Book Review: Harry Haft

“He saw before him a half-dead skeleton of a man. It became clear to him at that moment that there would be nothing fair about this match. Harry was eighteen years old, big and strong. Schneider had kept him well fed, not overworked or tortured. Harry looked across the ring and saw the fear on the face of his challenger and he knew that this man had not volunteered. Harry remembered Schneider’s words about how the fight would end when one man was unable to continue and now he understood what that meant.”

The aforementioned Harry Haft was a Jewish prisoner during the Second World War who boxed for survival. Harry's son, Alan, wrote his father's biography, titled Harry Haft: Survivor of Auschwitz, Challenger of Rocky Marciano. The book was also turned into the movie The Survivor, which was recently released on Crave.

I chose this book as my selection for the boxing book club that I participate in. Our group of around ten guys, most of whom live in the United Kingdom, meet every two months on Zoom to discuss the latest book. It’s been a pleasure to be a part of the club and get a chance to read boxing books I wouldn’t have read on my own.

I chose Haft’s book because I love learning about Jewish boxers, and not only was Haft a Jewish boxer, but he was also a Holocaust survivor. That has personal significance because my grandfather is a Holocaust survivor as well. I know how important it is to propagate survivors' stories, and I knew that picking this book would allow more people to learn about Haft's story.

Haft was born in Belchatow, a small town south of Lodz in Poland. He grew up in a poor family as the youngest of ten. In October 1939, Germany seized control of Belchatow, and the Nazis seized Jewish property and enacted anti-Jewish laws.

Despite the war breaking out when Harry was 15, he was in love with his girlfriend Leah, who had accepted his marriage proposal. Unfortunately, they were unable to make their union official because Harry was abruptly forced to board a bus from Belchatow to Poznan, where he endured the first of many slave labor camps.

After several months in Poznan, Harry moved to another labor camp in Strezlin, and then to Auschwitz, where he was assigned to the crematoriums to toss freshly gassed bodies into the ovens. The human spirit can only take so much of that harrowing duty, and shortly after, Harry broke down and refused to continue.

Thankfully, a German SS officer, the aforementioned Schneider, noticed Harry and spared his life by moving him to a workgroup responsible for sifting through the belongings of new prisoners in search of valuables. It was Schneider who recruited Harry to become a boxer in Jaworzno, and Harry agreed to participate because it provided extra food and lighter work duty. The brutal weekly matches would take place for months, with Harry having roughly 75 fights.

Ben Foster played Harry Haft brilliantly in the film adaptation

After surviving Jaworzno, Haft spent time working in camps in Flossenburg, Rogoznica, and then a factory in Amberg. At this time, the war was ending, and when the Germans took the remaining Jews from the factory on a death march, Harry found an opportunity to escape. He ran away from the group and avoided the incoming gunfire pointed in his direction. Alone and desperate, Harry then spent weeks in the Bohemian Forest, killing several farm owners along the way as he sought temporary refuge and shelter. Eventually, Harry was rescued by American soldiers.

From there, Harry’s circuitous journey involved several more twists and turns, but he was finally able to immigrate to the United States. It was there that Harry decided to pursue his professional boxing career. If he could become famous and be featured in the newspaper or on television, maybe Leah would recognize his name and try to contact him. After all, he had never confirmed what had happened to her all those years ago.

The author spent the book's second part summarizing Harry's boxing career, including a short synopsis of his fights. However, that section, along with others, was too rushed. Alan included every twist and turn in Harry's journey and, in doing so, included extraneous material. However, despite some unnecessary content, the book was very compelling, especially its final fifteen pages, which described Harry’s reunion with Leah.

Alan was 13 when his father took their family on vacation to Miami so that he could reconnect with Leah. Harry had heard from the survivors’ society that she was living in Miami with the married name of Lieberman. When they arrived at the hotel, Harry made Alan dial every Lieberman in the phone book. Luckily enough, Leah’s husband answered one of the calls and invited them over to visit. The next day, Harry and Alan drove to Leah’s home, where they learned she had cancer. Despite being frail, Leah was happy to see Harry after so many years, and they had an emotional reunion.

Alan describes the scene:

“Her husband walked her over to us, and we rose. Leah and my father stood face to face crying. My father was the toughest man on Earth. I had never seen him cry. He just stood there sobbing, and Sarah [Leah's daughter] gave him a napkin from the table to wipe his eyes.”

I can't imagine what that visit must have been like for Harry, but Alan described it well despite only being an adolescent.

The book's afterword was also poignant because it provided insight into Alan's perspective. We learn that Harry had initially asked his son to write his story when he was in college in the early 1970’s. But Alan was reluctant to hear his father’s story because “it would explain some of his behavior that I did not want to excuse." Alan adds that, "He [Harry] was prone to fits of rage, and I remember being beaten for my childish misbehavior.”

Alan says, “By today's standards, I was an abused child. As I grew older, married, and had my own children, I struggled to understand and love my father. Unlike my brother and sister, I managed compassion and tried to be a good and caring son. I often asked myself, ‘How would I have turned out if I had his experiences? What kind of husband and father would I be?’”

Alan writes in one of the book’s final paragraphs, “I have spent my entire adult life trying to get my father to love me. The writing of this book was my last attempt. After learning firsthand what my father had to endure, I understand why he was who he was. I love him. And I forgive him.” 

Although it must have been an emotionally exhausting undertaking for Harry and Alan to record Harry's life journey, it was necessary. As the years go by, fewer and fewer Holocaust survivors remain alive. That's why every video, book, or testimony that records their firsthand experiences is crucial for posterity. We need to remember their stories to honor their lives and to remind us of the dangers of extreme bigotry and prejudice.

I commend Alan for his courage in writing his father’s story and thank him for adding another piece to the compendium of Holocaust literature. I strongly recommend it to anyone interested in the history of the Holocaust and boxing. It is a short but powerful story that deserves to be remembered and shared.