Reviewed by Colleen McLennan
The author, Danny Ben-Moshe, is a documentary filmmaker who has enjoyed worldwide acclaim for his work. Prior to becoming a full-time filmmaker, he was an Associate Professor at Deakin and Victoria Universities in Melbourne. His research focused on Jewish subject matter. He has an undergraduate degree in law and politics from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London and a PhD in Jewish Studies from Melbourne University. Originally from London, when home in Australia, he lives in Melbourne.
The Watchmaker’s War is a work of fiction based on a true story. It follows the journey of two Lithuanian brothers, Yakov and Benny Holzman, from the time of the Nazi occupation of Vilna in Lithuania in 1943 through to their arrival in Australia as emigrants in the 1950s. The atrocities of the Nazis, with the collaboration of the Lithuanian Special Squad, took from the brothers all members of their Jewish family. It set the stage for the revenge they felt compelled to enact.
Yakov is a member of an underground organization hiding in the forest near Vilna, engaged in activities to thwart the onslaught of the Nazi forces. He is unable to convince his older brother, Benny, and the other members of his family, all of them weakened by starvation, to flee to the forest. Ultimately the family are removed from their home in the ghetto by the Lithuanian Special Squad and meet their fate at the death pits of Ponar. Benny is able to survive the bullets and feigns death, lying on the bodies of his family members who have succumbed. Benny is eventually able to reunite with Yakov and the partisans.
At the end of the war, Yakov remains with the partisans, exacting revenge where he can throughout Europe. Benny chooses to emigrate to Australia with the support of the Jewish Welfare Society. By 1950 Yakov joins him in Melbourne after travelling by ship with other displaced persons. On board ship he meets Berel, a Polish Jew, and becomes friendly with him. Yakov provides him with contact details in Melbourne, should he need help in the future.
Benny and Yakov set up a watchmaker’s shop and are embraced by the Melbourne Jewish community.
The arrival of emigrants was encouraged by the Australian Governmemnt at this time. The need for skilled labour was vital to drive advancement of industry and construction post war. However the screening of the newcomers was not as stringent as it should have been. Background checks failed to identify some persons involved in collaboration with the Nazi regime. Vladas Vitkus, a former leader in the Lithuanian Special Squad and some of his former henchman, are able to gain entry to Australia. They are housed in Bonegilla Camp, the same camp where Berel is living. Berel is appalled to overhear Vitkus and his men intending to “hunt” for Jews. They also boasted about the atrocities they had committed during the war. Berel contacts Yakov and informs him of his fears for his life and those of other Jewish people. A decision is made to contact the Police. The local Police are of no assistance when the matter is reported to them. Soon the fears of the Jewish community are heightened when the synagogue is painted with swastikas. Yakov organizes men from the community to help protect other Jewish buildings.
At that time, higher levels of government were focused on preventing the progress of communism in Australia and sought out newcomers who spoke the Russian language to spy on suspected persons of interest. ASIO has recruited Vitkus and Jonas (one of his men) for this purpose. Vitkus has other plans and conspires with other groups to plan a political uprising.
At the end of 1951, Yakov enters a joyful episode in his life. He marries Eva. The watch shop is successful and the wonderful news of Eva’s pregnancy is received. With the intent of buying pregnancy clothing, Eva boards a tram from St Kilda to the city. While on board she is shocked to see the Nazi who killed her father in the ghetto. In her haste to get off the tram, she falls heavily. The pregnancy is lost and so begins the quest by Yakov, to deal with the killer. Yakov sets up surveillance, locates the killer, and carries out revenge. Out of concern for the safety of Eva and his future family, Yakov vows to avoid further involvement in seeking out Nazis. However in the months ahead he learns that Vitkus, the leader of the Special Squad at Ponar, is living in Melbourne. Yakov had witnessed Vitkus give the order to exterminate the Holzman family. Outraged, Benny and Yakov set out for revenge. The reader learns of the outcome of their mission. Once again, Yakov vows that he will not engage in further attempts to hunt down Nazis.
At the conclusion of the novel, a happy event causes celebration. For Benny, a special honour is bestowed. Joy has come to their community. However, in an ominous message received by Yakov, in the midst of joy, it seems that revenge might not yet be complete and the reader is left to ponder … Will he?
This novel is about struggle, struggle to survive adversity, struggle to make way in a new country and struggle to deal with the demons of the past. Notes are provided at the conclusion of the main body of the novel. The reader is able to gain an insight into factual events which took place in Melbourne and from which the fictional novel The Watchmaker’s War was conceived.
The Watchmaker’s War
[2026]
by Danny Ben-Moshe
HarperCollins
ISBN: 978 1 4607 6361 2
$34.99; 404pp