Two Wheels to Freedom: The Daring Young Jew Who Defied Hitler and Saved Lives in Wartime Berlin

A Jewish art student trapped in Berlin during WWII maintains a brazen, outgoing social life while secretly combating the Nazi regime in this surprising and propulsive tale. Pulitzer finalist Magida (Code Name Madeleine) recaps the story of Cioma Schönhaus (1922–2015), a “bon vivant” and “connoisseur of outrageous... gestures” who, in possession of a work permit that allowed him to stay in Berlin long after his parents and most of the city’s Jews were taken to concentration camps, routinely passed as an “Aryan” and went out partying. Sabotaging weapons at the munitions factory where he worked during the day, by night he took on different identities, eventually connecting with members of the Jewish underground and, with his background in graphic design, offering his services as a forger of fake IDs. When his contacts in the underground were caught by the Gestapo, he fled Germany by bicycle (he was the only person to do so, Magida asserts), making a monthslong trek to the Swiss border during which he had many up-close encounters with German soldiers and civilians (on several nights, he stayed in swanky hotels, having learned that confidence was the best way to pass as Aryan). In Magida’s winsome portrait, Schönhaus’s indomitable spirit (he refused “to let the glumness of the Third Reich swallow him”) and absolute calm under astonishing pressure make for riveting reading. It’s unputdownable. (Sept.)