The Watchmakers, Scott Lenga
The Watchmakers, Scott Lenga
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

The Watchmakers
A Powerful WW2 Story of Brotherhood, Survival, and Hope Amid the Holocaust

Author: Scott Lenga, Harry Lenga

Narrator: Barry Abrams

Unabridged: 8 hr 33 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 08/23/2022


Synopsis

Harry Lenga was born to a family of Chassidic Jews in Kozhnitz, Poland. The proud sons of a watchmaker, Harry and his two brothers, Mailekh and Moishe, studied their father's trade at a young age. Upon the German invasion of Poland, when the Lenga family was upended, Harry and his brothers never anticipated that the tools acquired from their father would be the key to their survival.

Under the most devastating conditions imaginable—with death always imminent—fixing watches for the Germans in the ghettos and brutal slave labor camps of occupied Poland and Austria bought their lives over and over again. From Wolanow and Starachowice to Auschwitz and Ebensee, Harry, Mailekh, and Moishe endured, bartered, worked, prayed, and lived to see liberation.

Derived from more than a decade of interviews with Harry Lenga, conducted by his own son Scott and others, The Watchmakers is Harry's heartening and unflinchingly honest first-person account of his childhood, the lessons learned from his own father, his harrowing tribulations, and his inspiring life before, during, and after the war. It is a singular and vital story, told from one generation to the next—and a profoundly moving tribute to brotherhood, fatherhood, family, and faith.

About Scott Lenga

Scott Lenga is the son of Harry Lenga. A native of St. Louis, Missouri, he holds a BA in economics from UC Berkeley and a law degree from UCLA. He and his wife live in Israel, where they raised three daughters who grew up listening to stories about the grandfather they never really knew. In addition to writing and speaking about his family's experiences during and after World War II, he serves as a corporate and intellectual property lawyer for technology companies.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Dianne on June 24, 2022

This is a challenging book for me to review. The subject matter is one that I've never paid that much attention to except for what we needed to learn in school. I have no idea why I chose this ARC, but it must have been something/someone who wanted me to know more about these atrocities. Or maybe Ka......more

Goodreads review by Corina on January 26, 2023

Cu toții am auzit măcar o singură dată fraza: Istoria este scrisă de învingători. În realitate, cred că victimele sunt cele care scriu istorie, lasă mărturii, fie ele chiar și subiective, dar atât de importante pentru un demers analitic. Ei, oamenii care trec prin tăvălugul evenimentelor, care resim......more

Goodreads review by KennytheKat on May 29, 2022

This book was phenomenal and I it was a great read. Took a while for the book to pick up but that’s the only flaw I have about the book.......more

Goodreads review by Cynthia on December 03, 2022

A Powerful Tale of Survival We are fast approaching a time when there will be no survivors left to share the truths of what happened to the Jewish people during Hitler's regime. This account of three brothers who stuck together, fighting to support each other and hold onto hope under unthinkable co......more

Goodreads review by Tina on April 29, 2022

I initially marked this review with spoilers. As I did remark on a specific incident, this is history and it should be well known that there were atrocities. So I have removed the "spoilers" tag. This is a book I think all should read. Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it. This book......more