Centenarian Rudi Haymann shares his astonishing life, from birth in Germany, to exile at the age of 16 in British Palestine, to joining the British Intelligence Service in WWII, finding his surviving family, and settling in Chile. Based on his diary and letters from 1938-1948, his thrilling memoir, Beyond Borders: Escaping the Holocaust and Fighting the Nazis 1938 – 1948, tells a story both personal and universal, both everyman and heroic, showing one man’s commitment and courage in the fight against Nazism.
Jewish participation in the Allied armies is not a well-known story, and mostly written by a third person. Rudi’s is an authentic memoir by a living veteran. His is the story of an ordinary young man, vital and driven by ideals, who is shaping his values and identity in extraordinary times. Rudi weaves personal and historic events, and reflects on war values, national struggle, idealism, allegiance, migrations, first love, and family ties, complemented with historic photographs and documents.
