I am the author of a biography about my father’s amazing story of living as a Jewish man in Hungary when the Nazis, and later the communists, seized power. Growing up in affluence, young Ervin Wolf was forced into a labor camp, unaware that his parents were deported to Auschwitz.

In Not a Real Enemy: The True Story of a Hungarian Jewish Man’s Fight for Freedom, Ervin relies on his wits and good fortune to escape the Nazis not once, but twice. Once freed, however, he finds life under communism so unbearable he must make the most daring of all escapes in the dead of a winter’s night. Not a Real Enemy is the true story of one of the most unknown chapters in the Holocaust, following the transformation of a young man as he confronts antisemitism, cruelty, kindness, despair, and hope in his journey toward freedom. The book has now won a Nautilus Book Award, a National Indie Excellence Award, a Living Now Book Award, and a Readers’ Favorite Book Award for 2023!

There are many parallels with today’s world, including refugees, racism, antisemitism, 2 wars, pestilence, and a Russian invasion! The little known and poorly understood Hungarian Revolution in 1956 has been compared to the current conflict in Ukraine by some experts.

If you purchase the book using the link below, I can mail you a signed copy or eBook version. A review or any suggestions would also be wonderful! Please also consider a book talk/presentation as well, if feasible.

I am donating 10% of my proceeds to the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC in honor of my late parents, both Holocaust survivors. They were Holocaust and history educators throughout their lives in the free world. The book is available at that museum, the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center, as well as at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Walmart!

I have also donated copies to the Yad Vashem, the Florida Holocaust Museum, the Holocaust Museum in Johannesburg, South Africa, the Museum of History and Holocaust Education near Atlanta, Georgia, the Imperial War Museum in London, the Zekelman Holocaust Center in Michigan, as well as many other organizations.

Website, Facebook, X, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Book purchase

Lisa Tenner, Author

Janice Harper, Author

Amsterdam Publishers

Survivors of the Shoah (1993) Available on the Schindler’s List DVD

Painful Joy, Max Friedman, Story-Power episode 91 January 3, 2024

Classic Cinema With the Sage Sisters, Keeper of the Flame, episode 14, September 3, 2025

The Hate You Give, Angie Thomas

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PodMatch
This episode is brought to you by PodMatch, the dating service for podcasters. They introduced me to Robert J. Wolf, M.D. and I’m so glad they did. I hope you’ve enjoyed our conversation and remember that if you have a podcast or something to share with the world, check out PodMatch at my affiliate link at PodMatch and tell them Lucinda sent you.

Story-Power on Patreon
I’m so passionate about stories that I created the Story-Power Patreon Community so I’d have an excuse to talk story with other story lovers. Patreon is $5 a month for content not found on the Story-Power podcast, or on my Sage Woman Blog. They have recently instituted a free tier so you can try it out before you buy. If you’re passionate about stories, and want to talk about what you’ve learned from your favorites, come join me at patreon.com/StoryPower. Let’s share what we’ve learned from the stories we love.

Classic Cinema With the Sage Sisters

Stories are a huge part of the way humans communicate with each other. Celeste and I think all stories are allegories where we can learn all kinds of important things, not the least of which is how to understand ourselves and others better. The best stories can be told over and over from one generation to the next and still teach great lessons. Emotional Intelligence and critical thinking are two of those lessons. Celeste and I think there are many classic movies that show us the progression of where humanity is today and we want to share them with you.

Shakespeare was right, “All the world is a stage and all the men and women merely players.” The stories we tell and consume are us trying to figure out who we are, why we’re here, and the kind of world we want to live in.

Come join the conversation on YouTube and our Facebook group.