Before you go...
Check Out
The Bestselling Books of All Time
See the List

The Mascot

Unraveling the Mystery of My Jewish Father's Nazi Boyhood

Unraveling the Mystery of My Jewish Father's Nazi Boyhood

By Mark Kurzem

By Mark Kurzem

By Mark Kurzem

By Mark Kurzem

Best Seller
Paperback $16.00

Aug 26, 2008 | ISBN 9780452289949

Ebook $12.99

Nov 01, 2007 | ISBN 9781101213865

All Formats
+
    The Mascot by Mark Kurzem
    Paperback $16.00
    Aug 26, 2008 | ISBN 9780452289949

    Also available from:

    See All Formats (1) +

    Paperback
    –

    • Paperback $16.00

      Aug 26, 2008 | ISBN 9780452289949

      Also available from:

    Ebook
    +

    • Ebook

      Nov 01, 2007 | ISBN 9781101213865

      Available from:

    Buy the Ebook:

    About The Mascot

    The “spellbinding” (The New York Times) true story of a Jewish boy who became the darling of the Nazis

    When a Nazi death squad massacred his mother and fellow villagers, five-year-old Alex Kurzem escaped, hiding in the freezing Russian forest until he was picked up by a group of Latvian SS soldiers. Alex was able to hide his Jewish identity and win over the soldiers, becoming their mascot and an honorary “corporal” in the SS with his own uniform. But what began as a desperate bid for survival became a performance that delighted the highest ranks of the Nazi elite. And so a young Jewish boy ended up starring in a Nazi propaganda film.

    After sixty-three years of silence, Alex revealed his terrible secret to his son Mark. With his son’s help, Alex retraced his past in search of answers and vindication. His story is at once a terrifying account of survival and its psychological cost as well as a brutally honest examination of identity, complicity, and memory.

    About The Mascot

    The “spellbinding” (The New York Times) true story of a Jewish boy who became the darling of the Nazis

    When a Nazi death squad massacred his mother and fellow villagers, five-year-old Alex Kurzem escaped, hiding in the freezing Russian forest until he was picked up by a group of Latvian SS soldiers. Alex was able to hide his Jewish identity and win over the soldiers, becoming their mascot and an honorary “corporal” in the SS with his own uniform. But what began as a desperate bid for survival became a performance that delighted the highest ranks of the Nazi elite. And so a young Jewish boy ended up starring in a Nazi propaganda film.

    After sixty-three years of silence, Alex revealed his terrible secret to his son Mark. With his son’s help, Alex retraced his past in search of answers and vindication. His story is at once a terrifying account of survival and its psychological cost as well as a brutally honest examination of identity, complicity, and memory.

    Reading Guide

    Reading Guide

    About Mark Kurzem

    Mark Kurzem grew up in Melbourne, Australia. He studied anthropology at the University of Oxford, where he was a Commonwealth Scholar, and also studied at Melbourne, Jochi, and Tokyo universities, where he was a Monbusho Research Scholar. He worked in the… More about Mark Kurzem

    About Mark Kurzem

    Mark Kurzem grew up in Melbourne, Australia. He studied anthropology at the University of Oxford, where he was a Commonwealth Scholar, and also studied at Melbourne, Jochi, and Tokyo universities, where he was a Monbusho Research Scholar. He worked in the… More about Mark Kurzem

    Product Details

    Category: Biography & Memoir | European World History

    Paperback | $16.00
    Published by Plume
    Aug 26, 2008 | 432 Pages | 5-1/2 x 8-1/4 | ISBN 9780452289949

    Category: Biography & Memoir | European World History

    Ebook | $12.99
    Published by Plume
    Nov 01, 2007 | 432 Pages | ISBN 9781101213865

    People Who Read The Mascot Also Read

    ‹ ›
    Catch Me If You Can
    Revelations of Divine Love
    Selected Writings of Thomas Aquinas
    The Golden Bough
    Domestic Manners of the Americans
    The Civil Wars
    The Physiology of Taste
    Praise of Folly
    The Early Church
    The State and Revolution
    Capital
    The Aran Islands
    A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies
    Natural History
    Ecclesiastical History of the English People
    The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy
    The History of the Church
    The Twilight of the Idols and the Anti-Christ
    The Thomas Paine Reader
    The Condition of the Working Class in England
    The Later Roman Empire
    London Labour and the London Poor
    A Treatise of Human Nature
    The Essays
    Hippocratic Writings
    The Jewish War
    Reflections on the Revolution in France
    On War
    The Politics
    Orkneyinga Saga
    Letters on England
    The Rise of the Roman Empire
    The Analects
    The Digest of Roman Law
    A History of My Times
    The Journey Through Wales and the Description of Wales
    Chronicles
    The History of the Kings of Britain
    King Harald's Saga
    The Book of the Courtier
    A History of the Franks
    The Lusiads
    On the Good Life
    The War with Hannibal
    The Theban Plays

    Inspired by Your Browsing History

    Praise

    “Part mystery, part memory puzzle, it is written in the polished style of a good thriller, and it is spellbinding…. This is a book to keep you up at night.”—Dinitia Smith, New York Times
     
    “Astonishing.”—Caroline Sanderson, The Bookseller
     
    “Powerful.”—Olga Craig, The Sunday Telegraph (LONDON)

    Back to Top

    Visit other sites in the Penguin Random House Network

    Brightly

    Raise kids who love to read
    TASTE img

    TASTE

    An online magazine for today’s home cook

    LitFlash

    The eBooks you want at the lowest prices

    Read it Forward

    Read it first. Pass it on!