My Published Books

The enthralling story of Sam Herciger provides a powerful Holocaust memoir. It traces the journey of an aspiring young artist, who embarked on his passionate quest to find artistic freedom during the danger-filled period of Nazi hegemony in Europe. As he did so, Sam’s life was caught up in some of the most dramatic events of the 20th century.

His panoramic quest begins in pre-war Poland, where Sam grew up in an orthodox Jewish home, and where he encountered a mysterious figure on the banks of the shining Vistula River, who prophesied he would one day achieve fame. Sam’s desire to study art then led him into countless places of peril, including Stalin’s Russia and Nazi Germany. But the creative vision which drove him on gave him courage to endure unimaginable trials and difficulties, as did the inspirational works of art he encountered.

Sam’s soaring spirit was able at last to overcome the situations of extreme anguish and loss that he passed through, and all he endured then seemed to pour itself into his hands. Some of the images that came forth provide a devastating portrayal of camp life, others have an arresting and luminous beauty, with the power to lift the beholder into a realm of truth and transcendence. They stand as a pledge to the ultimate triumph of goodness in the world. Sam’s story affirms that the steadfast quest for love, beauty and truth can conquer the most seemingly invincible evil, and is a testament to the greatness of the human spirit.