The Mascot: The extraordinary story of a Jewish boy and an SS extermination squad

My own people, the Russians, despised me because I wore the Nazi uniform. I was terrified the Nazis would discover I was Jewish. I had to keep so many secrets that secrecy was a way of life. And then, to find that my own people didn't believe me when I finally told my story, was heart-breaking.

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But Kurzem's son was determined to discover the truth. Painstakingly, over the past 10 years he has investigated his father's past. Finally able to verify it all with documents and pictures, the Holocaust Commission has reversed its decision and Mark has now written a powerful book, The Mascot, revealing his father's remarkable and horrific story. Kurzem, of course, is not Alex's real name: He now knows he was born Ilya Galperin. His first clear memory is of October 21, , the day his family was slaughtered.

The day before his father and the men of the village had been shot. That night two soldiers broke in and beat his mother. Once they departed, leaving her bloodied and bruised, she told her eldest son: She told him he must be brave and help her with his brother and sister. That night the young boy awoke thinking: In the morning he awoke to the sound of screams.

From the tree in which he was hidden, he saw women and children, weeping in terror, being lined up in front of newly dug pits. In front of him he saw his mother and siblings among those waiting to be shot.

Then I saw my family. I wanted to call out. I wanted to go to her, but I couldn't. The soldiers shot my mother.

The Mascot - The Extraordinary Story of a Young Jewish Boy and an SS Extermination Squad (CD)

They put the bayonets into my brother and sister. I had to bite my hands to stop myself screaming. As he recalls his family's deaths, Kurzem grows pale and his hands tremble. I was just a child myself. Then, to see them murdered. I did not want to watch but I could not look away. I felt I owed it to my mother. If she could bear to endure it, then surely I should bear to watch and be with her in my heart. Kurzem was in the woods for about nine months. He ate berries and dragged the great coat off a dead soldier.

Indeed, certain events are described in such detail that we inevitably begin to wonder if the memories are actually mental constructions aimed at building a cohesive and palatable narrative from a scattered collection of horrific intuitions. Another key theme raised by the story is that of complicity. There is perhaps little question that the young Kurzem cannot be held responsible for his actions whilst in the company of the soldiers, but the variable manner in which he recounts his experience, wavering between unwarranted guilt, and exaggerated self-praise, is fascinating - even disturbing.

In some cases, he speaks of his actions with pride, considered and deliberate and seemingly well beyond his years; on another occasion he naively claimed to be ignorant of what would happen to the Jews that he helped usher onto the backs of trucks.

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This behaviour only serves to highlight the deep ambivalence that cuts through Kurzem's past. He abhors what he witnessed, yet is desperate to gain purpose and meaning, even joy, from a childhood he never had the freedom to savour. The book, which is written by Kurzem's son Mark, is predominantly presented as a series of long conversations interwoven with detective-like research into the past.

The story is told with respect, and delivered with a diligent hand. It is also overtly polished. Mark admits in the End Note that timeframes were compressed to aid readability, but in my assessment, the entire book was sequenced as if it were penned as a script for a movie, with junctures of suspense, intrigue, and impending doom, all superbly placed. These treatments ultimately detract from the historical nature of the book, suggesting, perhaps incorrectly, that Kurzem's tragic past has also been tailored for our reading pleasure.

I listened to the audio version of this book, read by David Tredinnick. It is without doubt, the best audiobook recording I've ever heard. Tredinnick's reading is simply outstanding, and perfectly captures the drama of Alex's quest. And a moving quest it is: May 05, Becky rated it it was amazing. The Mascot is such a powerful and compelling biography. It is not your traditional biography--Holocaust or not. It is the story of how one man's past is revealed, how a father chooses to share his memories--some quite vivid, others very vague or fuzzy--with his adult son.

The father's life is revealed to his son in a series of conversations and through the son's research to validate his father's story. Mark, our narrator, always knew his father had his secrets.

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His father had a brown bag he carri The Mascot is such a powerful and compelling biography. His father had a brown bag he carried with him everywhere. No one was allowed to see this bag's contents. Occasionally, the father would share with his family--his wife and sons--stories from the past. On these occasions, he'd pull out a photograph, an article, an item from the bag. Mark suspected that these stories were just that--stories, being part fact, part embellishment. But one day his father tries to tell him the truth, the whole truth, the whole UGLY truth about his past.

A memory here and there. What is certainly understandable is just how much is missing, how much he doesn't know about who he is and where he comes from. He was told by his rescuers Latvian police men or Latvian soldiers? Obviously struggling to survive. He was taken in by the soldiers and "adopted" into their company. They gave him a name. They gave him a birthday.

