The Happiest Man on Earth: The Beautiful Life of an Auschwitz Survivor

Eddie knows that he cannot build a stable family life in a country that forces him to reapply for residency twice a year, so he looks to Australia, where his sister Henni has moved. In March 1950, he and Flore arrive in Sydney, where he quickly finds work manufacturing a complicated device: a medical machine of the sort widely used in Europe before WWII destroyed the industry.

The couple’s first impression of Australia is not a good one, due to the incessant rain and cold, but after three months the weather improves substantially, and they finalize the move, buying a new house in Brighton-Le-Sands, close to the beach. Flore’s mother comes from Belgium to live with them, and establishes herself as an upscale dressmaker. Around this time, Eddie and Flore welcome their second child, Andre. To Eddie, the horrific events of the past begin to feel like a distant nightmare, banished by the Australian sun.

Inspired by Australia’s endless possibilities as “the working man’s paradise” (163), Eddie adapts his engineering skills to auto repair, and soon opens his own service station, which quickly grows into a full-staffed garage and showroom. In 1966, tired of working with his hands, Eddie sells the garage and, after a long vacation in Europe and Israel, enters the world of real estate, eventually opening his own agency with Flore.