Moses of Rovno

     In The Moses of Rovno by Douglas K. Huneke, I read about a German Christian who risked his life multiple times to save hundreds of Jews during the Holocaust. His name was Fritz Graebe and from childhood he was taught to place himself in other people's shoes. Therefore, it was natural for Fritz to stand up for the Jews. In one circumstance during a meeting, Fritz stood up for a local Jewish business owner who disappeared. This led to being put in jail for a couple of years. Later on, Graebe Fritz became a structural engineer for railroads under the Third Reich. He jumped through loopholes to attain as many Jewish workers he could get. He forged papers and created a rescue network that ultimately saved the lives of many Jews. Fritz had the capability of bribing and fibbing to get what he needed to keep Jews safe. The Jewish workers were hesitant at first as they thought Fritz might be faking his generosity. But, he opened many other sites and was able to earn the respect from the Jews. After about a year's work, Fritz heard news of a "Jewish Action" that was to take place. Which is basically a ruthless killing spree and destruction of a town. Graebe Fritz left his wife and son to protect the Jews in Rovno. That night, he ran back and forth, placing himself between Ukrainian militiamen and the powerless Jews. Graebe managed to march them out of town to safety where he was named, "the Moses of Rovno"(63). However, there was an Action that took place in Dubno before Fritz had heard any word. By the time he got there, about 1,500 Jews were already dead, including the Jews under work permits for the railroads. At that moment, there was nothing Fritz could do and those images of that night would haunt him for the rest of his life. Nazi's ripped babies out of mothers hands and cracked their skulls on the sidewalk. They rounded up families and told them to undress before they shot them and piled them into a grave. There was one bullet for each Jew and some weren't even dead in their own grave. Fritz recalls one scene vividly:
                     In a soft, inaudible voice the father said something to his son which
                     caused the boy to look toward heaven. The father's hand moved gently
                     to the boy's head. The other hand pointed to heaven as the father again
                     spoke. The boy was fighting his tears and trying to maintain his dignity.
                    They were so brave. (74)
     I'm still in the midst of reading the book and admire learning about the risk Graebe Fritz took. The Moses of Rovno is a tough book to read because there are so many emotions. I must admit that I've cried on multiple occasions while reading about the torture the Jews had to go through. Nobody should ever be treated the way they were treated. I had to pause and reflect upon how hard their lives were in order to stay alive. Fritz is truly an inspiration as he used his job for good. He was in a position to provide Jewish families with hope and that's exactly what he did despite the consequences. Fritz described that by helping families, he was reminded of his own family which made him push further. I wonder why killing Jewish children didn't affect Nazi's with their own children. Fritz Graebe is a hero and I am honored to interview his son on "Call to Action Day".