50 children One ordinary American couple's extraordinary rescue mission into the heart of Nazi Germany

Rescues and escapes from Nazi persecution are augmented by this well-crafted account. Based on a family typescript inherited by Pressman's wife, it describes a project taken on by her grandparents in 1939 to bring Jewish children out of Germany and to the U.S. Proposed to Gil Kraus, a Philadelphia lawyer, by a Jewish fraternal organization in which he was active, the plan entailed Kraus satisfying both American and German regulations and officialdom and ultimately traveling to Germany to select and chaperone 50 children across the Atlantic. His wife, Eleanor, wrote up her experience of the journey. Pressman's extensive quotations of Eleanor's account capture the immediacy of events, while his research into State Department communications with the Krauses contextualizes the principal challenge they faced, finding a legal loophole in the then-restrictive immigration laws. On the other side of the transaction, Pressman details Gil Kraus' activities in Berlin and Vienna to collect his charges, whose own memories of their rescue and relocation to America Pressman also relays. Multimedia marketing, including an HBO documentary, will heighten the prominence of this deserving work.--Taylor, Gilbert Copyright 2014 Booklist

In this stirring account of determination against overwhelming odds, journalist Pressman (Outrageous Betrayal) expands on his eponymous HBO documentary wherein his wife's grandparents, Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus, worked to rescue 50 Viennese Jewish children from occupied territory during the early years of WWII. Drawing from interviews, historical documents, and Eleanor's private writings, Pressman reconstructs the chain of events, adding background and context. His flowing narrative breathes life into the America and Europe of 1938-1939, placing a spotlight on the impossible circumstances and contradictions of Nazi Germany's anti-Jewish pogroms, as Jews were encouraged to leave yet hindered at every turn. He looks at the obstacles thrown up by American attitudes and policies: isolationism, rigid immigration laws and quotas, and rampant anti-Semitism made it unlikely that the Krauses' plan would ever work: "During the years when it was possible for Jews to leave Germany for the United States, American public opinion, government insensitivity, lack of interest, and a depressing failure of human compassion all worked against them." In contrast to his praise for the Krauses for spearheading their small but vital rescue effort, Pressman critiques American intransigence alongside more visible Nazi cruelties, and the whole makes for a story as troublingas it is inspirational. Illus. Agent: Elizabeth Kaplan. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

The astonishing story of a Philadelphia couple's resolve to help bring Jewish children out of Nazi-occupied Austria. Journalist Pressman (Outrageous Betrayal: The Real Story of Werner Erhard from Est to Exile, 1993) is the grandson-in-law of Eleanor and Gilbert Kraus, whose bravery during a dark time is only now coming to light. The Philadelphia lawyer and his wife, both nonreligious Jews from well-to-do families, agreed to help engineer the transfer of Austrian Jewish children to America on behalf of a national Jewish fraternal organization, Brith Sholom, which was deeply concerned about the increasing prosecution of Jews in Germany and Austria. In 1939, the Jews were still being allowed outthat is, if they had the money and connections to emigrate; after "Aryanization," or the seizure of their wealth and goods, few had the means. By late 1938, the murderous intentions of Nazi warnings"Jews! Abandon all hope. There is only one possibility for you: Emigrateif someone will accept you"were made abundantly clear, yet Jews were trapped. The Krauses were warned against venturing to Germany at this time: A prominent Quaker contingent had recently been rebuffed by the Nazis; the U.S. and other nations had tightened restrictions on immigration; and even various Jewish groups and charities tried to convince the couple of the folly and danger of the rescue plan. "One would think we were trying to do something illegal or wicked, even degrading," Eleanor remembered. After securing affidavits from 50 sponsors, completing the vast paperwork and achieving clearance from the State Department, Gil finally left in April 1939 and summoned Eleanor to come shortly after. Making their way through Nazi Germany to Vienna, the couple observed chilling details of the nation's militarization and oppression of the Jews. The details around selection of the children, leave-taking of their parents and the tearful travels are heart-rending, but eventually, they were safely shepherded to a summer camp in Collegeville, Pa. With a careful eye to detail and dialogue, Pressman vividly re-creates this epic rescue.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.