The Eleventh Commandment: A Jewish Childhood in Nazi-Occupied France

"THOUGH IT IS MORE THAN sixty years later, the memories of World War II continue to haunt me. However determined I was to erase them from my consciousness through the years, they simply would not fade away. Thus, I resolved to write this memoir in the hope that it would liberate me from the shackles of their continual recollection."

With these words, Leo Michel Abrami begins his poignant memoir of childhood in Nazi-occupied France, recounting the numerous dangers faced by his family during these years and his hiding on an isolated farm in Normandy. It is a story seen through a child's eyes, full of beauty and betrayal. It is a story of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, most importantly, young Leo's courageous and inventive mother who, according to him, is "the real hero of this story."

"[The Eleventh Commandment], like The Cellist of Sarajevo brought me close to the horrors of war and shows in a touching and highly personal way how people are changed by it and how powerful and admirable is the will to survive."
- Barbara Milbourn, reviewer, Nashville, Tennessee