Last month, Amanda Baker gave me a book title that she said was a must read. She was right.
The Happiest Man on Earth by Eddie Jaku tells the true story of a young Jewish boy in Germany and Belgium during the late 1930’s whom we would say had some pretty unfortunate things happen to him, followed by some terrible things. His parents had sent him away to engineering school under an assumed Gentile name. He just happened to return to see them for their anniversary, after four years hiding in this other life, on the night called Kristallnacht in Germany, the night Nazi thugs broke the windows of almost every Jewish building in Germany, burned many synagogues, and arrested hundreds of Jews. His parents were gone but he went to sleep in their home, only to be arrested himself as a Jew during that night and to be taken to the camps.
He saw his parents again later when they were all freed, but eventually a place where they were hiding was raided and the entire family was sent to Auschwitz. His parents did not survive. He and his sister did.
What is amazing in the story is Eddie’s resilience. Even in the camps he found a dear friend from his first imprisonment and they took care of each other. Though they were in different barracks and different jobs, they met daily for a walk around outside and a cup of faux coffee. In fact, I was amazed Eddie found so much freedom within Auschwitz, with death hanging over his head every minute of the day. He once actually escaped but could not find anywhere to go so he sneaked back in, having been shot by a Pole whom he asked for help. He had a doctor friend who met him in a bathroom halfway between their barracks after bedtime to perform surgery to remove the bullet! Amazing stories.
Most amazing of all is that Eddie could put a lot of us more fortunate people to shame with how he decided to be grateful for every day he lived, especially after the war. He married, had children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. He considered his wife his best friend, but also thanked God for his survivor sister and his friend from the camps. At some point, his family moved to Australia and he became a known engineer there. Eddie had enormous gratitude for the people sent to love him, or even to be kind to him as a refugee. And he decided to give back.
The saddest part of the book, which Eddie wrote at age 100, before he died at 101, is there is no sign he ever turned to Israel’s Messiah Jesus Christ.
Yet you just have to read this book in his own words. It is life changing.
In II Corinthians 10:12, Paul tells us that it is unwise to compare ourselves to each other. Eddie says that in his own words. Jealousy and envy are killers.
I have been very concerned that, forgetting that Communism is “the politics of envy,” our countrymen are proceeding on a path that has already failed historically in quite a few countries. And some of our Christian brothers and sisters play right along with their envious talk towards other people. We do well to pay attention to Eddie and count the blessings God gives us, instead of the things other people have that we think we deserve.