The Girl Who Wouldn't Die — Randall Platt

They call her the Arab of Warsaw, a young girl who is forced to turn her back on her family, her fortune, her future, her Jewish faith, and her people. Running with a gang on the streets, she steals, lies, cheats, cons, and sometimes is forced to do worse. But she also survives, even thrives, the coming of the German army, as it goose-steps into Warsaw, Poland, 1939.

As a seller of cigarettes and anything else she can trade or steal, Arab meets a young SS Nazi lieutenant, Fritz Von Segen. They find they have many things in common: a fondness for cigarettes, liquor, and, of all things, language. Arab finds she can survive if she caters to the vices, whims, and the arrogance of the Germans. Who is she to get in their way?

The Arab of Warsaw is a story of heroism and cowardice, insignificant acts and monumental acts, standing out and standing up, and turning to look the other way. It is a story of sparing lives, taking lives, and forgiving others and ourselves for making these choices. It's also the story of not forgiving. It is neither black nor white, for who isn't both at times?