The Unsung Family Hero

A fast-moving historical biography with the feel of a thriller… how did an ordinary Jewish man find the courage to impersonate a tough Nazi officer?<br /><br /> Gerhard Badrian was a gentle soul – quiet and compassionate, a competent commercial photographer. The Nazi occupation of Holland changed him. To cope with ruthless tyranny, his first reaction was perfectly normal. Keep your head down, stay out of harm’s way.<br /><br /> But that didn’t satisfy him, so he joined the Resistance. He learnt to forge identity papers which saved hundreds of likely Nazi victims: Resistance members, Jews and others.<br /><br /> Still not enough. When, in front of his eyes, he saw his parents captured and deported to their deaths, a new persona emerged. He found he had hidden talents. He was a natural-born actor. Armed with forged papers and wearing an SS uniform, he would march into a prison or hospital… <br /><br /> Certainly, this is a thrilling war story, an engrossing Holocaust story. But it is also a family story. Gerhard was the author’s mother’s cousin. For Paul Gardner, Gerhard Badrian is his unsung family hero.<br /><br /> <i>&quot;A gripping story of how extraordinary times converted ordinary people into heroes … This book transforms the history of a global war and monstrous crimes against humanity into a personal story of courage, risk and heart-trembling fear.&quot; </i>– The Hon. Michael Kirby AC CMG