"SURVIVING HITLER: The Unlikely True Story of an SS Soldier and a Jewish Woman," by O. Hakan Palm, Deseret Book, $19.99, 240 pages (nf)
Agnes and Gustav Palm were both in their early 20s in Europe during World War II — he was an SS soldier and she was a Jewish prisoner.
"Surviving Hitler" is their unique and adventurous story of how they survived the war, found each other and the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In a back-and-forth journal style format, Agnes and Gustav share their life experiences in their own words. Their diary entries are separated into specific time periods contrasting their lives.
Agnes is a Hungarian ethnic Jew who was raised Roman-Catholic. An only child, she said that because of her father's employment, she was "a child of privilege." Growing up she often frequented beautiful hotels and landscapes in Hungary. Gustav grew up in Norway in a large family. A Swedish citizen, he worked on a farm with his siblings and was raised in a humble home. "Life taught us early what it took to be a man …."
Their lives seem uneventful as children and youths, but their experiences after World War II breaks out are both harrowing and miraculous.
When Agnes and her family are captured by the Nazis, they are sent to a concentration camp. Even though Agnes' father was Roman Catholic and had no idea what was to befall them, he gave Agnes a patriarchal blessing, as was practiced by their Jewish heritage. He told Agnes that her parents would soon be free of their suffering, but she would survive this horrible war. Both points were prophetic.
As the war breaks out around Gustav and Norway is invaded, he joins the German military. He is eventually transferred to the Russian front and escapes death by listening to an inner voice.
It isn't until the last quarter of the book that Agnes and Gustav find each other. In March 1946, about a year after the war, they meet at their workplace in Sweden and soon after begin dating. As they draw closer, Gustav reveals his past as an SS soldier to Agnes. She told him she understood and didn't make a big deal about it, but Gustav later found out she cried herself to sleep that night.
After their marriage, both of their baptisms into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints come from reading the Book of Mormon together. It's a much happier ending to a rough start in life.
"Surviving Hitler" is full of miracles relating to divine intervention in the lives of these two people. It is inspiring. The book contains some descriptions of violence and suffering experienced during World War II, but it is not graphic. There isn't any swearing or sexual content.
Both of these individuals are survivors, and this book makes the challenges of the current day look minimal.