How Languages Saved Me

How Languages Saved Me is a vital story that has to be told and compels to be stared. The book is well-written and the narrative is powerful.

I chose to read this book because, being a linguist and a translator, I was intrigued by the title and the synopsis.
It’s a wonderful, suspenseful and moving story of surviving first the Nazis and then the secret Soviet police, and how languages (the protagonist spoke 9 languages!) open up new worlds and possibilities. Every language can help you create a new life.

Highly recommended.

Tadeusz Haska was born in Poland in 1919, he remembers events from the time he was 6 months old, he and his brother had parents until he was 13. Tadeusz survived WWII by learning German and he became a refugee who smuggled his wife into Sweden by boat - having become a sailor in order to rescue her! His life story is almost unbelievable - it would be a fascinating movie!

Tadeusz Haska's granddaughter, Stefanie Naumann, compiled the stories that she heard him tell, various audio and video interviews with her grandfather, his journals along with the memoir that he started writing in the early 1990's but never finished. She wrote this tribute to be her grandfather's legacy.

"My knowledge of languages helped keep me alive during and after the war, and I was fortunate to make a career out of my passion for linguistics."

It is heartwarming to read.

I read this EARC courtesy of Koehler Books and Net Galley. pub date 09/24/19

Review for How Languages Saved Me by Tadeusz Haska and Stefanie Naumann
This book is written BY Stefanie using the memoirs and photos of Tadeusz. Due to this fact it is written very much as if a relative is telling you the story which I quite enjoyed. However on reading several other memoirs I wouldn't rate this to be one of my favourite although it was a good read. The photos added to the memoir makes the story come alive and it was definitely a good idea to include these. The story itself was quite heartwarming at times but at others quite shocking that this man managed to evade capture so many times, well done to him and it goes to show how education can help in life. I feel that the author included everything needed to show what Tadeusz went through and at many times I must say I did feel more for his wife. I would recommend this to fans of memoirs. Although not an option I would give this book 3.5/5 stars if possible. Any other fans of this book?

If you read one book this year, How Languages Saved Me should be the book. An amazing true story of survival in the darkest of times, WWII. An account started by the man who lived through the ordeal and finished posthumous by his granddaughter.

"I did not know a carefree childhood or happy years of youth; I only knew hunger and cold. I fought for a piece of bread and to attend university." ~ Tadeusz Haska

Growing up in Poland, Tadeusz's parents taught him and his brother, Antoni, from a young age that everything but their education could be taken from them. Determined to make his parents proud and get the education they wished for him and his brother, Tadeusz studied vigorously. However, at the beginning of WWII, life as a university student was no longer a possibility. If Tadeusz had not fled from the life he was living when he did, he would've ended up in one of the camps like thousands of other scholars. On the run from the Germans, and later the Soviets, Tadeusz's journey expands thousands of miles across Europe and later to America.

How Languages Saved Me is a small book that details the trek Tadeusz took from 1939-1986. Written in the first person, this book makes you feel as if Tadeusz is sitting in front of you, recounting all the experiences he went through and the love he found along the way!

If you enjoy hearing someone narrate their life's story, you're going to love How Languages Saved Me. I thought it was incredible to read how Tadeusz found himself in various situations and how his life changed due to the events that occurred during WWII. Through all the hardships and near-death experiences, Tadeusz's story showed me the true meaning of perseverance. No matter what difficulties we're going through, we should never give up the fight to reach the life we are called to lead! We all have a destiny, and when trials come our way, it's our duty to decide if they're going to make or break us!

~ Thanks NetGalley, and the publisher, for providing me with the digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. ~

This is a story of how one young man managed to stay alive in Poland during WW2, escape the Nazis, and manage to build a wonderful life despite all that he went thru as a young man. Today's youth (even those in my generation) would benefit from reading Tad's story. His granddaughter wrote this book using stories that he told her, a memoir he started and never finished as well as recordings her grandfather had made. What a tribute to this amazing man! 4⭐

Thank you #Netgalley for this ebook and the chance to review it.

An absolutely delightful first-person memoir of a Pole's survival during WW II, his escape from Communist Poland, and his life in the US beginning in the 50s. Left unfinished at Haska's death, it was completed by Naumann, his granddaughter.

