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The Heartbreaking True Story of a Family Torn Apart by War
by Elisabeth Asbrink
Winner of the August Prize, an intricate weave of documents, substantive narrative, and emotional commentary that centers on a young Jewish refugee's friendship with the future founder of IKEA.
Otto Ullman, a Jewish boy, was sent from Austria to Sweden right before the outbreak of World War II. There he became best friends with Ingvar Kamprad, who would grow up to become the founder of IKEA. Despite the huge Swedish resistance to Jews, the thirteen-year-old Otto was granted permission to enter Sweden—all in accordance with the Swedish archbishop's secret plan to save Jews on condition that they converted to Christianity. Otto found work as a farmhand at the Kamprad family's farm Elmtaryd in Agunnaryd in the province of Småland. Ingvar and Otto became very close friends. But at the same time, Ingvar Kamprad was actively engaged in Nazi organizations and a great supporter of the fascist Per Engdahl. Otto's parents were trapped in Vienna, and the last letters he received were sent from Theresienstadt.
With thorough research, including personal files initiated by the predecessor to today's Swedish Security Service (SÄPO) and more than 500 letters, Elisabeth Åsbrink illustrates how Swedish society was infused with anti-Semitism and how families are shattered by war and asylum politics.
"[An] engrossing tale of a young Jew in Sweden during World War II. Top-notch microcosmic World War II history and an excellent illustration of the immense power of the written word." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Åsbrink's historic timeline of Christianity's long scourge-and-purge tactics against Jews is chilling, as are the parallels readers will note to today's immigration discussions…[a] must-read." - Booklist
"And in the Vienna Woods the Trees Remain is a gripping saga of love, friendship, betrayal, and, above all, courage—the courage of parents trapped in the Nazi inferno who yet never waiver in their devotion to their son. This is one of the most moving books I have ever read about that dark period in history." - Francine Klagsbrun, author of Lioness: Golda Meir and the Nation of Israel
This information about And in the Vienna Woods the Trees Remain was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Elisabeth Åsbrink is a journalist and author from Sweden and previously served as the chairperson of PEN Sweden. Her book, And in the Vienna Woods the Trees Remain, received worldwide attention for revealing new information about IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad's ties to Nazism. It won several awards, including the August Prize for Best Swedish Non-Fiction Book of the Year, the Danish-Swedish Cultural Fund Prize, and Poland's Ryszard Kapuściński Award for Literary Reportage. Åsbrink made her debut as a playwright with RÄLS, based on the minutes taken at a meeting convened by Hermann Göring in 1938, and has since written four plays.
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