Erwin Benko, with help publishing from Penny Kerman and Eron Howard, 80 years later.
Born in Vienna, 16-year-old Erwin fled the Nazi occupation in 1938. Refusing to be a victim, he embraced "Tapicucism"—a self-invented philosophy of joy and fatalism—and survived a penniless flight through Italy and North Africa. Arriving in New York in 1939, he chased the American Dream, rising from errand boy to toolmaker, and miraculously reunited with Lisl, the sweetheart he left behind. Drafted into the U.S. Army, he returned to Europe in Psychological Warfare, obsessively documenting his incredible coming-of-age journey.
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