The Boy in the Woods, A True Story of Survival During the Second World War, Maxwell Smart, author; Mack Gordon, narrator
No one alive today is unaware of the Holocaust, regardless of what they believe or say about it. It was a heinous historic event conducted by barbarians. It was no more heinous, however, than the recent horrific and savage massacre that was coupled with the taking of Jewish hostages, to further torture and murder them, that took place in Israel on October 7th, 2023. As we approach the first anniversary of that infamous day, it is fitting that this book should appear in print and be featured in film.
This is a story is about surviving the horrors of the Second World War. It is about how a ten-year-old child, finding himself completely alone in the world, did his best to survive the war years and beyond. The hunger, the cold, the deaths he witnessed, the fear and even the moments of joy he experienced as he was given something to eat, illustrate, the emotional and physical pain of his trauma that is writ large on each page. The book and the movie speak to the fortitude and tenacity of Jews throughout history, but also to the inhuman Jew haters that still walk the earth.
Jews will survive, no matter how hard evil people try to destroy them because they are innocent victims of the criminal and demented minds of madmen and madwomen. The book is hopeful in that it features some righteous people, no matter how few and far between, that did and do exist who will help them survive the barbaric attacks of barbarians.
This book speaks about the heinous behavior of the Nazis, of all stripes, the farmers, the Poles, the Ukrainians, as it features the suffering of this Polish boy from Buczacz, who had to change his name, morph into different people, assume different personalities and do whatever it took to survive, whether or not it was legal. Always, however, this child thought of others, and wanted to help those he came in contact with who suffered alongside him, sometimes risking his own life to save them.
This book highlights the behavior of the Ukrainian mobs that sought out the Jews so they could be sold for what amounts to pennies, as neighbors watched, so little did they value the lives of a Jew, so brainwashed were they that they thought of them as less than human, lower than animals. They trapped and caught them so they could be sold and/or tortured and murdered.
The proof exists in the mass graves, the stories told and in the memories of those who were never able to speak. These same barbarians exist today. The same brainwashing is taking place today. Innocent Jews are being demonized by monsters who killed men, women, children, infants, pregnant women and their fetuses, and even the animals they kept as pets, because they, too, have been brainwashed by barbarians. Too many walk among us today, here in America as well, supported by a weak government that has members who support the evil.
Maxwell Smart was bright, strong, courageous and motivated strongly to survive. His name changed, his personality and ambition morphed, but he remained the man his parents hoped he would be. Brought up in a home with Judeo-Christian values, he kept them his whole life, becoming successful and raising a family. The unspeakable horrors of the Holocaust never left his memory for an instant, and it took 8 decades for him to be able to speak of it, without fear, but now, in the present day, with the Pro-Palestinian marchers shouting from “the river to the sea” with the tacit approval of the powers that be, as they blame the victims once again, perhaps we Jews all need to be afraid to speak out. The evil has reawakened in our own backyards; some of our neighbors have been brainwashed and support them. “Never again” is happening now.
In the little town of Buczacz that was home to Maxwell, only 100 of the 8000 Jewish residents survived. Brutality and death, similar to what occurred in Buczacz, occurred in every place a Nazi breathed.
The book is written by a man in his 8th decade, so if it is not as detailed as you think it should be, cut him some slack. He was born Oziac Fromm, Jewish name Shaih Moishe Fromm. At one time he lived with Jasko and Kasia Rudnicki on their very modest farm. They did the best they could to offer him shelter and food, at great danger to themselves. He lived in the woods when they no longer could shelter him. When, years later, he met his friend Joe Schmerer in Canada, he became Munio Schmerer, and then, finally he became Maxwell Sharp. He is unusual, as he is endowed with courage, fortitude, talent, brains, and perseverance. He dealt in the black market, became an entrepreneur, a talented artist, a philanthropist and an activist. He was the quintessential survivor, the proof that the Jewish people will survive.