Editorial Content for The Boys in the Light: An Extraordinary World War II Story of Survival, Faith, and Brotherhood
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
THE BOYS IN THE LIGHT is a rare account of conflict, terror, salvation and family cohesion that details the often perilous but always remarkably loyal connection among young men who are facing death yet are still able to act to save themselves and others. It was a relationship born in near failure and ending in undeniable triumph.
"Willner’s work undoubtedly will be read and recommended by those who appreciate seeing its deeply researched history come to new light and by those who see the promise of higher aspirations in its intimate view of human caring."
Nina Willner’s father, Eddie, should have led a comfortable life as the only son of middle-class parents who, like most Jewish citizens of their region of Germany, were fully assimilated with their Christian neighbors. But the pervasive evil of Hitler’s hatred of Jews would lead 16-year-old Eddie to a narrow escape from annihilation. Forced to flee, he; his father, Siegfried; and his best friend, Mike, became laborers at Auschwitz III, while his mother was murdered in a Nazi gas chamber.
The conditions were appalling, and more than once the prisoners barely evaded the brutal hanging that could have been their fate for the smallest infraction. Still, the two starving Jewish boys escaped and came into contact with Company D, a unit of 3rd Armored Division tankers. They were “saved” by being given kitchen work and were encouraged by its leader, 23-year-old Elmer Hovland, and its head cook, Sammy DeCola (dubbed “Pepsi”). These forged friendships would span years, continents, and life’s many twists and turns.
Willner, a former US Army intelligence officer and a world advocate for human rights, has painted a memorable portrait of men at war, fleeing tyranny and upholding high moral values. THE BOYS IN THE LIGHT covers the most horrific scenarios in contrast with the embedded uplift in this saga of the alienation of war and the overarching qualities of camaraderie.
Willner’s work undoubtedly will be read and recommended by those who appreciate seeing its deeply researched history come to new light and by those who see the promise of higher aspirations in its intimate view of human caring.
Teaser
THE BOYS IN THE LIGHT follows the parallel journeys of Company D and Eddie Willner, the author’s father, as they are caught up on two sides of World War II. At 16, Eddie Willner was among the millions of European Jews rounded up by Hitler’s Nazis. He was forced into slave labor alongside his father and his best friend, Mike, and spent the next three years of his life surviving the death camps. Meanwhile, in the United States, boys only a few years older than Eddie were joining the army and heading toward their own precarious futures. A company of 3rd Armored Division tankers, led by 23-year-old Elmer Hovland, quickly became battle-hardened and weary, constantly questioning whether the war was worth it. They got their answer when two emaciated boys stepped out of the woods with their tattooed arms raised.
Promo
THE BOYS IN THE LIGHT follows the parallel journeys of Company D and Eddie Willner, the author’s father, as they are caught up on two sides of World War II. At 16, Eddie Willner was among the millions of European Jews rounded up by Hitler’s Nazis. He was forced into slave labor alongside his father and his best friend, Mike, and spent the next three years of his life surviving the death camps. Meanwhile, in the United States, boys only a few years older than Eddie were joining the army and heading toward their own precarious futures. A company of 3rd Armored Division tankers, led by 23-year-old Elmer Hovland, quickly became battle-hardened and weary, constantly questioning whether the war was worth it. They got their answer when two emaciated boys stepped out of the woods with their tattooed arms raised.
About the Book
An epic story of the triumph of good over evil.
The soldiers of D Company could not believe their eyes as they came face-to-face with the human cost of Hitler’s evil: two teenage boys --- survivors of Auschwitz and Buchenwald --- who had escaped.
THE BOYS IN THE LIGHT follows the parallel journeys of Company D and Eddie Willner, the author’s father, as they are caught up on two sides of World War II.
At 16, Eddie Willner was among the millions of European Jews rounded up by Hitler’s Nazis. He was forced into slave labor alongside his father and his best friend, Mike, and spent the next three years of his life surviving the death camps, including Auschwitz. Meanwhile, in the United States, boys only a few years older than Eddie were joining the army and heading toward their own precarious futures. Once farmers, factory workers, and coal miners, they were suddenly untested soldiers, thrust into the brutal conflicts of WWII.
A company of 3rd Armored Division tankers, led by 23-year-old Elmer Hovland, quickly became battle-hardened and weary, constantly questioning whether the war was worth it. They got their answer when two emaciated boys stepped out of the woods with their tattooed arms raised.
THE BOYS IN THE LIGHT is a testament to survival against all odds, the strength of the bonds forged during war, and the resilience of the human spirit. This extraordinary true story is a must-read for fans of UNBROKEN by Laura Hillenbrand, THE BOYS IN THE BOAT by Daniel James Brown, and THE SPLENDID AND THE VILE by Erik Larson.
Audiobook available, read by Mark Bramhall
