Charles Ota Heller

Seventy years ago today was one of the greatest moments of my life: we were liberated after nearly six years of German oppression, one during which my family was reduced to three survivors. In this photo, my father and his fellow warriors in the Czechoslovak Division of the British army are preparing to form up…

Recently, I finished reading a book about a remarkable rescue mission. Titled 50 Children: One Ordinary Couple’s Extraordinary Rescue Mission into the Heart of Nazi Germany, it was written by Steven Pressman, husband of the rescuers’ grandchild. It is the story of Gil and Eleanor Kraus, a wealthy Philadelphia couple, who left behind a comfortable life in…

My native country, Czech Republic, has been slow to honor its citizens who perished in the Holocaust. With the exception of the Pinkas memorial in Prague, few monuments have appeared since the end of World War II. Now, finally, a major step has been taken. Since more than twenty members of my family began their…

When I read the story of Louis Zamperini in Laura Hillenbrand’s terrific book, Unbroken, I was amazed by the fact that Zamperini was able to forgive his torturer in a Japanese POW camp. I would have been incapable of such an act of mercy. Now, having read the story below, I am even more astonished. I am…

I’ve been silent when it comes to blogging recently, due to extensive travel and dealing with some health issues. However, that hasn’t kept me from reading. The two books which I completed reading most recently are about the Second World War. One sits atop the New York Times best-seller list for nonfiction at the moment,…

    On Sunday, September 7, it was my honor to participate in the annual METAvivor Authors’ Luncheon, now named for the late co-founder of the organization, Avis Halberstadt. I had the privilege of moderating a panel consisting of six talented writers, several with books that have made the New York Times Best Seller list. All of us had…

    After years of playing golf without a single hole-in-one, I had my second ace in fourteen months today. Playing with Bill Cole and John Smith, I hit a pitching wedge which landed in the cup on one bounce–Heritage Harbour Golf Club, Annapolis, Maryland, hole number 7.

http://mdmorn.wordpress.com/2012/05/15/515122/

The latest “long journey home” was the best of them all. The entire Heller family–my wife Sue and I, son David and his wife Bobbi, and three grandchildren: Sam, Sarah, and Caroline–journeyed to the Czech Republic. It was our grandchildren’s first opportunity to connect with their Czech roots. I had waited a long time for…