Surviving Shadows: A Tale of Identity and Trauma

<p>As a child, Alex Kurzem faced a choice: be killed or join the killers.</p><p><br></p><p>In the midst of the Second World War, he was separated from his family and taken in by a group of soldiers as one of their own. He was made a member of Hitler’s army – a toy soldier with his own rifle and miniature SS uniform.</p><p><br></p><p>But what the soldiers didn’t know and what no one would know for decades: he was a Jewish boy masquerading as a Nazi to save his life.</p><p><br></p><p>Alex lives with this false identity for so long, he no longer remembers who he was before – forgetting his parents’ faces, his birthday, his own name. But before he dies, Alex is determined to find the identity and family stolen from him during the Holocaust.&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>This is the story Alex would tell the world decades later, but doubts quickly took hold and wouldn’t let go. Could a story so unbelievable be true? Or is this a con to profit from the Holocaust? Eighty years on, is it possible to uncover who Alex really is? Host Dan Goldberg unravels the true story.</p><p><br></p><p>Get lost in someone else’s life. From a mysterious childhood spent on the run, to a courageous escape from domestic violence, each season of Personally invites you to explore the human experience in all its complexity, one story — or season — at a time.</p><p><br></p><p>More episodes of Personally: Toy Soldier are available at: <a href="https://link.mgln.ai/PVBRcQ" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://link.mgln.ai/PVBRcQ</a></p>