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Book Title and Author Name:
A Prodigy in Auschwitz: A Holocaust Story, Book One: Simon
By Fred Raymond Goldman
Blurb:
When Nazi Germany troops enter Krakow, Poland on September 2, 1939, fourteen-year-old Simon Baron learns two truths that have been hidden from him.
One, the people who have raised him are not his biological parents. Two, his birth mother was Jewish. In the eyes of the Germans, although he has been raised Catholic, this makes Simon Jewish.
Simon’s dreams of becoming a concert violinist and composer are dashed when his school is forced to expel him, and he is no longer eligible to represent it at its annual Poland Independence Day Concert. There, he had hoped to draw the attention of representatives of a prestigious contest who might have helped him fulfill his dreams.
Simon vows to never forgive his birth father for abandoning him, an act resulting in unspeakable tragedies for his family and in his being forced to live the indignities of the ghetto and the horrors of Auschwitz and Sachsenhausen concentration camps.
Throughout his ordeals, Simon wavers between his intense anger toward his birth father and his dreams of being reunited with him. Through his relationships with Rabbi Rosenschtein and the rabbi’s daughter, Rachel, Simon comes to appreciate his Jewish heritage and find purpose in his life. Driven by devotion to family and friends and his passion for music, Simon holds on to hope. But can he survive the atrocities of the Nazi regime?
How do you reconcile a decision you made in the past when the world erupts in war, threatening the life of someone you love and believe you were protecting?
Excerpt from Chapter 1
Simon was one of the first to notice the disturbance among the starlings roosting in the sycamore trees bordering the east and west sides of the square. He heard their pitched chorus and the flapping of their wings seconds before hundreds of them flocked to the sky, creating two formations before joining into one large configuration. They moved swiftly, twisting, turning, changing shapes, and creating an astonishing spectacle to those watching below.
As the progression of movements among the birds increased, Lena and the other young girls with whom she was playing ran to the benches where those caring for them were sitting. Lena pressed closely against Simon, her older brother. “What is it?” she whispered.
Simon put an arm around Lena’s shoulder. “Don’t be scared,” he said. “I saw this in a movie. Watch, it will be spectacular. You’ll have something special to tell the others at lunch.”
She pulled closer to him when the birds formed a spiral-like circle that temporarily blocked out the sun and caused a brief darkening over the square. Two worshipers wearing prayer shawls came out of the front doors of Beth David Congregation, a square-shaped, flat-roofed building on the west side of the square. Its congregants were comprised of Jews who followed the rules and practices of Halakhah, the strict observances of Jewish laws. They looked up into the partially blackened sky, stared at each other, and shrugged before returning inside their house of worship.
“This is unusual,” an observer sitting near Simon said. “Starlings take flight at dusk.”
An elderly woman occupying the same bench shook her head. “It’s a bad omen. Something terrible is going to happen.”
Buy Link:
Universal Buy Link: https://geni.us/EpuyQr
Author Bio:
Fred Raymond Goldman graduated from Western Maryland College in Westminster, MD (now named McDaniel College) in June 1962 with a BA in psychology. Two years later, in 1964, he earned an MSW degree from the University of Maryland School of Social Work.
Most of Fred’s career was spent in Jewish Communal Service. He served as the administrator of Northwest Drug Alert, a methadone maintenance program at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore. In this role, he also acted as a community resource, guiding individuals struggling with addiction toward Jewish services that supported abstinence, counseling, and job placement.
Following that, Fred was hired as the Assistant to the Director of Jewish Family Services in Baltimore.
His final professional role was with Har Sinai Congregation, a Jewish Reform Synagogue in Baltimore, where he served as Executive Director for 23 years, retiring in October 2005.
In retirement, Fred pursued his love of hiking with The Maryland Hiking Club and spent time volunteering at The Irvine Nature Center. There, he led schoolchildren on nature hikes and assisted in the center’s nature store.
Writing had always been a passion for Fred, dating back to childhood, but it wasn’t until retirement that he began to take it seriously. He started writing children’s books and became a member of the Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Association. Among the titles he wrote are: Vera and the Blue Bear Go to the Zoo, Never Bite an Elephant (And Other Bits of Wisdom), The Day the School Bus Drivers Went on Strike, If You Count, and The Day the School Devices Went on Strike.
Though none of these books has been published, Fred remains hopeful that if the CONCERTO books gain recognition, opportunities for the earlier works may follow.
Fred’s journey of writing the CONCERTO companion books began when he saw a note on a local library bulletin board about a new writer’s group led by a local author. He joined and, along with nine other participants, learned the fundamentals of writing: staying in the protagonist’s point of view, building narrative tension, developing distinctive and flawed characters, and the process of writing and rewriting.
Over the course of more than four years, Fred dedicated time to writing, researching, rewriting, and submitting the manuscript. What began as a single book titled The Auschwitz Concerto was eventually split into two volumes and self-published. For a time, the manuscript was also titled The Box.
The encouragement from the group’s teacher and fellow members played a key role in shaping the novels, and Fred hopes his feedback was equally helpful to others in the group.
In the ‘Author’s Notes’ of the CONCERTO books, Fred outlines the goals behind sharing these stories. Prior to writing them, he had only a general understanding of the Holocaust—knowing that nine million lives were lost and that it was a horrific chapter in history. Through the writing process, he gained deeper insights into both historical events and human suffering, fostering a greater sensitivity to contemporary issues. He firmly believes that what affects one group can quickly impact everyone, and that such awareness is critical today.
Author Links:
Author Page on Publisher’s Website: https://www.historiumpress.com/fred-goldman
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Fred-Raymond-Goldman/author/B0C2QMBZ9X
Thank you so much for hosting Fred Raymond Goldman today, with an excerpt from his moving novel, A Prodigy in Auschwitz: Simon.
Take care,
Cathie xo
The Coffee Pot Book Club