A Look Back Over My Shoulder

Born Gerhard Fabian in Stuttgart, Germany on 11 January 1934, Garry's early years of life were spent travelling between countries to avoid persecution by the Nazis. In 1936 his family fled Germany to Bodenback, Czechoslovakia, to avoid the ramifications of the Nuremberg Laws and escape Nazi persecution. In 1942 when Garry was eight, the family was interned in Theresienstadt. They were to spend till May 1945 in the 'model settlement' that was used as a showpiece by the Nazi propaganda machine. Of the 15,000 children who entered its gates, Garry was one of only 150 to survive. This book bears witness to the story of what happened in that infamous camp. The family was liberated in May 1945 and the new life they built in Australia is confirmation of the ability of the human spirit to overcome past trauma and live fully.