When readers first meet Julia Powers, she has just returned from Europe, where she and many others had saved as many Jews as possible from a certain death. A reunion with her college friend, Theresa Weissbach, changes the course of their lives. Theresa has not heard from her family in Budapest for a year, and she is desperate for news about them. Travel to Europe is forbidden due to the war, but the women are able to gain Swiss neutrality protection and make it to Budapest. By the end of 1943, there were almost a million Jews living in Budapest, and except for a few restrictions, they were not fearful for their lives. This changed in 1944 when Adolf Eichmann arrived in Budapest to carry out the rest of Hitler's plan of ridding Europe of all Jews. THE RIGHTEOUS, by Ronald H. Balson, is a work of historical fiction whose protagonists, Julia and Theresa, are fictional, but many of the other characters were real people. The story deals with the history of the Jewish people in Budapest. For many, they could trace their families back hundreds of years. Up to 1944, they had been spared the atrocities of the war, and they had even taken in refugees from other parts of Europe. They believed themselves to be safe. Why should they leave? Julia and Theresa knew why and undertook the massive task of convincing people they had to flee. They were met with resistance and disbelief. Then the roundups began, and Julia and Theresa had a new massive problem. How do they lead as many as possible to safety? Impeccably researched and detailed, THE RIGHTEOUS is a story of courage, bravery and commitment. It is a skillfully presented story that moves quickly and holds our attention from start to finish. Poignant and moving, THE RIGHTEOUS is well worth reading. Highly recommended.
From the New York Times bestselling and National Jewish Book Award-winning author: a gripping novel of foreboding, betrayal, heroism, and hope set in World War II Budapest
By the end of 1943, nearly all of Europe's Jewish population had fled, been deported, captured, or killed by Hitler. Only Hungary, and its almost 900,000 Jews, remained free from Hitler's subjugation. They lived under government edicts and restrictions but without fear of harm. That changed in March 1944, after the Nazi defeat at Stalingrad, as an avaricious Hitler conquered Hungary and declared his plan for mass extermination of the Jewish people. With the notorious Adolf Eichmann supervising the process, Nazis began rounding up Hungary's Jewish population.
In this dramatic new novel, The Righteous, Theresa Weissbach, a professor at the University of Michigan, hasn't heard from her parents in Budapest for over a year. Her best friend, Julia Powers, recently awarded a Distinguished Service Medal for her OSS service in occupied Holland, joins with her to locate and rescue Theresa's family. While there, they become involved in a much larger cause, trying to save as many people as they can. Theresa's father, a leader of the Budapest Jewish community, accompanies them in a desperate effort to rescue their people. Working alongside the newly formed US War Refugee Board, diplomats from neutral nations, and leaders of underground rescue organizations, Julia and Theresa forge relationships with Swiss Vice Consul Carl Lutz and Swedish businessman, Raoul Wallenberg. Their skills and connections in the complex networks of public and secret diplomacy enable Julia, Theresa, and others to take enormous risks in an effort to save thousands of innocent lives.
Authentic, suspenseful, and deeply moving, The Righteous continues Ronald H. Balson's fictional exploration of World War II and the heroic actions of those who resisted Hitler's Master Plan.
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