Brave Acts and Heroic Efforts in the Face of Unthinkable Evil: The Dangerous and Unbelievable Escape from Dachau with Susan Servais

In this episode, I have the pleasure to talk with Susan Servais, the daughter of Kathe Mueller Slonim who wrote the chilling, moving, and inspiring book and memoir “Escape from Dachau: A True Story of Survival, Courage, and a Daring Escape in the Face of Unthinkable Evil”.

Susan gives an overview of Germans of Jewish origin that were living and contributing to the arts, music, and science of the region throughout time and history. In fact, her grandfather was a war hero from World War One fighting for Germany whereas her grandmother volunteered for the Red Cross at the time.

And yet, when the Nazis took power, none of that mattered to them and Jews were not allowed to own property, work, or even go to public schools. Many were taken to concentration camps and died under horrid and abominable conditions. Fortunately, through the heroic efforts of a cousin, her grandfather was saved.

We also talk about other brave people who stood up against evil and risked their lives doing good. Moreover, many children were hidden and saved by Catholic authorities. There were also various other Germans who not unlike Schindler helped Jewish victims.

Finally, we appreciate the efforts of the German government initiative to invite former German citizens to visit the country under the program entitled “Return of the Lost Citizen”. For the first time, Susan's mother opened up about her experiences, and right after, she decided to write this book. Kathe Mueller Slonim passed away in 2021.