Two Roads Home

Hitler, Stalin, and the Miraculous Survival of My Family

By: Daniel Finkelstein

Narrated by: Daniel Finkelstein

An epic and uplifting World War II family history of resistance that spans Europe, telling of two happy families uprooted by war, their incredible suffering under Hitler and Stalin, and the near-miraculous survival stories of the author's mother and father.

“Moving and important.”—Robert Harris, author of Act of Oblivion

In Two Roads Home beloved British journalist Daniel Finkelstein tells the extraordinary story of the years before his mother met his father—years of war and trials they barely survived.

Daniel Finkelstein's grandfather was a German Jewish intellectual leader who tolled an early warning of the impending Holocaust and became an archivist of Nazi crimes. He relocated his family to safety in Amsterdam, where they knew Anne Frank. But in those years safety was an illusion: Anne Frank famously went into hiding and Daniel's mother, Mirjam, also still a child, was sent to Bergen-Belsen with her mother and sisters.

Finkelstein's father, Ludwik, grew up in a prosperous Jewish family in Poland where his father, Dolu was a patriotic hero of the Great War. But when Stalin took control, Dolu, was deported to Siberia and Ludwik and his mother were sentenced to forced labor in Kazakhstan, starved and housed in a stable in freezing conditions.

Two Roads Home is a page-turning account of the narrow escapes, forged passports, ingenuity, bravery, and luck that allowed Mirjam and Ludwik to survive the war and find each other. Using their personal testimony, letters sent to Siberia, a diary written in Belsen, and years of historical research, Daniel Finkelstein tells what happened to two families, one the victim of the Nazis, the other of the Soviets. A tale of deliverance and triumph over evil, Two Roads Home will profoundly touch all who read it.


* This audiobook edition ncludes a downloadable PDF of notes and a family tree from the book.

A story that had to be told

This is a story that had to be told. It’s one of great tragedy and evil but also one of hope and overcoming. The fact that Mr. Finkelstein reads his own family’s history makes this audiobook, especially moving.

Amazing story of survival

Astonishing story of the author’s family who survived the Holocaust and Stalin’s gulag. Engaging narration by the author. Particularly poignant in light of Russia’s 21st century invasion of Ukraine.

Tragedy on a personal level

I could not listen without tears in my eyes. I hope this tragedy never happens again, although I see signs of similar events that may come. First: humans label one group all alike, Two: dehumanize the group, Three: genocide occurs. We have already started to forget about World War Two, beware!

Precious

It’s hard to express the intensity and feeling I got reading this book. The Audible version is written and read by the son of his own parents who experienced the evilness of Russia and Germany prior to and during World War II. There are a number of miracles that brought home his mother and father while they were still children, who eventually found each other and married. I’m going to get the written book to keep for reference. I’ve never done that before. I more than highly recommended it. Make sure you download the PDF before beginning the story.

Warming and sad

What a wonderful book. Shows the power of human resilience and the strength of love. Beautifully written and performed. I learned a lot about some history I had read much about. Well worth reading.