Happiest Man on Earth: The Life of Holocaust Survivor Eddie Jaku
Edward Jaku OAM (born Abraham Salomon Jakubowicz; 14 April 1920 – 12 October 2021) was a survivor of several German concentration camps during World War II, who wrote of his wartime experiences after emigrating to Australia. This memoir is called The Happiest Man on Earth and was published when he was 100 years old. It became an immediate best seller. Eddie had a sister Johanna (Henni) who also survived the Holocaust, and he changed his name to Edward (Eddie) as a tribute to his sister, who called him Eddie as an affectionate nickname.
After the war, Eddie returned to Belgium, where he met and married another Jewish survivor, Flore. In 1950, he emigrated to Australia with his wife and first child, Michael. His second child, Andre, was born in Australia.
Eddie served as a volunteer at the Sydney Jewish Museum from November 1992 until its closure due to COVID in March 2020, where he gave visitors a first-hand account of surviving the Holocaust. He died peacefully in Sydney on October 12, 2021, at the age of 101.
Born in Germany, into a Jewish family, Eddie Jaku was a teenager when his world was forever destroyed. On November 9, 1938 - Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass - Eddie was beaten by SS thugs, arrested, and sent to a concentration camp with thousands of other Jews from across Germany. Every day for the next seven years, Eddie faced unimaginable horrors in Buchenwald, in Auschwitz, and finally on a forced death march during the Third Reich's last days. The Nazis took everything from Eddie - his family, his friends, and his country. But they did not break his spirit. Against unbelievable odds, Eddie found the will to survive. Overwhelmingly grateful, he made a promise: to smile every day in thanks for the precious gift he was given and to honor the six million Jews murdered by Hitler.
Eddie's story, hidden history that has remained long forgotten, is the story of how one man managed to survive multiple hells on earth and his tribute to those who were lost during the Holocaust.
For the rest of Eddie's story, please check out the audio link provided for EPISODE FIFTEEN of our podcast, Hidden History: An Odyssey Through Time -
LISTEN NOW: Happiest Man on Earth: The Life of Holocaust Survivor Eddie Jaku
Tune In With Your Favorite Platform!
Eddie Jaku (front right) with members of his extended family, 1932. He would be the only one to survive the Holocaust.
A teenaged Eddie with his mother Lina, father Isidore and sister Johanna (Henni).
Eddie's sister, Johanna (Henni), with his best friend Kurt Hirschfeld, 1945.
Flore and Eddie on their wedding day, April 20, 1946.
Eddie Jaku on his way to Australia aboard the steamship Surriento, 1950 (courtesy of The Sydney Morning Herald).
Eddie and his young son Michael on their way to Australia aboard the steamship Surriento, 1950.
Eddie and his wife Flore (left) at dinner with friends at the Maccabean Hall, August 1950 (courtesy of Sydney Jewish Museum).
In the mid 1950s, Eddie opened up a car service station in Australia.
Flore and Eddie in Sydney, 1960.
Eddie on his 90th birthday with his grandchildren Phillip, Carly, Danielle and Marc.
Eddie Jaku received his OAM (Order of Australia) in 2013 with sons Andre and Michael & wife Flore (courtesy of The Sydney Morning Herald).
Flore & Eddie Jaku in 2014 (courtesy of Australian Jewish News).
Michael, Eddie, and Andre Jaku: two generations of volunteers, c. 2015 (courtesy of Sydney Jewish Museum).
Eddie with his sons Michael and Andre & their wives Linda and Eva at a Sydney Jewish Museum event, 2017.
Holocaust survivors Eddie Jaku and Olga Horak lighting a candle at the Sydney Jewish Museum, 2020 (courtesy of Australian Jewish News).
Eddie with his belt, the only personal belonging he was allowed to keep when he entered Auschwitz (photos by Katherine Griffiths, courtesy of Sydney Jewish Museum).
"In that moment, I made a promise to God that if I lived, I would become an entirely new person. I promised that I would dedicate the rest of my life to putting right the hurt that had been done to the world by the Nazis, and that I would live every day to the fullest." - Eddie Jaku
"Through all of my years I have learned this: life can be beautiful if you make it beautiful." - Eddie Jaku
"May you always have lots of love to share, lots of good health to spare, and lots of good friends who care." - Eddie Jaku
Celebrating Eddie's 101st birthday, 2021.
When Eddie arrived at Auschwitz concentration and death camp, he was tattooed with the number 172338. This was his new identity in the camp and a mark he carried for the rest of his life.
German policies varied from country to country, including direct, brutal occupation and reliance upon collaborating regimes. The Germans conquered Belgium in May 1940. German authorities carried out deportations between 1942 and 1944. They deported nearly 25,000 Jews from Belgium to Auschwitz.
Learn more by clicking the link below:
All over the world, Auschwitz has become a symbol of terror, genocide, and the Shoah. It was established by Germans in 1940, in the suburbs of Oswiecim, a Polish city that was annexed to the Third Reich by the Nazis. Its name was changed to Auschwitz, which also became the name of Konzentrationslager (KL) Auschwitz.
Learn more by clicking the link below:
In this beautiful and moving talk, the self proclaimed "happiest man on earth", Eddie Jaku shares his story of love and survival at TEDxSydney 2019. Eddie Jaku was a Jew living in Germany at the outbreak and throughout the duration of World War II.
His story of survival spans 12 years, from Hitler’s rise to power in 1933 until liberation in 1945. He saw death every day throughout WWII, and because he survived, he made a vow to himself to smile every day.
Add comment
Comments
So sad what he went through such a beautiful person,good job John