Siegbert (Siggi) Wilzig was one of eight children born to Sophie and Isidore Wilzig in 1926 in Krojanke, West Prussia. Isidore made a modest living buying and selling scrap metal and pelts. From an early age, Siggi was self-confident and a student of human nature; he learned how to size people up by observing their facial expressions, manner, and gestures. Before the rise of Nazism, the Wilzigs were proud German Jews. However, in 1936, when it became clear that their lives were in danger, they fled to Berlin, where Isidore found a job and Siggi attended elementary school. The Wilzigs' hopes for a haven in the German capital were dashed, however, when the government "began restricting all aspects of Jewish public and private life."

"Unstoppable," by Joshua Greene, is a compelling and well-researched work of non-fiction, based on a variety of primary and secondary sources. It is the bittersweet biography of a courageous, street-smart, and tenacious individual who witnessed unspeakable atrocities, and endured years of malnutrition, beatings, forced labor, imprisonment in concentration camps, and death marches. Siggi emigrated to America in 1947, when he was twenty-one. Since he was blessed—or cursed—with a phenomenal memory, he was able to provide detailed oral testimony to the Shoah Foundation about his experiences at the hands of the Nazis. Siggi grew into adulthood suffering from PTSD, a condition that would affect him personally and professionally.

His post-Holocaust accomplishments are legendary. After working at a variety of menial jobs, Wilzig taught himself the basics of finance and business. Eventually, he built on his acquired knowledge and rose to manage an oil and banking empire at a time when most Jews were excluded from such positions. Siggi made multi-million-dollar deals, hired excellent staff, and earned a reputation as a workaholic and problem-solver who stood up to anti-Semites and meddlesome government regulators. He was also generous, philanthropic, and one of the driving forces behind the establishment of the United States Holocaust Museum. To Greene's credit, he does not whitewash Siggi's flaws. Wilzig could be domineering, loud, and overbearing, even towards his loved ones, and sadly, this shrewd, successful, and complex man was never able to exorcise the inner demons that haunted hm until the day he died. "Unstoppable" is a fascinating, inspiring, and sobering account of a brilliant and resourceful survivor who was proud of his triumphs but remained guilt-ridden that he lived while so many others perished. ( )

***Received as an ARC from the publisher.

I’ve read a lot of Holocaust memoires, survivor testimonials, and biographies, but this exploration of the life of Siggi B. Wilzig is something else - and definitely worth a read. Wilzig is a survivor of Auschwitz, but by the time we hit chapter 5 he has been liberated and is making his way to America to begin his life anew. Like all Auschwitz survivors his experience was horrific, and important to chronicle, but Greene’s choice to refocus instead on Wilzig’s unique journey to become one of the most successful businessmen in America makes this book stand out. I honestly couldn’t care less about the realm of banking and business (especially in the U.S.), but Greene makes careful effort to ensure that Wilzig’s determined character shines through the narrative to keep us engaged in his story. From his unexpected marriage and building of his family legacy, to his tireless efforts to memorialize the Holocaust and his dedication to helping other survivors through his own success, Greene rarely gets bogged down in the minute details of Siggi’s business deals, even though they are an obviously integral feature of his success. By the time I reached the finale, I felt like I knew Siggi - maybe not entirely, as he was clearly a man with many facets of his personality - but enough that I felt it was worth reading his unique story as part of my greater understanding of the events of the Holocaust. Yes, countless individuals died, but their remembrance is carried on by the tireless individuals (Siggi among them) who fought for the memorials, told their stories of survival, and continued striving to live to ensure that Hitler’s goal of wiping out the Jewish population were defeated. ( )

Summary: The biography of Siggi Wilzig, an Auschwitz Holocaust survivor who arrived in the U.S. with $240 and built a fortune in both the oil and banking industries while speaking out against the Holocaust.

His mother immediately went to the gas chamber. His father was beaten to death. In all, he lost 57 extended family members in the Holocaust. He survived by his wits, and he believes, the hand of God. This biography tells the story of Siggi Wilzig, who was not stopped by the brutalities of Auschwitz and a forced march to Mauthausen. Starvation did not stop him. He was not stopped by having only a couple of hundred dollars to his name and sweatshop labor. Nor was he stopped by the anti-Semitic character of both the oil and banking industries through which he made his fortune. He did not let the Fed stop him.

He made three vows. This biography describes how he fulfilled them. He vowed never again to starve. He vowed to raise healthy, productive Jewish children and help his people. And he vowed to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive.

