September 26, 2004. It is the opening night gala of the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Attending is the renowned philanthropist and Auschwitz survivor, Elliot Rosenzweig. Nazi concentration camp survivor Ben Solomon is also there, but he has no intention of attending the opera. He is there, pistol in hand, to confront Mr. Rosenzweig.
Ben Solomon knows that the persona of Elliot Rosenzweig is only a cover. In reality he is Otto Piatek, a former Nazi officer who never saw the prisoner side of Auschwitz.
Once, Otto and Ben were brothers. Now Ben’s last wish is to expose Rosenzweig/Piatek for who he really is and see him punished.
Otto Piatek became a part of the Solomon family ever since his father left him there “temporarily” at the age of twelve. Otto’s family is German; Ben’s family are Polish Jews. But the difference is moot in their family and Otto considers himself more a Solomon than a Piatek.
Two years later Otto’s father and mother, Stanislaw and Ilse, come back to claim him. But by then Otto has no desire to return to the family that abandoned him even though Hitler’s Nazi regime is becoming a dangerous place for Jews and for Otto as long as he stays with the Solomons.
At Otto’s insistence, Ben’s father Abraham sends the Piateks away.
In 1939 his parents return. Once again Ilse begs him to come with them and join the Nazis—she works for the influential Nazi, Reinhard Heydrich, and is party to the Nazi plans. She knows Poland is next on their list of countries to conquer and purge of Jews. She promises Otto safety and a good job. Again Otto refuses.
But Abraham Solomon reconsiders: having someone inside the Nazi organization might prove to be useful, even if it is only enough to save the Solomons from the Nazi death camps. Otto reluctantly joina the Nazi Army, and eventually achievea the rank of Hauptscharführer. He swears his loyalty to the Nazi party, while also promising the Solomons he will still look out for them.
But as the war progresses, Otto’s loyalties seem to shift more and more to Nazi sympathies. His excuse? He has to “play the game” lest his superiors discover that he is aiding Jews.
As the German army approaches the Solomon’s hometown, Otto urges the Solomons to leave. Ben’s parents and grandparents refuse, but Otto manages to convince them to send Ben, his sister, Beka, and Hannah, the daughter of a close friend, to a remote cabin in the mountains.
Otto’s motives are suspiciously ambiguous. Is he protecting his Jewish family, or is he protecting himself? Is he only “playing” Nazi, or has he become aligned with their cause?
Now, in 2004 Chicago, Ben relates his story to Catherine, a lawyer struggling to resurrect her career. Ben wants to bring a civil suit against Rosenzweig/Piatek, to recover the family possessions he allegedly stole. She has no intention of taking on his case but reluctantly agrees to listen to his story. But soon she becomes immersed in Ben’s story, and when he reaches its end, she is as determined as he to bring Elliot Rosenzweig to justice.
Once We Were Brothers is a tale of two inseparable “brothers” who become separated by war, betrayal, and time. It is a not unfamiliar story of families torn apart, of brothers taking opposite sides, and—in this case—the results are tragic.
Book Review: “Once We Were Brothers” by Ronald H. Balson
Susannah Willey Writes 