Publishers Weekly
★ 08/21/2023
Historian Moorhouse (Poland 1939) recounts in this immersive chronicle the story of Polish diplomat Aleksander Lados and his colleagues in Bern, Switzerland, who provided fake travel documents to more than eight thousand Jewish people attempting to escape Nazi-occupied Europe during WWII. By 1941, a black market in forged travel documents had emerged in Europe, and Rudolf Hugli, a notary and honorary consul for Paraguay in Switzerland, began issuing and selling fake Paraguayan passports. Working with Hugli, Lados and his staff, who represented Poland’s government in exile, became the center of a network of Polish and Jewish activists distributing the documents. The scheme lasted until 1943, when international diplomatic pressure put an end to the operation. (American diplomats were one of the leading voices urging Swiss authorities to shut down the passport pipeline, citing wartime espionage risks.) Lados and his band died in postwar obscurity; the story only became publicly known in 2017, when a Jewish guest of the Polish ambassador in Switzerland described the site as a “holy place,” prompting an inquiry into the forgotten history. Moorhouse expertly places the exploits of the Lados Group in the context of both the horrific Nazi violence against Jewish people and foreign governments’ callous indifference. The result is a captivating narrative of heroism and an illuminating account of the international diplomatic response to the Holocaust. (Oct.)
From the Publisher
Valuable… Of the many threads that weave through the story, perhaps the most intriguing describes the unlikely bedfellows who masterminded the operation.”—Wall Street Journal
“The Forgers is a well-constructed and agreeably concise book with a clear narrative drive and fascinating detail… Moorhouse’s most laudable achievement is the light he shines on Lados and his team, who saved at least 2,000 Jews from extermination. Until now, they have not received the recognition they deserve.”—The Times (UK)
“Among the many remarkable aspects of The Forgers is the fact that the prime movers were Poles, many of whom were notorious for antisemitism. [Moorhouse]… does well to highlight that some Poles displayed admirable compassion.”—The Sunday Times (UK)
“Absorbing… deeply researched and well reported.”—The Spectator (UK)
“In this fascinating book Roger Moorhouse shines a light on an extraordinary, audacious and little-known rescue operation.”—The Daily Mail (UK)
“The Forgers does a remarkable job of shining a light on this little-known truth.”—The Daily Express (UK)
“Moorhouse relates this story in great detail and a straightforward style. Those interested in the history of the Holocaust will find The Forgers useful.”—Jewish Book Council
“A crucial addition to Holocaust bibliography”—Jewish Chronicle (UK)
“Carefully researched and effectively told… a fascinating and powerful story.”—Am-Pol Eagle
“Immersive… a captivating narrative of heroism and an illuminating account of the international diplomatic response to the Holocaust."—Publishers Weekly (Starred)
“Riveting…The Forgers is a wonderful complement to the history of diplomacy and heroism during the Holocaust—one that's been relatively unknown until now.”—Shelf Awareness (Starred)
“It is the rare historian who can present a tale about the Holocaust that most readers have never heard. Yet that is precisely what Moorhouse has done… Fans of Schindler’s List and similar stories will appreciate how thoroughly Moorhouse evokes this horrible era… while poli-sci types will be drawn to the intrigue that gave rise to the Lados Group’s history-making efforts.”—Booklist
“A capable investigation of a little-known aspect of World War II history.”—Kirkus
“Once again Roger Moorhouse has produced an original and thrilling narrative which challenges several of the stereotypes about World War II. A tremendous story.”—Norman Davies, author of Vanished Kingdoms
“This is a powerful story about a group of brave individuals who found a unique way of saving Jewish lives from the Nazis. Moorhouse’s original research is characteristically scholarly, his insights illuminating, and his narrative gripping. An inspiring read and an important addition to the history of the Holocaust.”—Jonathan Dimbleby, author of Operation Barbarossa
“The Forgers is an important contribution to the way we understand international responses to the Holocaust. Powerfully told and meticulously researched, Moorhouse’s new book outlines the courageous efforts of the Ładoś Group, a circle of Polish diplomats in Switzerland who provided false documents for thousands of Jews during the Second World War in an attempt to save as many as possible from persecution and death. The Forgers is an astonishing book about one of the most ambitious rescue operations of the Holocaust.”—Katja Hoyer, author of Beyond the Wall
“The Forgers brings to light one of the largest Holocaust rescue operations in history. Moorhouse expertly tells the harrowing story of the heretofore little-known figure of Aleksander Ładoś, the top Polish diplomat in wartime Switzerland who led the effort to save thousands of European Jews desperately seeking to flee Nazi-occupied Europe by providing forged passports and identity papers for Latin American countries.”—Joshua D. Zimmerman, Yeshiva University
Kirkus Reviews
2023-08-12
Historical study of an overlooked hero of the Holocaust.
When Poland was occupied during World War II, its legitimate government went into exile. That government posted diplomats who were sometimes recognized, sometimes not, with the Reich momentarily placated by the naming of one, Aleksander Ładoś (1891-1963), not as ambassador but as a temporary chargé d’affaires to Switzerland. “A former journalist and diplomat,” writes Moorhouse, author of Poland 1939 and Berlin at War, “Ładoś had served in a number of significant diplomatic posts through the 1920s and ’30s.” Ładoś had a widespread network of contacts who pulled together, once it became clear that Poland’s Jews would be in the vanguard of victims of the rapidly developing Shoah, to find ways to deliver at least some of them to safety. They did so by securing doctored passports and visas, most from Latin American countries and then delivering them to a lucky few. On that note, Moorhouse estimates that the “Ładoś Group” issued passports and other identity documents to somewhere between 8,300 and 11,400 people (the discrepancy comes from the fact that passports sometimes covered whole families and not just individuals). Less than half are known to have survived, since passport holders were often transferred from death camps to “internment camps” where they were subject to starvation and disease. Moorhouse writes circumspectly of sensitive subjects such as how choices were made as to who would receive the forged papers. He also notes that corruption figured in the larger enterprise of document forgery, with some characters outside the group selling documents at a premium. While Moorhouse allows that other groups were active along the same lines—one Polish underground organization “produced some fifty thousand forged documents, on average around one hundred every day”—he makes clear that the forgotten Ładoś deserves to be remembered, as do his lieutenants.
A capable investigation of a little-known aspect of World War II history.
