Synopses & Reviews
When his family is deported to concentration camps in 1942, 20-year-old draftsman Cioma Schönhaus goes underground. Recruited to a network dedicated to rescuing Jews from the gas chambers, Schönhaus discovers a life-saving talent for falsifying identity cards. While working on his forgeries, he changes address every night, relying on girlfriends and the friendship of anti-Nazi Germans to keep him one step ahead of the Gestapo. But when his face finally appears on Gestapo wanted posters all over the city, he decides the time has come to attempt a breathtaking escape from Berlin to Switzerland—by bicycle.
About the Author
Cioma Schönhaus was born in Berlin in 1922 of Russian immigrant parents. He studied graphic design and did numerous jobs in the early years of the war. From 1942–3 he remained in Berlin illegally, forging documents for other Jews. While on the Gestapo's wanted list, he escaped armed with papers he had made himself by cycling into Switzerland, where he still lives today.