This autobiography covers the lives of Beate and Serge. Beate was born in Germany, and Serge was born in France. They were both children during WWII, and the war affected them in different ways.
After Beate meets Serge, she feels that she has a responsibility to represent her country and make them take responsibility for what happened to the Jews by Nazi hands. Serge's father was arrested and died in Auschwitz. From then on, these two spend their lives fighting for justice. At the end of the book, they talk about how they are still busy with their mission. Maybe they've slowed down, but they don't really plan on stopping.
As Nazi hunters, these two are more detectives than special ops. They collected mountains of evidence and then proceeded to protest. They got the truth out there, and they did what they could to get people to listen. They were extremely supportive of each other, and they had support at home to look after the children.
The main issue I had while reading this book was my own ignorance. I had no idea that so many high-ranking Nazis were able to live regular lives after the war. They had no fear of being found out or held accountable for their past. Only a few of the ones mentioned and "hunted" by the Klarsfelds were actually doing any hiding. It was disappointing to say the least.
The thing I felt I was missing throughout the book was pictures. Both Serge and Beate would keep referring to photographers memorializing certain moments, and it just made me want to see it. But guess what? There are pictures after the epilogue! I wish there had been more of the "famous" ones, but there were enough to satisfy my curiosity.
I think the best way to sum up this book is to quote the book itself. Serge says, "My commitment to the victims involves elucidating and explaining their fate by reconstructing the circumstances of their arrest and deportation, restoring their faces by finding photographs of them, and making their voices heard." That's what happens throughout this book, and I'm really glad to have read it. I learned a lot, and I hope others will read it as well. Great Book!
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