They gave him a small uniform--from to he was given three uniforms. Though he was taken into one man's home--"adopted" though not legally by a husband and wife--he stayed connected or associated with a unit of soldiers. He saw men, women, children, babies being killed--in one instance herded together into a building which was then set on fire. Though he doesn't remember his name--his family name, the names of his brother and sister, father and mother--or the name of his village, the name of his country--he does remember one thing: He witnessed the slaughter of an entire neighborhood or village.

At the time, he didn't realize this violence, this bloody slaughter, was because they were Jewish. In fact, his very "Jewishness" was buried deep inside him.

At times he seemed aware that he too was Jewish, that his life was at risk if his Jewishness was revealed. To survive, he had to deny so very very much. So the story Mark hears from his father is fragmented, in a way, with very few clues. But it is emotional and intense. Almost too much for him to handle. In fact, it is almost too much for him--the father--to handle.

And at one point, he asks himself and he asks his son why. Why bother remembering the past? What good--if any--can come from remembering, from seeking to remember, from uncovering the truth, from piecing everything together, from telling and sharing his story with his family, his friends, his community. For those expecting a clear answer to this, you might be disappointed. The truth is not that black and white. A son and father learn much about one another.

The family is at times strengthened, but at other times put under great stress and pressure--by all this. There were things that seemed a little shocking to me, for one, that there were certain organizations if organizations is the right word? Still others sometimes just individuals, other times groups of individuals who denied his story, who essentially said that his story was all lies, that it could not happen, did not happen. I think this shocked the son as well, that people could hear the story, see the photographs, and come to the conclusion that this small child he was found at the age of five was a willing participant in the war, that he voluntarily joined the enemy, that he was a Nazi just like the others--the adult soldiers.

Was he ethically responsible for the actions taken by others? True, you might argue, that the soldiers were trying to "train" him to be a little Nazi, a good, little soldier. But what choice--if any--would he have had? Feb 27, Carrie rated it it was amazing Shelves: I've been drawn to Holocaust memoirs most of my life and have therefore read many. This, by far, is the most extraordinary story I've read -- and it's well documented as not being fictional unlike some others I could mention.

A remarkable human spirit and nearly feral desire to survive are demonstrated by a 5-year-old orphaned Jewish boy who, through his charm and desperation, manages to not only hide his ethnicity, but also survive World War II in Nazi-dominated Latvia as a "mini SS" soldier I've been drawn to Holocaust memoirs most of my life and have therefore read many.

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A remarkable human spirit and nearly feral desire to survive are demonstrated by a 5-year-old orphaned Jewish boy who, through his charm and desperation, manages to not only hide his ethnicity, but also survive World War II in Nazi-dominated Latvia as a "mini SS" soldier used to buoy morale in the ranks. The real story for me is why Alex Kurzem hides his bizarre childhood from his beloved wife and three sons -- until he can't take the strain of not knowing his real name, who he is, where he comes from, etc.

The dichotomy of guilt and survival are eloquently narrated by his son, the author of the book, who undertook a year research effort to find out his father's real identity and reunite him with long-lost family members. Simply stated, this is a fantastic, fascinating read. Jul 12, Kristin rated it it was amazing Shelves: I'm not much of a history reader, and not much into WWII, but this book was gripping and entirely captivating.

I liked the personal focus that didn't try to do too much with the horror of the time and didn't try to do too much with sentimentality, it was just well balanced and incredibly unique. Of all the stories you hear about WWII, you have not heard this one. I particularly enjoy that the book unfolded, it is as much a mystery novel as it is a book of personal history. Apr 30, Shauna Hruby rated it really liked it Shelves: This was our book club book, otherwise I would not have picked this book on my own because I shy away from dark, difficult subject matter for the most part.

And this is some of the darkest: It is also gut-wrenching to "watch" the author's father tap into his purposefully repressed memories of his horrific childhood. And yet there is something of the fascination of tragedy about it--like watching This was our book club book, otherwise I would not have picked this book on my own because I shy away from dark, difficult subject matter for the most part. And yet there is something of the fascination of tragedy about it--like watching disasters on television--they are so awful you want to cry, but you also can't tear yourself away.

This book was fascinating the way it unfolded. First the memories, then the research to validate, then the critical debate. I was most surprised at those who threatened the revelation of the facts--it was hard to believe that after so much time, there was still so much fear and hatred. So even though it is true I wouldn't have chosen this book on my own, I really felt it was a worthwhile read, and it was, in its own dark way, rivetingly enjoyable.

