Courage beyond Words: Holocaust Witness, Nazi Hunter, Language Teacher to the Stars: The Many Lives and Language of Michel Thomas Book

I found this book to be an incredible account of a Polish-born Jew who found himself in France at the onset of World War II. I've always been fascinated with World War II and this story renewed in me the strength of human spirit. I'm amazed at how strong the will to survive is present in some people and the lengths they go.

Michel Thomas was a extrovert Jew living in France at the time that Nazi-Germany was gaining control over the country. He's rounded up in and sent to labor camps within the borders of France. What ensues is truly a tale of heroism. He evades being deported to various concentration camps by hiding. He eventually escapes and joins up with the French Resistance working to undermine Hitler's reign.

Through various contacts and luck, he joins up with the U.S. to help defeat the Nazis. He's assigned to a particular decorated group, the Thunderbirds. He saw combat and then was reassigned to the Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC). While serving in this position, he drove down to meet up wiht the troops assigned to liberate Dachau. It's a particularly haunting description that Thomas recounts.

Throughout the book, stories of the immense inhumanity encountered linger and sicken the reader.

Postwar, Thomas becomes a Nazi Hunter and rounds up the most wanted Nazi's using controversial and unconventional methods. He was notorious for sniffing out the liar and bringing forth the truth.

Hardened by the effect the war had on him, Thomas leaves Europe to set up residency in America. Here, he develops a revolutionary teaching method that never quite takes off within the academic circle, though he is considered a genius among his mostly celebrity clientelle.

At some point I became skeptical of the man himself. I couldn't quite believe that one person could do all this--evading SS officers, crossing enemy lines, hunting down Nazi officers, finding the entire Nazi Party file at a paper mill awaiting to be destroyed--but I kept reading. I was entranced with the tale woven between the pages. My skepticism was put to rest in the final chapter when the author, debuking an article written by The Times after the publishing of this book under a different title, challenges the article's assertion that Thomas is a fake by providing documents and eyewitness accounts of Thomas' service. The pure documentation is overwhelming and lays all sense of unbelief in the grave.

I would definitely recommend this as a must-read for every reader. The historical aspects within the book are truly awe inspiring. In a culture where many concepts are skimmed over--we all know about the Holocaust, D-Day, and Pearl Harbor, but that's about our extent of knowledge concerning World War II--it was incredibly beneficial to read about how France got to that position in the first place. Having read little about the French Resistance, and having a skewed "American" viewpoint on the French in general, I found this book to be very educational regarding the French during World War II.