Karol ("Lolek") Wojtyla and Jerzy ("Jurek") Kluger were schoolmates until the autumn of 1938. They played hockey and went to dances together, went skiing and swimming, and studied in one another's houses. They learned about life from their loving families and endured the agony of tests and entrance examinations as a team. High school graduation and creeping anti-Semitism led to their separation. In the years that followed, they endured the unendurable: the invasion of Poland, the destruction of the Wadowice community, the ...
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Karol ("Lolek") Wojtyla and Jerzy ("Jurek") Kluger were schoolmates until the autumn of 1938. They played hockey and went to dances together, went skiing and swimming, and studied in one another's houses. They learned about life from their loving families and endured the agony of tests and entrance examinations as a team. High school graduation and creeping anti-Semitism led to their separation. In the years that followed, they endured the unendurable: the invasion of Poland, the destruction of the Wadowice community, the creation of the Jewish ghetto, the decimation of the synagogue; the army for Jurek, the catacombed seminary study for Lolek, the loss of beloved family members, and every day the fear for their very lives. It would be fifty years before their emotional reunion. The seed of hope that had been planted in their personal story would be magnified by world-changing events in politics and religion. So it was that when the rebuilt synagogue in Wadowice was about to be dedicated in 1989, Pope John Paul II wrote a letter to his Jewish friend, Jerzy Kluger, reestablishing the ties of friendship. When diplomatic ties between the Vatican and the State of Israel were being established on December 30, 1993, and again on April 7, 1994, when the Holocaust was being remembered in The Papal Concert to Commemorate the Shoah, on April 7, 1994, Lolek and Jurek, together, remembered, and were healed.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good. Very Good condition. Good dust jacket. A copy that may have a few cosmetic defects. May also contain a few markings such as an owner's name, short gifter's inscription or light stamp.
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Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
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Seller's Description:
Very Good. GREAT BOOK! MILD WEAR & LIBRARY STAMP CUT OUT ON BACK SIDE OF DUSTJACKET. LIGHTLY AGED, STAMPED ON EDGES, NO MARKINGS IN TEXT. Publisher: This is the tale of two boys, one a Christian and one a Jew, in a Polish town during the twenties and thirties. Jurek's and Lolek's lives were to be changed by the anti-Semitism and then by the Nazis, the war, and deportations. But the bond between them was to prove stronger than all other forces and, almost half a century later brought together the Polish Pope and his Jewish friend. ""Publishers Weekly: This little gem of a book recounts the story of a friendship lost and a friendship regained. Pope John Paul II and Jerzy Kluger were close school friends in Wadowice, Poland, until they were separated by the Nazis and the war. In 1965, the two were reunited in Rome; and in 1989, on the occasion of the unveiling of a commemorative plaque at the Wadowice synagogue, the Pope writes a letter to Kluger urging a solidarity between Jews and Catholics based upon the memory of their common suffering during the war in Poland. A heartwarming story that offers glimpses into the personal experiences behind Pope John Paul's well-known condemnations of anti-Semitism. (Jan. )