Wow! This is an amazing true story of a man who was both very determined and very lucky to survive WWII and then escape afterwards to the U.S., at which point it becomes a great immigrant story. The photographs bring the family members alive in my imagination, and I am very glad that Tad wrote his memoirs and that his granddaughter completed them.

The innocence of childhood, which was lost all too soon – even before the War began. What a story of courage, strength in adversity, & determination, along with a series of miracles which spared his life over & over.
I have read a lot of wartime biographies, but none like this: I’m so glad the author was persuaded to record his story. Without such testaments, we have no idea what people have gone through even in comparatively recent history. I definitely recommend this book as being well worth reading.

This is a very interesting memoir about a Polish man who is very intelligent and resilient who skillfully survives WWII. The book chronicles the emphasis his family placed on education, and the great lengths the children went to ensure they would continue to learn despite hardships. Once the war started, Tad realized that his once coveted education was now causing him problems, like accusations of being a spy and causing fear of uprisings. This started years of living in hiding, moving from place to place, using and learning new languages to cover his true identity. Tad even managed to obtain false documents, join the Swedish Navy, and smuggle his wife out of Poland. The story seems too incredible to be true, but Tad tells it in such a matter of fact way as if it was just another day in the life of chaos, and he was doing what needed to be done. (However, I do think that the storytelling could use a bit of drama and flair added, just for excitement- maybe some adjectives or adverbs added.)

Tadeusz Haska was born in Mikolajki, Poland in 1919,shortly after WWI ended. He and his brother Antoni were the sons of dairy farmers who made and sold cheeses. "My parents were religious...I received a good moral education from them." The family placed a high value on education, moving several times to better their sons' educational opportunities. Unfortunately, by the age of 12 years, "...we had no mother and father...we had the principle they instilled in us that education is the most important thing in our lives. so, we applied ourselves and, by teaching [rich kids] we also helped ourselves." Tad was the recipient of a scholarship that covered tuition and room and board at Poznan University, but, after one year of university, WW II started. Attempts to join the Polish army failed. Trains en route to Warsaw were bombed and he was unable to reach the recruitment center.

"I was like a rabbit, jumping from one hole in the ground to another, trying not to be noticed by anyone, constantly changing my place of residence...if your education was high, you were the first...to be eliminated...I had to remove my glasses to disguise my education...'aha, you are a student, teacher, or doctor; come with me. There would be a truck waiting..."

Diligent studying and love of linguistics saved Tad. He already knew Polish, French and Latin. Staying at a farm estate in the countryside , he became the farmer's official translator. The news of the day, in German controlled Poland was translated with the help of a German dictionary. At a farm in East Prussia, Tad conversed in French to explain job instructions to French POWs. Escaping to Sweden, he was able to qualify for a Swedish passport, pose as a Swedish seaman and smuggle his wife from Poland to Sweden.

"How Languages Saved Me: A Polish Story of Survival" by Tadeusz Haska is a memoir, started in the 1990's and completed after his death by his granddaughter, Stefanie Naumann drawing upon audio and video recordings of interviews with her grandfather, his journals, and correspondence with her grandmother, Jadwiga. Tad's recollections provide his eyewitness account of life during World War II.

Thank you Sarah Miniaci at Smith Publicity, Koehler Books and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review "How Languages Saved Me".

It seems that there will never be an end to Holocaust tales of escape and survival against the odds. Here is another remarkable story of courage, determination and, of course, luck. It’s a compelling and moving account of Tadeusz Haska’s experiences fleeing the Nazis, completed by his granddaughter after his death. Born in Poland in 1919, he managed to survive in large part due to his mastery of many languages, which meant there were times when he was of more use to the enemy alive rather than dead. It’s a miraculous story and one that fully deserves to be told and remembered.

Really interesting account of survival in Poland during World War II. The narrator, Tadeusz Haska, defied the odds and survived the war by using his wits and gift for languages. This story would also make a cool movie!

What a unique and fascinated story!
The survival of the character during WWII using languages was extraordinary for his existence during that time.
The plot was so interesting that if they made this book alive it will speak volumes!