Near Normal Man

In this memoir, Ben Stern tells his own, unforgettable story as a Holocaust camp survivor who by the age of 24 impossibly survived two ghettos, nine concentration camps, and two death marches. In story after story of near impossible survival, he lives with singular courage and unshakable kindness and hope - his only weapons against the Nazis' determination to destroy everyone and everything Jewish in Europe. 

Born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1921, Ben is seventeen years old when the Nazis invade his town of Mogielnica. His parents and grandmother beg him to flee: Whatever you do, you save yourself!  We hold our breaths and our hearts as we watch Ben's on-the-fly decisions that in a mix of resourcefulness, canniness, and plain luck manage to save him from the brink of annihilation via slavery, starvation, beatings, shootings, whippings, and a certain death sentence from Dr. Mengele himself.

Liberated on May 8, 1945, Ben finds he can be free only when he chooses to let go of hatred. Thirty years later, he sparks and leads the resistance when Nazis in America plan to rally in his adopted hometown of Skokie, Illinois. Standing up against tremendous opposition, Ben builds national support, prompting the Nazis to cancel at the last minute.

Then, again  for a third time, Nazis arrive in Berkeley, California, after the notorious 2017 hate march in Charlottesville, Virginia. Ben refuses to follow city officials' orders to stay home and defies them with a rally of thousands against hatred, once more.

As a fierce defender of human rights, Ben inspires students and adults everywhere. His story inspires us to stand up and speak out to change our world for the better.