{"product_id":"the-freedom-circus-one-familys-death-defying-act-to-escape-the-nazis-and-start-a-new-life-in-australia-sue-smethurst","title":"The Freedom Circus: One family's death-defying act to escape the Nazis and start a new life in Australia - Sue Smethurst","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eA remarkable true story of one family's daring escape from Poland during the Second World War.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWritten by award-winning author and journalist Sue Smethurst, whose husband is Mindla and Michael’s grandson, The Freedom Circus is an epic story of courage, hope, humanity, survival and, ultimately, love.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhen Sue Smethurst first sat down with her grandmother-in-law and asked how she survived the Holocaust, she was shooed away. By that time Mindla was in a Melbourne Jewish nursing home with other survivors, her body ageing but mind still razor sharp.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"Why do you want to know?’ she’d ask. ‘My story is nothing special.\"\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAs death began approaching Sue became a little more pushy. She knew Mindla’s life had to be recorded and they were running out of time. Each week she’d bring cake from her favourite shop in St Kilda, a bottle of the brightest nail polish she could find, a handful of old pictures and her tape recorder. They’d chat and paint Mindla’s nails, and with each ‘chat’ her story unfolded. It was beyond anything Sue could have imagined.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe tale of how Mindla and her husband Michael Horowitz, a circus performer for the famous Staniewski Brothers, escaped from Poland with their young son and embarked on a terrifying journey through the USSR and Middle East to Africa and ultimately to safety in Australia, is nothing short of extraordinary.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSue Smethurst is an award-winning author and journalist who has spent more than 20 years working in the media across television, radio and magazines. She is currently a senior writer with The Australian Women’s Weekly and has written eight books, including \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eBehind Closed Doors, Spartacus and Me, Blood on the Rosary\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e A Diamond in the Dust.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePenguin Publishing 2021, paperback\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44408208162885,"sku":"203596","price":22.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0615\/9997\/3445\/files\/the-freedom-circus-one-familys-death-defying-act-to-escape-the-nazis-and-start-a-new-life-in-australia-sue-smethurst-freedomcircus-7778964.jpg?v=1765819266","url":"https:\/\/shop.sydneyjewishmuseum.com.au\/products\/the-freedom-circus-one-familys-death-defying-act-to-escape-the-nazis-and-start-a-new-life-in-australia-sue-smethurst","provider":"Sydney Jewish Museum Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}