Once We Were Brothers by Ronald Balson

This is a story of two men, who meet at the age of 12 and quickly become close friends. But what happens to their friendship, when war intervenes? Their stories begin in 1933 Zamosc, Poland. 

Ben Solomon’s family, Jewish, owns glass factory, founded by his great-grandfather in 1861, producing “fine lead crystal, much like the Waterford crystal.” His father is a very well-respected man. 

Otto Piatek’s family, Christian, goes through some tough times as the Depression worsens. When his father has no longer means to care for him, he brings Otto to Solomon’s family known for generosity, where he stays for a few years.

Ben's family comes from the city of Zamosc, which he describes as “the jewel of pre-war Poland, a gingerbread city built by an Italian architect in the 16th century and modeled after the Italian city of Padua. So colorful, so magical it was, you would swear you woke up in Renaissance Italy. (…) Zamosc was a multi-cultural city, where the mystery of other cultures was something they were taught to respect.”

Ben's family comes from the country of Poland, which he describes as “a country which for many years had a history of tolerance towards Jews, the most hospitable country in all of Europe. Lublin was the seat of Jewish learning. There was a jeshiva, a school for Talmudic study, located there and scholars were turning out pages of biblical commentary. And Lublin was just north of Zamosc by a few hours.”

On September 1st 1939, Germany invades Poland. A few weeks later they’re in Zamosc. “Jews are ordered to wear white armbands with yellow stars.” They’re banned from using any vehicles. They have curfew and can’t walk the streets freely. 

Otto gets a job as an administrative officer. As he rises in ranks, he distances himself more and more from the people he once loved and respected.

Overall, the story is very interesting. However, I just wanted to engross myself in this description of a fairy-tale sounding city of Zamosc and this profound page-turning story of Ben without any interruption of an annoying lawyer as the story goes back and forth in time. In present time, Ben hires a lawyer to prosecute the one who betrayed him and his family during the war.

@Facebook/BestHistoricalFiction