In Dreams Together: The Diary of Leslie Fazekas

All it takes is a single bomb, dumb and random, to defeat all hope. But it would be a beautiful thing for us to meet again — a triumph of endurance, faith and love.

In the summer of 1944, eighteen-year-old Leslie Fazekas and his family are deported from their hometown of Debrecen, Hungary, to Vienna, Austria, as forced labourers. Fate and fortune have intervened to save their lives — after the war, they discover that nearly half of their Jewish community was sent to Auschwitz. During the devastating circumstances of his captivity, Leslie records his experiences in a diary and in letters to his girlfriend, Judit, from whom he was separated in Vienna. For eight months, Leslie’s words alternate between hope and uncertainty in love letters that are also a testimony of his survival during a perilous time. In Dreams Together features Leslie’s diary alongside his postwar memoir, a reflection on his childhood, the war and the love that shaped his life.