From the New York Times bestselling and National Jewish Book Awardwinning author: a gripping novel of foreboding, betrayal, heroism, and hope set in World War II Budapest
By the end of 1943, nearly all of Europes Jewish population had fled, been deported, captured, or killed by Hitler. Only Hungary, and its almost 900,000 Jews, remained free from Hitlers subjugation. They lived under government edicts and restrictions but without fear of harm. That changed in March 1944, after the Nazi defeat at Stalingrad, as an avaricious Hitler conquered Hungary and declared his plan for mass extermination of the Jewish people. With the notorious Adolf Eichmann supervising the process, Nazis began rounding up Hungarys Jewish population.
In this dramatic new novel, The Righteous, Theresa Weissbach, a professor at the University of Michigan, hasnt heard from her parents in Budapest for over a year. Her best friend, Julia Powers, recently awarded a Distinguished Service Medal for her OSS service in occupied Holland, joins with her to locate and rescue Theresas family. While there, they become involved in a much larger cause, trying to save as many people as they can. Theresas father, a leader of the Budapest Jewish community, accompanies them in a desperate effort to rescue their people. Working alongside the newly formed US War Refugee Board, diplomats from neutral nations, and leaders of underground rescue organizations, Julia and Theresa forge relationships with Swiss Vice Consul Carl Lutz and Swedish businessman, Raoul Wallenberg. Their skills and connections in the complex networks of public and secret diplomacy enable Julia, Theresa, and others to take enormous risks in an effort to save thousands of innocent lives.
Authentic, suspenseful, and deeply moving, The Righteous continues Ronald H. Balsons fictional exploration of World War II and the heroic actions of those who resisted Hitlers Master Plan.
