Customer Reviews

Hiding in Plain Sight: The Incredible True Story of a German-Jewish Teenager's Struggle to Survive in Nazi-Occupied Poland

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Magnificent attenton to detail and an almost photographic like narrative characterise this Un-run of the mill Holocaust memoir. The author Betty is a modest teenager who is bold while being matter of fact and subtle- and she is able to convey with great nuance what is felt like to navigate the Nazi oocupied Poland during the height of the madness as a teenager .This lengthy memoir, a tale of youthful triumph against such huge odds, is satisfying and keeps the reader on the edge of one's seat.

Hiding In Plain Sight: The Incredible True Story Of A German-Jewish Teenager's Struggle To Survive In Nazi-Occupied Poland is the story of Bertle Weissberger, a twelve-year-old Jewish girl who lived with her mother Ilona and sister Eva in Hindenburg, Germany when on October 28th, 1938 the Nazis began rounding up all the Jews in Hindenburg and forcibly expelled Bertel and her family into Poland. There for the next seven years Bertel learned to speak Polish, changed her appearance, used falsified documents, and lived as a young Polish woman under an assumed name in her struggle to survive the Nazi holocaust. Hiding In Plain Sight is a testament to the enduring human spirit and a welcome, highly recommended addition to the growing library of Holocaust Studies and eye-witness biographies.

While attending a Bat Mitzvah of a relative, I was fortunate to meet and talk with Betty Lauer, the author of "Hiding in Plain Sight". I told her that I enjoyed the book immensely but found it hard to believe that she could experience so many crises. She said"Believe me: it is true" I said that it must have been very difficult for her to change her faith. She said that was very easy because both of our faiths belive in one God. She is a very upbeat woman.

The true story of Jewish teenager Bertel Weissberger's survival in Nazi occupied Europe. Ms. Weissberger, a German, survived the war by passing herself off as a Polish Catholic girl named Krystyna Zolkos. Her book contains many harrowing details, such as details of the Warsaw uprising and her "stroll" through downtown Berlin during the height of the war - with a defective identity document. She now lives in Vermont. I highly recommend this book.

Ms. Lauer gives us her almost-incredible account of survival in WWII Poland as a "submarine"; someone sought by the Nazi occupation as a Jewess (zydowka or Judin), yet who could manage by dying her hair blonde, acting confident, finding "female" occupations such as housework and babysitting, to survive in plain sight on the streets of WArsaw, Berlin, and small Polish towns. Rooms to rent were very hard to come by, but most Poles lost their pensions with the Nazi invasion, so many either had to start working or take in boarders. The native population was as frightened of arrest as these GErman Jewish refugees; if nothing else, aiding and abetting in the hiding of Jews or other undesirables could result in a concentration camp or death. Such a signal as having no fur collar on a winter coat indicated one's Jewishness: Jews were not allowed to own furs, had to turn them in; so obtaining a fur collar became another battle for assimilation/passing. In such and many other examples, the reader gradually realizes that Jews could often "hide in plain sight" by aping gentile behavior and clothing, going to Church, etc.

What amazed this reader, after having lived for years in Europe (1980's), is the quite obvious fact that many who hired her or rented her and her mother rooms were aware from the start that they were Jews on the run. Sometimes it would simply erupt at the very end as they were vacating rooms or were let go from a job. Therefore, what you can conclude, most Europeans could recognize these Jewish "submarines" but for many reasons, perhaps from Christian principles or common decency, or hatred of the Occupation, they would not cooperate with the Nazis and turn them in.

She does comment that the gentile women would not bother her on the street or in public streetcars, but that the men, ages 18-60, were to be avoided. They would hit on her, call her "zydowka", and try to turn her into the police - and she would run. This kind of detail brings to light that not just Jew-hatred was at play, but some kind of sexual tension was added to the turmoil. One might guess that the gentile women would want her taken away, but apparently it was the gentile men disturbed at her bottle-blonde freedom and assimilation. Why? Worth speculating about!

The book is so full of details, of names, job descriptions, food and clothing and weather, that one can only wonder that Ms. Lauer could even remember so much. A photographic memory at the least! Those interested in WWII occupied countries, in Jew hatred by gender, in the harshness of Polish life, in the minutiae of survival, will find this book fascinating. I personally enjoyed even hearing what they wore, how they found food, how they cooked it, how they found medical help, how information through letters was smuggled, how cyanide tablets were sewn into seams, new shoes made of old ski boots, etc. etc.

She admits that one great advantage simply lay in her not having been circumcised, as her men were: her pants could not be pulled down and her parts examined. Only Jewish men were circumcised in Europe then.

A book full of tension, a trip down memory lane: old-fashioned Poland. She was only a teenager, and her heart often yearned just for friendship with another girl, but her coreligionists' extreme undesirability made even that comfort almost impossible, for she could not risk excess talk. She would give herself and her mother away. A great story! There must have been many more, but who writes these long-ago details down so well?

This book is the choice of two reading groups and many individuals anticipating the visit by author Betty Lauer to our area. It is a vivid and gripping account of events in Poland and Germany of World War II from inside the feelings and emotions of an intelligent, courageous, and sensitive Jewish teenager. It is captivating reading and a major contribution to the documentation of the Holocast. Suitable for all ages.

An obstacle was the small print and very tight binding that made it difficult to keep the book open.

Written in a straight-forward style with at least surface artlessness, I found this an engrossing account of a teenage Jewish girl's struggle to survive in Poland after the Nazis took over. While it does not have the overpowering aura of authenticity that is inherent in Victor Klemperer's I Will Bear Witness (Volume I read by me on 11 June 1999 and Volume II on 7 Apr 2000), I was caught up by this account and though one knew she survived (else the book would not exist) one had to remind oneself of that as she went from situation to situation. I think it necessary for one to remind oneself repeatedly of the inhuman behavior of so many people during the Hitler years, lest one take civil liberty for granted. She does meet people who are human but also there are many who behaved in a way which they surely have regretted ever since--I hope.

Hiding in Plain Sight is a not to be missed read. Betty Lauer keeps you on the edge of your seat on every page. It will change your life. Don't waist your time reading my review. Buy the book. The fact that it's a true story makes it even more amazing. It's truly hard to believe what you read. But I know it's true. Fantastic work.

You will read this book and marvel at the "Human" ability to move forward, have faith, and continue on... I know that I am humbled...

This book is really incredible. Its a remarkable story of faith & survival of this young girl by hiding her real identity moving from town to town in a war torn country. Its a miracle that the author survived this ordeal and she has come out really strong. I am one of the lucky ones to know Betty personally as we are gym-buddies now but I came to know of the book thru another gym buddy as Betty is very modest to even mention that she has written a book. Its an awesome book and this book is going to be in my book collection forever.