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The Mascot: Unraveling the Mystery of My Jewish Father's Nazi Boyhood
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The Mascot: Unraveling the Mystery of My Jewish Father's Nazi Boyhood Paperback - 2008

by Mark Kurzem

A survival story, a grim fairy-tale, and a psychological drama, this remarkable memoir about a Jewish boy's Nazi past asks provocative questions about identity, complicity, and forgiveness.


Summary

The ?spellbinding? (The New York Times) true story of a Jewish boy who became the darling of the Nazis

When a Nazi death squad massacred his mother and fellow villagers, five-year-old Alex Kurzem escaped, hiding in the freezing Russian forest until he was picked up by a group of Latvian SS soldiers. Alex was able to hide his Jewish identity and win over the soldiers, becoming their mascot and an honorary ?corporal? in the SS with his own uniform. But what began as a desperate bid for survival became a performance that delighted the highest ranks of the Nazi elite. And so a young Jewish boy ended up starring in a Nazi propaganda film.

After sixty-three years of silence, Alex revealed his terrible secret to his son Mark. With his son?s help, Alex retraced his past in search of answers and vindication. His story is at once a terrifying account of survival and its psychological cost as well as a brutally honest examination of identity, complicity, and memory.

From the publisher

Mark Kurzem grew up in Melbourne, Australia. He studied anthropology at the University of Oxford, where he was a Commonwealth Scholar, and also studied at Melbourne, Jochi, and Tokyo universities, where he was a Monbusho Research Scholar; his academic research focused on Japanese society. He has worked in the fields of political research, international relations, teaching, and filmmaking in Japan, Australia, and the United Kingdom. He was also an international relations adviser to the mayor of Osaka. In 2002, he coproduced and wrote a documentary about his father’s life, also titled The Mascot, which was the subject of international attention. He lives in Oxford.

Details

  • Title The Mascot: Unraveling the Mystery of My Jewish Father's Nazi Boyhood
  • Author Mark Kurzem
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition Reprint
  • Pages 432
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Plume Books, New York
  • Date 2008-10-01
  • Features Bibliography, Index, Maps, Price on Product - Canadian, Table of Contents
  • ISBN 9780452289949 / 0452289947
  • Weight 1.1 lbs (0.50 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.2 x 5.4 x 1.2 in (20.83 x 13.72 x 3.05 cm)
  • Ages 18 to UP years
  • Grade levels 13 - UP
  • Themes
    • Chronological Period: 1940's
    • Ethnic Orientation: Jewish
    • Topical: Holocaust
  • Dewey Decimal Code B

Media reviews

'Jaw-droppingpowerful subject matter.'
Chicago Sun-Times

Citations

  • New York Times Book Review, 10/05/2008, Page 28

About the author

Mark Kurzem grew up in Melbourne, Australia. He studied anthropology at the University of Oxford, where he was a Commonwealth Scholar, and also studied at Melbourne, Jochi, and Tokyo universities, where he was a Monbusho Research Scholar. He worked in the fields of political research, international relations, teaching, and filmmaking in Japan, Australia, and the United Kingdom. He wrote and co-produced a documentary about his father's life, also titled The Mascot, which was the subject of international attention. He died in 2010.
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