FAKE PAPERS

Fake Papers is a really terrific memoir written by the grandson of a Jewish woman who escaped from Antwerp Belgium during WWII. It tells the story of how Letty and her two sisters Suzy and Annie, and her mother Blima, traveled throughout Vichy France avoiding razzias - the capturing of foreign Jews in France. They moved by train, hitching rides with strangers, and by foot from Lourdes, Montauban, Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, and Aix-les-Baines in their attempt to find a way out to safety.

What I thought made this memoir so special is that it is told from the viewpoint of a 17 year old young girl. Being the youngest of the three sisters, and dealing with a very neurotic mother, her perspective includes many innocent and naive ideas about war, men, sibling rivalry. Just plain simple excitement of youth and adventure. Each chapter involves a life lesson, some very painful, that she learned throughout her journeys.

Mixed within the fears and exhaustion of avoiding Nazi horrors and navigating the Resistance maze were beautiful youthful moments, including sneaking away in the French countryside with a young man, kind unexpected help from strangers, and using their brains and beauty to distract and divert the gendarmes. Many very difficult decisions had to be made by these young ladies and the complexity of feelings was conveyed so genuinely in this book.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Aaron Rockett for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This isn’t my usual type of book. But it was good and I enjoyed it all the same. It was good to read and well written. It flowed well and was easy to read

seems there are quite a bit of books lately that take place during this time. The more true accounts that are shared, the more certain we can be to never let something like this ever ever happen again!

This is a true story that begins in WWII. Aaron Lettie's grandson tells the tale of his grandmother's escape from Germany. Lettie's mother, her two sisters, and her.. Her father had left them years earlier. He had visited right before the Jewish people were rounded up. He went to visit his mother. Aaron simultaneously also tells the tale of his mother in the story. His mother died from cancer when he was a small child. His grandmother then took him in, and raised him. I read the book straight through in one setting. I couldn't put it down. It's very sad and happy at the same time.

This book was amazing! The author is a war zone documentary film maker whose grandmother tells him about her experiences during the Holocaust. The lessons that she passes down to him are interesting and kept me invested in this book.

I was crying — tears rolling down my cheeks at the end.

I’m in a trance at the moment. My brain went on a get-a-way. I’m speechless!!!!!
Yet my heart is bathed with love.
I’ve fallen in love with Aaron and his family. I’m grateful to him for writing this book.
It’s PAGE TURNING!!!!!

Letty was a force to reckon with...even as a young child. Oh... how I loved her - wish I had met her in person.
You’ll feel as if you know the major and minor characters.

Letty still enjoyed her chocolate at 90 years of age - a woman after my own heart. 🍫

HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!!

This Holocaust story is VERY SPECIAL!!!
Go in blind... trust me!!!
Anybody who loves anybody will love this book!!!

Thank you Aaron!!!
Your book is sooo wonderful - I’m hoping that it’s available on Amazon...and or Goodreads....so my friends can buy it and read it.
I’d like to buy a physical copy myself.

Thank to netgalley and the author/publisher for the Arc for my honest review.

Very interesting read about from a holocaust survivor. I enjoyed the book, and would definitely read another by the author.

Lessons learned from a Holocaust survivor's escape story are imparted to a war zone documentary filmmaker. It is a story of survival, against all odds, and despite tangled family dynamics. Aaron Rockett visited his ninety year old grandmother, Letty and asked that she allow her story to be told. How difficult it must have been for seventeen year old Letty at the start of WW II. Letty, the youngest child, lived with her mother Blima and sisters Suzy and Annie. According to Blima, Suzy could do no wrong while Letty could do no right. Blima dished out guilt and blame to Letty in equal measure.

Survival Lessons Learned included the following:

Question Wants
"I was young and stupid,...I wanted the war to come".

Mind Your Signature
Aaron Schmidt and partners had a sweater business in Antwerp, Belgium. Aaron was the only one to sign documentation requesting a business loan. He would bear the burden of responsibility for the debt amassed after his partners embezzled money from the company account.

Some Know Better Than Others, Listen To Them
"If they [the Germans] invade Belgium, leave. Leave fast. Don't wait"

The Best Option Isn't Always The Best
The Schmidt family was planning to travel with the Weiner family to catch a refugee boat to England. The Weiners hurriedly left without them. As it turned out, the evacuation boat was intercepted by a cruising German Schnellboot.

Letty Schmidt and family spent a significant amount of time sequestered in France while trying to formulate an escape plan. Every step of the way, Letty had to contend with Blima's berating and unpleasantness toward her. Additionally, fear of roundups and the trustworthiness of others weighed heavy on her mind. "Not everyone plays by the same rules".

"Fake Papers:Survival Lessons from Grandma's Escape" by Aaron Rockett was a captivating piece of Holocaust literature. This reader felt like a "fly on the wall" experiencing Letty's attempts to satisfy an impossible mother while searching for a path to safety. Author Rockett has written an excellent, thought-provoking work of non-fiction that I highly recommend.

Thank you Aaron Rockett, XpressoReads and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review "Fake Papers".