Product details
- ISBN 9780228106364
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 01 Sep 2026
- Publisher: Firefly Books Ltd
- Publication City/Country: CA
- Product Form: Paperback
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Part thriller and part love story, this true Holocaust survivor story is about survival, defiance, resilience, perseverance and incredible luck.
From Fugitive to Freedom is the remarkable true story of Jack Boeki, a Dutch teenager who escaped the Nazis ten times before finding freedom in America—and later returned to Europe as a U.S. Counterintelligence Agent determined to bring war criminals to justice.
After surviving the 1940 bombing of Rotterdam, 15-year-old Jack watched Nazi persecution of Jews intensify across Holland. Refusing to be captured, he became a fugitive, repeatedly evading arrest as the danger grew with every escape. Eventually caught and placed on a train bound for a death camp, he made a daring escape and later assisted Allied resistance efforts in occupied Europe.
His journey ultimately took him to England and then the United States, where he joined the U.S. Army's elite Counterintelligence Corps. Following the D-Day landings, Jack helped identify and interrogate Nazi officials, Gestapo agents, and other war criminals. For his service, he received the Purple Heart, the Normandy Campaign Medal, and the Falaise Medal.
After the war, Jack learned that much of his family had been murdered at Sobibor. Determined to build a new future, he emigrated to Canada and began a new life.
Written at age 101, this powerful memoir is a testament to courage, resilience, and survival against overwhelming odds. It also serves as a voice for the countless victims who never had the chance to tell their stories.
Jack Boeki was born on May 31, 1924, in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and grew up in a non-religious Jewish family. After his war exploits, Jack worked in Hong Kong before moving to Canada in 1951, where he worked in sales, as an entrepreneur and as a financial advisor in Toronto. In recognition of Jack's engagement in community life, at the age of 101, he received the 2024 Ontario Senior's Achievement Award. His life reflects extraordinary resilience, courage, and dedication to remembrance and education. Anna-Lea Boeki is his daughter.
