The Search for Major Plagge

Book excerpt: An “exceptional” historical detective story that follows one man’s quest to find the German commander who saved his mother—and many other Jews (Booklist). Part detective story, part personal quest, Michael Good’s book is the story of the German commander of a Lithuanian work camp who saved hundreds of Jewish lives in the Vilnius ghetto —including the life of Good’s mother, Pearl. Who was this enigmatic officer Pearl Good had spoken of so often? After five years of research—interviewing survivors, assembling a team that could work to open German files untouched for fifty years, following every lead he could, Good was able to uncover the amazing tale of one man’s remarkable courage. And in April 2005, Karl Plagge joined Oskar Schindler and 380 other Germans as “Righteous among Nations,” honored by the State of Israel for protecting and saving Jewish lives during the Holocaust. This expanded edition features new photographs and a new epilogue on the impact of the discovery of Karl Plagge—especially the story of eighty-three-year-old Alfons von Deschwanden, who, after fifty years of silence, came forward as a veteran of Plagge’s unit. His testimony is now part of this growing witness to truth. “A rewarding tale of redemption in the face of horror.” —Kirkus Reviews