Mar 20, Krista rated it it was amazing. A survival story, a grim fairy-tale, and a psychological drama, this memoir asks provocative questions about identity, complicity, and forgiveness. When a Nazi death squad raided his Latvian village, Jewish five-year-old Alex escaped. After surviving the winter by foraging for food and stealing clothes off dead soldiers, he was discovered by a Latvian SS unit. Not knowing he was Jewish, they made him their mascot, dressing the little "corporal" in uniform and toting him from massacre to massacre A survival story, a grim fairy-tale, and a psychological drama, this memoir asks provocative questions about identity, complicity, and forgiveness.

Not knowing he was Jewish, they made him their mascot, dressing the little "corporal" in uniform and toting him from massacre to massacre. Fearful of discovery--as either a Jew or a Nazi--Alex kept the secret of his childhood, even from his family. But he grew tormented and determined to uncover the story of his past. May 19, Arabella rated it it was ok. An interesting underlying story, but the author's style drove me nuts and made the whole thing sound implausible.

A mesmerizing read, painfully revealing of the dark that lurks inside us, and beside that shadow, the light. It touched upon some part of my own heritage as a Latvian born of immigrant parents, come to the United States during WWII as refugees fleeing the Soviet occupation in Latvia. This is the story of Uldis Kurzemnieks, by birth Ilya Galperin, a Jewish boy caught in the turning wheels of the Holocaust.

To the b A mesmerizing read, painfully revealing of the dark that lurks inside us, and beside that shadow, the light. In bits and puzzle pieces, the now elderly man recalls his childhood of close escape from Nazis executing Jews in Belarus, his mother and siblings of those who did not survive. After six months wandering in the woods, eating berries, wrapping himself in the coat of a dead soldier, the boy is rescued by a group of Latvian SS soldiers who subsequently transform him into something of a miniature soldier-mascot.

They treat him well. But here is the flux of the circumstance: This is the story of extreme paradox, in which we see that one man, one group of soldiers, can exhibit mercy just as they exhibit unspeakable cruelty. The horror of the Holocaust is incomprehensible and unforgivable.

Many are accountable, by commission just as by ommission of deed. No doubt, young Uldis witnessed in close encounter the worst of humanity. What makes my Latvian heart ache, aside from this, however, is that the author of this book sweeps with just as broad a brush across another nation--the Latvians--as was swept across his--the Jews--as if an entire nation of peoples can be called wholly good or evil. Indeed, very few individuals can be called one or the other, but contain a blend of both. The irony of this is that the Latvian nation has suffered a similar fate and at almost the same time.

This is a tiny Baltic country that has been occupied by one great power or another through almost its entire history. We, too, have been herded onto cattle cars in the dark of the night at gunpoint, our children and elderly executed, deported to concentration camps in Siberia, our property, our homes and land and businesses annihilated or stolen from us, our families dispersed, suffered through many years of strategic genocide. Kurzem accuses us of whitewashing our history. I would argue that ALL histories are a mix of truth and propaganda; look to its source to find its slant. We, too, carry a mark of guilt on our foreheads, and I will not deny it.

We owe apologies, even as apologies are owed us. Caught between two superpowers, two great evils, we made hard choices that I am not equipped to defend or accuse in that I myself have never stood in such a position, nor my own child, my own home so threatened. Only those who have stood in such a place can truly say what they would do to save their own. Consider, too, the source of at least some of Kurzem's most damning evidence against this battalion of Latvian soldiers: I urge the author, and this books readers, to consider that no one entire nation should be so marked as wrong or right, but each individual called to judgment for his or her actions.

That aside, I plan to give this book to read to my friends and family. It is a remarkable story. Language English View all editions Prev Next edition 1 of 2. Check copyright status Cite this Title The Mascot: Other Authors Caneva, Lina. Film Australia Published Lindfield, N. Subjects Kurzem, Alex -- Videorecordings.

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World War, -- Personal narratives -- Videorecordings. World War, -- Jews -- Videorecordings. Summary "As a five-year-old Russian orphan in World War Two, he [Alex Kurzem] had been found by Latvian soldiers, made their mascot and given a new name and birthdate. But Alex was actually a Jew With his real identity hidden, he became a poster boy for the Nazi ideal and was taken into a Latvian family, who later migrated to Australia He never revealed his secret, even to his wife and children The Mascot is the story of Alex's search for his true history and the unexpected impact that had on his family, community and himself.