A Most Unlikely Man
Isadore Levinsky is a survivor. No stranger to concentration camps, he’s been freighted by boxcar to yet one more, possibly his last, before death by rifle or neglect. He’s survived this far because he’s done what any person would do under the circumstances: everything possible, irrespective of the consequences for others. At the nearly deserted Natzweiler-Struthof camp, Levinsky matches wits with fellow prisoner Otto Beck, a self-proclaimed pacifist, gentile and admitted liar. Beck has decreed that all food and water will be shared equally. He’s rallied the men and challenged his Nazi overseers, willingly taking their beatings and abuse.
But is Beck a charismatic con man or a liberator? Previously convicted for treachery, Beck is architect of an escape plan specifically designed to assist his Nazi captors.
Can Levinsky and the men survive Beck and find their way to freedom?
A Most Unlikely Man: A Tale of Resistance is a story that resonates with our own times. Uplifting and inspiring, the story draws us into a dark past we must never forget, while shining a ray of hope for our future.
A Most Unlikely Man: A Tale of Resistance –
Motivations, Conflicts and Challenges
by J. Paul Rieger
My novella, A Most Unlikely Man: A Tale of Resistance, features two protagonists who, along with twenty other men, are imprisoned in the Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp in Nazi-annexed Alsace.
Isadore Levinsky is a cynic and pessimist. Surviving another day is his sole motivation. Because he’s a survivor, he’s willing to do whatever it takes to live, including taking more than his share of food. He knows that doing so is morally wrong and harmful to his fellow prisoners. But his survival instincts prevents him from doing otherwise.
Otto Beck is a gentile and a pacifist. A former German government employee, Beck was convicted of treason for opposing the Third Reich and refusing military service. He’s been inexplicably thrown into the otherwise all-Jewish concentration camp. He’s an optimist. His motivation is survival, too. But Beck recognizes the importance of the men banding together to reclaim their dignity and humanity. He sees this as the key to their freedom and means by which to defeat their Nazi captors.
Beck decrees that all food will be shared equally and declares that he has an as-yet undisclosed plan for their liberation.
Naturally, Levinsky and Beck are at loggerheads throughout most of the book. Levinsky sees Beck’s statements as nonsense. He believes that Beck is deceiving the men and fueling false hope for Beck’s own benefit. He views Beck’s constant optimism as a form of cruelty inflicted upon the helpless and desperate men. But he also respects Beck’s willingness to take the beatings of the Nazis, even though he fears that Beck’s actions and statements may place them all in even greater jeopardy.
Of course, the real enemy and source of conflict is the Nazis. Due to the prior evacuation and relocation of the prison population to satellite camps, only a handful of Nazi overseers have been left in place at the concentration camp to guard the twenty-two prisoners. The lack of German personnel is not immediately apparent to the prisoners, but Beck comes to realize such and begins to use the Nazis’ small numbers against them. Beck is a master of insinuation, misinformation and suggestion. His liberation plan requires cultivating mistrust. He imperceptibly turns the Nazis against one another by preying upon their fears and egos.
The challenges faced by the protagonists are many. Beck must somehow put his mysterious plan into effect. Levinsky must either team up with the other men or be left behind. The men face privations and hardships in their route to freedom. Treacherous opportunists threaten them along the way in their journey. The Nazis are never far behind. And ultimately, freedom comes with a cost.
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