Thou Shalt Not Forget

Book excerpt: Israel Lapciuc was seven years old in 1941 when his family was forced out of their home in Czernowitz, Romania and on to a train going eastward. He was separated from them some weeks later as he leapt off the train with some other young boys in an attempt to survive. Five years later he was miraculously reunited with his parents. What happened in the intervening years is the story Israel tells in Thou Shalt Not Forget. It is painful reading as Israel recalls all of the harrowing experiences of trying to pass as an ethnic Russian, of trying to avoid the dreaded and hated Nazi Stormtroopers (whom he and his friends call "The Beasts"), of surviving in a so called orphanage and of just remaining alive from moment to moment. Miraculously, both he and his parents survived and were reunited at the war's end. At the time of the publication of this book (2003), Israel Lapciuc is 69 years old. He is a valued and generous member of Miami's Jewish community, a successful businessman and a very loving husband, father and grandfather. During the life of his parents, he was a wonderful son. It is inspiring to realize that a person who went through such hell during his young and formative years could mature into a loving, giving adult who still believes in the goodness of life.