Grandson of four Holocaust Survivors

Author who chronicled Holocaust atrocities in final days of WWII

Martin Bodek is the grandson of four survivors with four different stories to tell. He keeps all of them in his heart, but has chronicled his maternal grandfather's astonishing story in a book titled Zaidy's War: Four Armies, Three Continents, Two Brothers. One Man's Impossible Story of Endurance. It is published by Amsterdam Publishers - the largest publisher of Holocaust literature in Europe. Benzion Malik's story involves serving four armies under wildly unique circumstances, being present for both the largest land invasion in human history and the final battle of WWII, avoiding cannibalism under pain of death, eluding poisoning, surviving to walk 1,600 miles to his Romania home, emigrating to Israel, enduring the pummeling of his new community of Haifa during the Six Day War, finally settling in peace in the U.S. where he served as a chef for 40 years, and finished Shas (Talmud) 14 times while he was doing all that. He passed away 10 years ago at the age of 95.

Zaidy’s War has launched Martin on an international, multi-venue public speaking/podcast/Zoom talk/book club tour that remains ongoing. He was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, and currently lives in New Jersey with his wife and three children. He is a technologist by day, and a writer by night.

Martin is a member of GenerationsForward, a group of second and third generation individuals sponsored by the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center of White Plains, New York. He is honored to partner with the HHREC, and brings panache, love, nostalgia, passion, and a "Never Again" ethos to his presentations.

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