When he arrived, his first job was to shovel snow in front of a Jewish store front. In the late 40’s and 1950’s he worked in sweatshops and various traveling sales jobs. He figured out how to sell anything. He started investing in stocks, including Wilshire Oil. At a party, he met Sol Diamond, another Wilshire investor, and together they hatched a plan to take over the company with Siggi as president. They eventually acquired a significant enough share to influence the board, which accepted Siggi’s proposals to turn around the company. This began the company’s meteoric rise and a subsequent purchase of an East coast electronics firm. The challenge was to find adequate cash without exorbitant loans to fund the continued growth of the oil company.

The solution that presented itself was to acquire a bank and “upstream” the profits. His chosen target was the Trust Company of New Jersey (TCNJ). It was a small but profitable bank in which Wilshire eventually acquired an 87 percent interest. Some of the most fascinating aspects of this book are the accounts of how Wilzig ran the bank. He personally courted customers alternately wooing and cudgeling them to bring all their business to him. Much was highly unconventional, and woe to the person, even a family member, who crossed him! A portrait develops of a highly driven man relentlessly pursuing success, unwilling to take no for an answer. He eventually built a bank with $100 million in assets to one with $4 billion. When the Fed tells him that Wilshire must divest of the bank, he takes them to court. Forced to divest, he develops a scheme where his daughter runs the oil company with his “advice” and he runs the bank.

This brings us to family, and particularly his three children. Sherry is most like him in business savvy, and at 23 runs the oil company. Ivan, who Siggi wants to become a lawyer for the bank, and heir apparent, wants nothing of it, but submerges his desire for a music career for twenty years in the bank. Eventually he achieves his dream with a Billboard hit and second career on Broadway, finally making his peace with his father. Third son Alan eventually takes over the bank. Naomi never breaks with Siggi, although she is distant from a man married first to his work. What all understand and struggle with is the survivor who is never truly free of Auschwitz, plagued with nightmares and traumatic memories.

Finally, Wilzig was devoted to perpetuating the memory of the Holocaust. He was the first survivor to speak to West Point Cadets. He was named to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum Council during Jimmy Carter’s presidency and helped the Council work through a thicket of issues before the Museum was finally opened in 1993. He spoke forcefully against Reagan’s visit to the SS cemetery at Bitburg and Reagan’s unintended equating of the German soldiers there with the Jews who died in the Holocaust. Dying of multiple myeloma, through the special efforts of Ivan, he records testimony of his Holocaust experience.

Nothing stopped him from keeping his vows. Joshua Greene renders a complex, multi-faceted person. His genuine interest in customers, his ability to crack one liners one minute, only to launch into a tirade the next, his shrewd ability to assess a balance sheet, his love of his children and grandchildren, his loyalty to friends and employees like partner in survival Larry Martel, and his effort to utterly control their destinies, and his undying commitment to keep alive the memory of the Holocaust all combine in this man who was small of stature, with thick, coiffed hair. This is a fascinating biography of a man I’d never heard of who carried the trauma of the Holocaust but was never stopped by it. Greene’s biography also succeeds in doing what Siggi himself sought to do, keeping alive the memory of the Holocaust as the survivors pass into blessed memory.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. ( )

Unstoppable is the ultimate immigrant story and an epic David-and-Goliath adventure. While American teens were socializing in ice cream parlors, Siggi was suffering beatings by Nazi hoodlums for being a Jew and was soon deported along with his family to the darkest place the world has ever known: Auschwitz. Siggi used his wits to stay alive, pretending to have trade skills the Nazis could exploit to run the camp. After two death marches and near starvation, he was liberated from camp Mauthausen and went to work for the US Army hunting Nazis, a service that earned him a visa to America. On arrival, he made three vows: to never go hungry again, to support the Jewish people, and to speak out against injustice. He earned his first dollar shoveling snow after a fierce blizzard. His next job was laboring in toxic sweatshops. From these humble beginnings, he became President, Chairman and CEO of a New York Stock Exchange-listed oil company and grew a full-service commercial bank to more than $4 billion in assets.

The inspirational story of holocaust survivor Siggi Wilzig as he moves to America a penniless immigrant to become one of the most influential business magnates in our country. This is truly a remarkable story of a man with a passion to succeed and a drive to make sure the holocaust is never forgotten. The book is definitely a "puff" piece with any flaws Siggi has brushed under the rug or excused because of his terrible prior life experiences. The book drips of bias which can be excused I guess. ( )