"Measure of a Man" is Martin Greenfield's life-story where he tells of the inhumane suffering under Hitler's Nazi regime. This is his account of his miraculous survival during the genocide of 6 million human beings; mainly European Jews during WWII. Martin (b. Ukraine 1928) named Maximilian Grunfeld, his parents, 2 brothers & 2 sisters were forced from their homes in April '1944. Jewish families were herded from their homes onto cattle cars & sent to Auschwitz where millions were exterminated. Martin takes us back to his beloved family & beautiful hometown of Pavlovo near the Hungarian border and shares what he felt & experienced at 15 when separated from his family. He questions whether his parents knew what their fates would be. Was there a plan to remain together or whether his parents had put on brave facades knowing they were being sent to their deaths. Martin's realization of religious hatred and the understanding of what horrible things happen when people don't think for themselves are harsh lessons he learned and that mankind must learn from. The atrocities are inconceivable making Martin's account so imperative to be told and heard. He writes of his internment & struggle to survive in his 15 year old voice, reliving the horrors he experienced & witnessed making his narrative accessible, comprehensible and impactful. The torment of being separated from his father at the camps and his father's imparting wisdom are especially poignant. "Together, we will never survive, because working together we will suffer one for the other. We will suffer double." His father's parting words provided strength to survive and freedom to live a full life afterwards with gratitude, love, humanity without the burden of survivor guilt. "You are young and strong and I know you will survive. If you survive by yourself, you must honor us by living, by not feeling sorry for us." Today, Greenfield says "I am grateful for those words. They echo in my heart even still. It is a cruel thing, feeling guilty for surviving." His journey to America, hard work and zest for life that garnered him a loving family & a remarkably successful tailoring business is an impressive, hilarious, humbling and mindful account rendering the entire auto-bio a vital & essential read. "My life has been filled with far more light than darkness." At Martin's Bar Mitzvah at age 80, his Rabbi said "Here you have a survivor of the Holocaust who understands that {the} response to destruction is construction. Marty reconstructed his life. He built a successful business, and also a beautiful, loving family." Martin believes strongly life is too short to hoard one's gifts and considers the deliberate severing of family ties abhorrent. "Measure of a Man" is a first hand testament to history, humanity from a remarkable man with an incredible outlook & regard for the value of life.
Holocaust Survivor and Inspiring Thriver
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