 "In Earlier Times, They Would Have Burned Us" (11)
3 Hitchhiking on the Autobahn (21)
4 "This Business Could Have Gone Very Badly" (29)
5 "Nothing Ever Happened Except One Kiss" (38)
Part 2 "It'll be Our Turn One Day (45)
6 The Butter Conspiracy (47)
7 An Act of Lunacy (52)
8 "Do Not Shed Too Many Tears" (59)
9 A Night on the Town (69)
10 The Kindest Nazi Fanja Ever Met (78)
11 A Brainless Hitler and a Stupid Joke (86)
12 He Took the Job (92)
13 The Yard Sale of the Century (102)
14 The Reluctant Forger (106)
Part 3 Into the Dark (113)
15 "Better Than Dueling with Sabers" (115)
16 "You Shall Be the Emperor of My Soul" (124)
17 Cioma, the German Nobleman (133)
18 Cioma's Comrade (142)
19 The Tide Turns (149)
20 "Don't Show Your Face in Public" (157)
Part 4 The Exodus (167)
21 "Simple is What You Are, Schönhaus" (169)
22 Hiding, Loving, Fleeing (173)
23 "The Lifeboat is Full" (182)
24 The Great Balancing (193)
25 Pigs to Avoid (200)
26 "I'm Crossing My Fingers for You, Schönhaus" (210)
27 "I Only Want to Warn You" (218)
28 No More Hopeless Plans (224)
Postscript: "I Know You. I Know You Very Well" (233)
Acknowledgments (245)
Illustration Credits (249)
Notes (251)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

A Jewish art student trapped in Berlin during WWII maintains a brazen, outgoing social life while secretly combating the Nazi regime in this surprising and propulsive tale. Pulitzer finalist Magida (Code Name Madeleine) recaps the story of Cioma Schönhaus (1922--2015), a "bon vivant" and "connoisseur of outrageous... gestures" who, in possession of a work permit that allowed him to stay in Berlin long after his parents and most of the city's Jews were taken to concentration camps, routinely passed as an "Aryan" and went out partying. Sabotaging weapons at the munitions factory where he worked during the day, by night he took on different identities, eventually connecting with members of the Jewish underground and, with his background in graphic design, offering his services as a forger of fake IDs. When his contacts in the underground were caught by the Gestapo, he fled Germany by bicycle (he was the only person to do so, Magida asserts), making a monthslong trek to the Swiss border during which he had many up-close encounters with German soldiers and civilians (on several nights, he stayed in swanky hotels, having learned that confidence was the best way to pass as Aryan). In Magida's winsome portrait, Schönhaus's indomitable spirit (he refused "to let the glumness of the Third Reich swallow him") and absolute calm under astonishing pressure make for riveting reading. It's unputdownable. (Sept.)

Kirkus Book Review

This surprisingly breezy tale of a young man's flying under the Nazi radar in Berlin belies the peril facing Jews during the war. Prolific author Magid fashions an incredible tale of derring-do in defiance of the murderous Nazis. Cioma Schönhaus (birth name Samson), the son of Russian-born Jewish immigrants who ran a mineral water business in Berlin, grew up in the left-wing Jewish quarter of Scheunenviertel. Having once moved to Palestine years earlier, the Schönhaus family was essentially stateless but determined to stay in Berlin. Amid the hostile rise of the Nazis, with the gradual, insidious erosion of rights for Jews in professional and private life, in 1939 Boris and Fanja enrolled their young son in the Jewish work camp Bielefeld, then in a Jewish art school. Events began to happen fast: Boris was jailed for selling butter on the black market; their apartment was bombed; and rumors began leaking out about what "going east" meant. Working at a tailor shop making uniforms for Germans, Cioma meets an intrepid friend, Det, who tells him, "As long as you look confident, you can't go wrong." Det's advice stays with him after his parents are taken in a transport. Cioma, exempt from transports because he now works in a rifle factory, gets jobs forging documents and eventually goes underground. With money, aliases, and a carefree demeanor that charms women--and time running out as others around him are betrayed and perishing--he buys a bike and decides to cycle to the Swiss border. His risky flight and ultimate triumph come late in the book, almost as an afterthought in this plucky young man's arsenal of survival tricks. An amazing story that would seem unlikely if it were not so well documented. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.