Two Wheels to Freedom
The Story of a Young Jew, Wartime Resistance, and a Daring Escape
Arthur J. Magida
- The
- extraordinary
- true
- story
- of
- a
- young
- Jewish
- art
- student
- in
- wartime
- Berlin
- who
- not
- just
- survived
- but
- resisted—and
- retained
- 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
- 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.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
