Before 1940, Nathan Shapow, a young Latvian, had nothing more on his mind than enjoying his teenage years and becoming a champion boxer. But the Nazis’ systematic extermination of the Jews quickly put paid to his dreams. Soon he was to face a different sort of fight, where the prize for victory would be his life.
Acknowledgements vi
Foreword vii
Chapter 1: Murder in the Ghetto 1
Chapter 2: A Brief Childhood 18
Chapter 3: The Soviet Occupation 33
Chapter 4: The Riga Ghetto 44
Chapter 5: Ducking, Bobbing and Weaving 58
Chapter 6: The Empty Grave 78
Chapter 7: Changing Weight 90
Chapter 8: The Freedom Fighters 98
Chapter 9: The Life and Death of Herr Harr 104
Chapter 10: Spilve 116
Chapter 11: The Cruise to Hell (Stutthof) 125
Chapter 12: Magdeburg and Liberation 141
Chapter 13: The Path to Palestine 159
Chapter 14: Hela 171
Chapter 15: Blood in the Sand 191
Chapter 16: Leaving the Front 212
Chapter 17: The New World 226
Afterword – The Son’s Tale
