A Drastic Turn of Destiny

In Germany I was “Jewboy”; in Brussels I was “boche”; in France I was “undesirable”; in Portugal I was a “refugee”; and in Jamaica I was simply a non-entity…. I was a pariah in an exploding world.

The nerve-wracking account of one family’s efforts to stay one step ahead of the Nazi death machine, A Drastic Turn of Destiny is also the captivating story of a boy’s coming of age in the chaos of war. The biblical theme of Exodus gives shape to Fred Mann’s story as he traces his family’s flight from Nazi Germany through Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal and Jamaica, to ultimately find refuge in Canada. Against the backdrop of very real fear, persecution and exile, this memoir brings to light the experience of a resourceful teenage boy who is forced to grow up too fast. Successful as he is in helping his family in their desperate determination to survive, Fred Mann’s story is at the same time a lament for a lost childhood.