Born in Berlin in 1922, James Bachner was a German Jew during the darkest days of the Third Reich. Attributing his survival to a combination of strength and being in the right place at the right time, Bachner's memoir is a poignant and often horrific account of Jewish struggles during the days of World War II. Beginning with his idyllic childhood, Bachner expresses the range of emotions he experienced as the Nazis transformed his homeland into a nation where he and his fellow Jews were no longer welcome. He describes the volatile political atmosphere and the fears inspired in all Germans by...