Book review: Love, danger and survival

“World War II was the worst war in human history. The death toll was as many as 85 million people, including six million Jews," Frank said.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
KEY CHARACTERS in the book join the Jewish Brigade (photo credit: Courtesy)
KEY CHARACTERS in the book join the Jewish Brigade
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Klara’s War, a World War II historical novel and the sequel to Klara’s Journey, by Ben G. Frank, deals with danger, adventure, separation and love as it follows the characters across continents, from Ukraine, Russia and Tajikistan, to France, Israel and Florida.
Klara’s War begins in 1941 at the Nazis’ brutal attack on Russia and causes the flight of young Klara Grossman, who then meets and marries Warsaw-born Volya Warchawski on a train. The young couple, alone and terrified, goes on a perilous journey through unfamiliar Asian lands. That is, until an unexpected and shocking separation causes their lives to unravel into a desperate fight for survival.
Readers of Klara’s War will witness how the story reaches a striking climax during the turbulent and tumultuous days of Israel’s War of Independence.
“World War II was the worst war in human history. The death toll was as many as 85 million people, including six million Jews. Many of those who survived suffered deep physical and mental anguish. Lest we forget,” Frank said.
Among the topics of this new and thoroughly researched book is the story of the Anders’s Army, the name of the Polish armed forces in the East between 1941 and 1942. Created in the Soviet Union, the army was evacuated from Russia and made its way through Iran to Palestine, where it passed under British command. Many Jewish members, including one of the main characters in the book, desert that unit in Palestine and join a group that later becomes the Jewish Brigade. Frank brings Jewish history to life in this tale of interconnected characters.
Warren Adler, author of The War of the Roses and The Serpents Bite, has written that, “In Klara’s War, Ben Frank continues the saga of unforgettable characters. Two decades later, a new, younger, courageous and intrepid Klara appears on the scene. Her relentless search for her family after the tragedy and disruptions of the Holocaust offers a resounding tribute to the human spirit and the bedrock pull of peoplehood and family. This is a story for the ages.”
Ben G. Frank is the author of Klara’s Journey and several Jewish travel guides.