June 2010 A SWEDISH VERSION OF THE BOOK?

Wed, June 30, 2010 10:16:08 AM
from Sweden re. your book

Lars Gyllenhaal [Chat now]

To: rauchlosdos@yahoo.com
Dear Mr. Rauch,

Your book has made a very strong impression on me. I am so grateful that you went through all the trouble of writing it.

I am a member of the Swedish Union of Authors as well as an elected lifetime member of the Swedish Military History Commission and write books and conduct research for TV-documentaries - mainly about WWII. My main website in English is: http://larsgyllenhaal.blogspot.com/

Recently my previous book was published in English: http://www.aberjonapress.com/catalog/saw/index.html

One of those portrayed most extensively in the book is Nils Rosén, a Swedish "Mischling" who in 1943 volunteered for the Wehrmacht and was accepted (he hid his Jewish ancestry, naturally). Like you he served in Ukraine and Romania. He passed away just last year. A fine man, who, of course, was sad to have volunteered.

The maps in our book are by Tom Houlihan - but he was not the one who told me about you. I found you through some google search because of Bryan Mark Rigg´s books, that I have reviewed.

Now, my question to you is if you still hold the Swedish rights for your book, yourself? If so I will tell two Swedish publishers that they ought to contact you ASAP.

BTW I ´d like to know, if possible, if any German or other publishers have approached you. They certainly should have.

Best regards,

Lars Gyllenhaal

May 2010 LA Times Book Festival at UCLA Campus

Lucky me! According to my publisher I was the last one to sign up for the prestigious LA Times Book Festival. By waiting so long I got a special deal, but since I understood that it was "first come, first served," I feared that my own book signing would probably take place at midnight. But, lucky again, I got a great midday hour.

The publisher provided the books for free, and each of us at the booth had one hour to sign 75 books. Quickly calculating, it was clear that we would be signing each book within less than a minute. Amazingly, I managed not only to sign 71 books in my hour, but I felt I had also smiled, made eye contact, answered questions,and enjoyed all the different ages, races, and economic classes of each person who was also smiling while tucking The Jew with the Iron Cross into his or her festival bag.

I was on in bed at the Cameron Trading Post in the middle of the Navajo Nation, when I received an email from a new enthusiastic reader. He said (as have many others) that Georg's book must be made into a movie. He also promised to contact people he knew who could possible make this happen. Very exciting, to say the least.

April 2010 Spanish Version of the Book

Mexican visitors to Los Dos, my Mexican bed and breakfast, have been saying, "We're so sorry we can't read Georg's book. Too bad it's not available in Spanish. I decided to try to meet that demand, and now the Spanish version, El Judio con el Cruz de Hierro is in its third edition.

I have a very dear friend to thank for the quality and perfection of the final Spanish version. Deborah Fountain, born in Mexico to American parents, is totally bi-lingual and she spotted a number of words and expressions in the Spanish version (translated by a Cuban) that could have been confusing to Mexican readers. She took home from her Mexican vacation copies of the book in English and Spanish. With infinite care and love she went over the entire book, correcting and improving the Spanish translation. I'm looking forward to her visit this coming Thanksgiving!

Not too long ago a Mexican woman said during breakfast, "I'm having feelings of deja vu. My 15 year old son was asked to buy, read and write about a book, written in English, about World War II for his English class. He was happy to find the perfect book at Sandi's book store in Chapalita, Guadalajara, Jalisco."

The mother had been totally unaware that she was going to be vacationing at the home and studio of the author of the book, The Jew with the Iron Cross, and she couldn't wait to tell her son about it.