Two Wheels to Freedom : The Story of a Young Jew, Wartime Resistance, and a Daring Escape

The extraordinary true story of a young Jewish art student who not just survived but resisted and saved hundred of lives?ll while retaining his infectious zeal for life. Though Cioma Schonhaus was only 11 years old when the Nazis first came to power, his cleverness and resourcefulness eventually made him an unlikely hero and bon vivant. As a young adult staying one step ahead of the S.S., Cioma would dine in swanky restaurants and frequent trendy bars and have plenty of romances?ll while sabotaging weapons in the munitions factory where he worked. He even bought a sailboat and taught himself how to sail. These hijinks never distracted Cioma from a deeper mission. Trained as an artist, Cioma? masterfully forged fake ID's ensured that several hundred Jews survived the war. When he learned the Gestapo was closing in on him, Cioma masterminded a singularly daring escape: spending a month biking to Switzerland, he became the only person to cycle his way out of the Third Reich. Beautifully written and deeply satisfying, Two Wheels to Freedom is a story of survival and resistance unlike any other. Arthur J. Magida captures Cioma? exuberance, charm, spunk, and courage. His was a life lived with wonderment, one that the author sets seamlessly against the horrors of history while never losing sight of Cioma? ?ily ways, his zest for life, and his appetite for improbable adventures?ll of them delighting in the magic that? beyond the ordinary and the staid.?Two Wheels to Freedom is an exhilarating read that by turns illuminates and inspires.

Author: Arthur J. Magida

Publisher: Pegasus Books

Publication Date: Sep 03, 2024

Number of Pages: NA pages

Language: English

Binding: Hardcover

ISBN-10: 1639367225

ISBN-13: 9781639367221