I took liberties with my description of Safe Haven Holocaust Refugee Center, especially with the photographs. Yankel’s story was loosely based on conversations I had with Holocaust survivor, Jack Dygola. Peter Franklin’s experience was inspired by World War II US Navy Lieutenant Jack Taylor’s survival in Mauthausen concentration camp. In chapter thirteen of Ruth Gruber’s Haven: The Dramatic Story of 1,000 World War II Refugees and How They Came to America, I read about the death of baby Elia (Rachel) Montiljo during the voyage to America on the USS Henry Gibbins. Her grieving parents were granted permission to bury her in Oswego. The tragic loss of this tiny Holocaust victim—so close to freedom—haunted me. I was determined to find baby Elia’s grave, to honor her memory and her parents. When I returned to Oswego in July 2017, Jordan, Archer, and Reverend George DeMass, past president of the board of directors at Safe Haven Holocaust Refugee Shelter Museum, searched the Jewish burial area at the Riverside Cemetery. Archer found the marker sunk into the ground and hidden by soil, grass, and leaves. We uncovered it. That moment left an indelible mark on me. Cade and Logan’s scene at the cemetery was inspired by that visit.

RESOURCES

ORGANIZATIONS

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) aclu.org, 212-549-2500, @aclu

American Defamation League (ADL): adl.org, 212-885-7700 (national office), @ADL

Human Rights Campaign (HRC): hrc.org, 800-777-4723, @HRC

The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights: civilrights.org, 202-466-3311, @civilrightsorg

Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC): splcenter.org, (888) 414-7752, @splcenter

WEBSITES

en.gross-rosen.eu: Museum Gross-Rosen in Rogoźnica

ghwk.de/en: House of the Wannsee Conference

historicfortontario.com: Historic Fort Ontario

safehavenmuseum.com: Safe Haven Holocaust Refugee Shelter Museum

ushmm.org: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

yadvashem.org: Yad Vashem, The World Holocaust Remembrance Center

yahadinunum.org: Yahad-In Unum

FILMS

Conspiracy (2001)

Die Wannseekonferenz (German-language film, 1984)

Elie Wiesel Goes Home (1996)

Safe Haven: A Story of Hope (2000)

The Wave (1981)

BOOKS

Alexievich, Svetlana. Last Witnesses: An Oral History of the Children of World War II

Desbois, Patrick. The Holocaust by Bullets: A Priest’s Journey to Uncover the Truth Behind the Murder of 1.5 Million Jews

Gruber, Ruth. Haven: The Dramatic Story of 1,000 World War II Refugees and How They Came to America

Lipstadt, Deborah E. Antisemitism: Here and Now

Lowenstein, Sharon R. Token Refuge: Story of the Jewish Refugee Shelter at Oswego, 1944–1946

Marks, Edward B. Token Shipment: The Story of America’s War Refugee Shelter, Fort Ontario, Oswego, N.Y. (Revised and illustrated edition by Rebecca J. Fisher and Paul A. Lear)

Prager, Dennis, and Joseph Telushkin. Why the Jews?: The Reason for Antisemitism

Roseman, Mark. The Wannsee Conference and the Final Solution

Safe Haven Museum and Education Center Staff. Don’t Fence Me In: Memories of the Fort Ontario Refugees and Their Friends

Stamper, Vesper. What the Night Sings

Strasser, Todd. The Wave

Wiesel, Elie. Night

PLACES TO VISIT

In the United States