Max J. Friedman, USA, författare till boken "Painful Joy"

Dear Bertil Thank you for including me on the list for this note. Fortunately, I have read your third edition in English and so finally could better understand your story and the journey your parents took as they and their relatives became eye witnesses to the desperation and worse that became the reality of German Jews such as your parents and relatives. Of course, much of your book also so clearly and sadly documents the pro-German actions by representatives of the Swedish government in limiting the ability of your family to escape to Sweden, except for short periods early in the saga. Your documentary style is meticulous and powerful and so many of the things you say about the survivors of the journey -- and those who did not -- ring true for me as well, even if my story is quite different. Sadly the antisemitism that existed before the war -- more or less everywhere on earth, if I could say it so simply -- was rampant. Of course, accommodations were made in every country depending on the economic and social status that some Jews were able to attain -- but underneath it wasn't enough to save very many of those most threatened (in Europe and Russia). What is so much more worrying is how that antisemitism has seen an overt resurgence around the world, including in the U.S. and Europe. Books like yours must be held up as providing clear documentation and witness of what hate can do -- everywhere and anytime. Congratulations on your research and indeed, I must say, your courage -- to devote so much of the later part of your life to this effort. As someone also touched deeply by the Holocaust -- as well as what came before and even afterwards -- I have also come to understand the importance of serving as a witness -- at least so that our children and grandchildren can learn our stories. I'm afraid that Never Forget for the world no longer has much traction any longer with the rise of authoritarianism and worse everywhere, including in the U.S. So we do what we can with open eyes and wounded but also open hearts. All the very best on this edition, your speaking tours and your resoluteness to sometimes talk truth to power. I hope our paths cross again before too long. Max

To Sweden - the story that was never told. Escaping the Holocaust. New expanded 3rd edition now in English by Bertil Oppenheimer

Dear reader! After some years of hard work, I have now again updated my book "To Sweden – the story that was never told – Escaping the Holocaust" (ISBN: 978-91-8059-571-1), but this time in English (460 pages). The first edition was published in Swedish in 2010 with an expanded edition in 2016 (still also available). New facts have been added over the years and a new chapter on my investigation project "Jewish registers, incitement to racial hatred and the internet”, which was observed in media.I found a number of Jewish registers set up in Sweden.This also leads to a concluding observation on the consequences of anti-Semitic hatred spreading in today’s social media. A little about the content in my book: I was born in 1950 and grew up with my parents and an elder brother in a suburb of Stockholm. At home, German was spoken, since my parents were German Jewish immigrants. My parents, Elli and Kurt, had immigrated to Sweden in 1943. But they told us almost nothing about what had happened to them during the war. It was not until the early decease of my parents that the questions started to accumulate. This is the story about my parents Elli and Kurt Oppenheimer, how they grew up in Frankfurt/Main, were educated, met each other and got married. How life, after Hitler’s takeover of power, gradually changed and eventually forced them to emigrate to the Netherlands, where after the German invasion, they had to go into hiding. You can follow them survive deportation; eventually get an exit visa accepted by Adolf Eichmann and desperately struggle to get a residence permit in Sweden. You will learn what happened to their immediate family and, above all, how in the nick of time they were saved and could be reunited with their relatives in Sweden. The restrictive Swedish refugee policy is illustrated in various ways. There were a few other people who made considerable efforts to save Jews in distress during the war. What happened to the consul Borrero, who from Stockholm issued Ecuadorian passports to Jews in Poland and the Netherlands? The Swedes very likely knew what was going on in Germany. The information was available – but what did the Germany-friendly Swedes want to believe? You can read comments about my book and the lectures I have given in Sweden and abroad. See my blog: www.bertiloppenheimer.blogspot.com. I hope you are interested in reading my new updated book in English. The book can also be a suitable gift for someone who is interested in our dreadful part of history.I would appreciate if you forward this letter to others who might be interested in reading my book. We must never forget! You can order my new book via the link: https://webshop.publit.com/webshop/5008 If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me: bertil.oppenheimer@outlook.com. //Bertil Oppenheimer

Oliver Ticciati, lawyer in London

Dear Bertil I cannot pretend to have read every word of the magnum opus, but I have read a very large chunk of it, and I hardly found a single English solecism; indeed I was most impressed by the English and I enjoyed your rather terse style and the short sentences. When your son Daniel said “It’s beginning to turn into an obsession” he was plainly on target—only someone who was truly obsessional could have unearthed and organised the fabulous number of documents that you have quoted in the book. Certainly it was the fact that I knew you which made much of what you had to say interesting to me. Very best wishes Oliver