No More Tears Left Behind

Eva Deutschkron needed only a needle and thread to escape the Nazis during the Holocaust.

Arthur and Ursula Rathburn's book, No More Tears Left Behind from Fort Dane Books, (www.fortdanebooks.com) is Deutschkron's poignant biography that details how Eva and her husband, Martin survived by living under the very nose of the evil that threatened to destroy them and millions of others. She shared her story with the Rathburns so that the memory of that evil would never die and would never be repeated.

Eva Lauffer had a typical childhood for a middle-class Jewish child growing up in Berlin. When Eva was a teenager, she noticed that slowly, subtle changes were taking place in the social structure. Non-Jewish friends were beginning to distance themselves. No one understood the significance of the changes taking place.

"I knew Adolf Hitler was very anti-Semitic," said Deutschkron. "I remember asking my father if this would cause him and my mother trouble in our business. He frowned a bit, puffed on his pipe, and then said quite emphatically: ‘No! I think not. He (Hitler) will settle down once he realizes the true way the politics and the economy of Germany work.'"

Eva's social life narrowed to Jews only. When she met her future husband, Martin, at a party, her parents were not happy with the relationship. Martin was a tailor and they wanted better for her. Ironically, it was Martin's skill as a tailor and Eva's talent as a seamstress that saved their lives many times.

"My skill as a seamstress gave me a trade so valuable that people were later willing to risk their lives to utilize it," said Deutschkron.

Jews were stripped of their citizenship, their businesses and their property; they were disappearing. The propaganda was that Jews were being relocated for their own safety. Eventually all Jews were forced into labor for the Nazis or "relocated."

Eva's parents and sister, Ruth, decided it was time to leave Germany. Unfortunately her family's escape was thwarted and they were sent to a concentration camp never to be seen again

A friend told Eva about the "underground," a group of people who lived undetected by the Nazis. They had no identities and no homes. They moved from place to place, staying only as long as they deemed safe. Eventually Eva and Martin were forced underground in order to avoid transport.

They moved around, staying with Gentile friends or anyone who would help them. They were able to get sporadic work and because of their skill and talent with needle and thread, they were valuable enough that people were willing to hide them as they did their work.

They learned to trust no one, to look over their shoulders and to survive by their wits and their skill alone. They knew to be caught meant death at the hands of the Nazis.

"I knew Martin had his pistol in one pocket and the hand grenade in the other. I also knew that he could not shoot our way out and that he surely meant to use the hand grenade to make sure that we were not taken alive," said Deutschkron.

When the war ended, Eva and Martin were eventually able to board a boat to America. They settled in Madison, Wisconsin and opened a shop. The shop prospered, their family grew and they left their ordeal behind. Eva's memory has faded, but the pain is never far from her heart.

"Dragging forth these memories has brought nights of reliving the fear and pain of losing my parents and sweet sister to some of the most evil people ever to live on Earth," said Deutschkron. "But it has also brought good memories of the many people that helped us survive in those dark times. The world must remember the evil deeds of the Nazis. To forget is to invite such a cruel time to happen again."

Arthur Rathburn is a former professor, private consultant and retired army sergeant. He fulfilled his dream of becoming a full time writer after his retirement. This is his sixth book based on true stories and people of the World War II era. His wife, Ursula, is his research and writing partner. Arthur and Ursula Rathburn live in Wisconsin, near their daughters and their grandchildren.