Aug 01, 2014 | Filed in Reviews+
OrangeReviewStarShrimpy but scrappy, teenager Hertzko Haft helps his struggling Jewish family survive Nazi occupation of Poland. But just before he is to marry his love, Leah, Hertzko is sent to a work camp and then to Auschwitz. Over four years, he keeps alive by canny friendships, smuggling, and learning to box in tournaments held to entertain Nazi camp officers. Finally, Hertzko escapes and turns professional boxer, seeking the missing Leah. Stark black-and-white drawings from Kleist (the well-received Johnny Cash) convey Hertzko's single-minded calculus of survival. An excellent concluding essay from German sports journalist Martin Krauss further explicates boxing in concentration camps. VERDICT Based on son Alan Scott Haft's Harry Haft, this wrenching biography coupled with stunning high-contrast storytelling put this title on a par with Nathan Powell's much-praised art for March (LJ 7/13). Moreover, the characters are drawn with the energetic nimbleness so admired in Will Eisner's work. Sports fans and history readers, teen and up, will find this mesmerizing.—M.C.
A thorough, insightful, and moving portrayal of one man’s survival of World War II death camps, his struggle to build a new life in a new country, and the emotional scars he carried throughout his life. Reinhard Kleist’s stunning, dynamic illustrations give life to settings as varied as the Jaworzno concentration camp, Coney Island in the late forties, and sunny 1963 Los Angeles. Harry Haft’s determination, strength, and ingenuity are heroic. Still, the story doesn’t shy away from raising difficult questions about his experiences, such as the rage it engendered, or Harry’s memories of the men he was forced to kill in the boxing ring during the war. A historical note provides helpful context and an in-depth consideration of other boxers who were taken to concentration camps and forced to fight.
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