The Happiest Man on Earth: The Beautiful Life of an Auschwitz Survivor

A port city in northwestern France, Dunkirk was the evacuation point for the British Expeditionary Force, an Allied force of over 300,000 armed personnel who had become cut off and surrounded by German troops in late May of 1940. What might easily have been a military catastrophe, with dire consequences for England and the Allies, was averted by the logistical marvel of the successful evacuation of much of the force, which involved hundreds of vessels, including many small crafts that were privately owned. Eddie Jaku relates how he attempted to escape to England via Dunkirk, but the chaos of the evacuation forced him to flee south, where he was mistaken for a German spy and arrested.

Jewish prisoners at Auschwitz and other Nazi concentration camps who possessed valuable skills that could be exploited onsite at the camps’ factories, labs, or offices were granted a special status. Classed above ordinary camp workers, these Economically Indispensable Jews benefited from a modicum of protection; Eddie notes that the designation saved him from the gas chamber at least three times. However, extra food was apparently not one of the privileges, and he was still in constant danger of starving.