Betrayal and Survival and Beyond: A Memoir

In his autobiography, Mathis Szykowski describes his childhood in France. As the son of Jewish immigrants from Poland and Romania, Szykowski strives to assimilate into French culture. World War II and the Occupation of France reveal that his aspirations were illusory. He survives a difficult adolescence, only to end it as an orphan.

After the war, he is able to emigrate to the U.S.A. Szykowski serves in the U.S. Army in Japan, lives in New York City and, finally, resumes his education. His survival under dire circumstances depends on the help of people willing to risk their lives for others.

Mathis Szykowski is an emeritus associate professor of French at Oberlin College in Ohio. He received his B.A. from Brooklyn College and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Stanford University. He is a native of France but has lived in Oberlin for forty-three years. He is married and has four children. He enjoys travel and collecting eighteenth century French Faience.