Good-Bye Russia, Hello America

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On February 3, in the frigid winter of 1923, the Lituania arrives in Boston without announcement or fanfare on the deck. Among the immigrants on board are brothers Jacov and Reuven Sidowitz and their mother, Ida.

With the help of older brothers Natan and Lable, Jacov and Reuven (now Jack and Rubin), secure jobs in the shoe industry. They embrace union politics and enjoy girls, burlesque, and bagels. Ida, on the other hand, has difficulty adjusting to life in the East Bronx and is constantly praying for the safety of her oldest son and his family who stayed behind in volatile Russia.

After a decade of romance, celebrations, and prosperity, the Depression-followed by World War II-changes everything. Jack is drafted, trained to be an interpreter, and parachuted into Europe. Exposed to hundreds of maimed, hungry survivors and corpses, he continues searching for his brother in the former labor/concentration camps in Germany as he had promised Mama Ida.

When WWII ends, Jack is discharged, but he is discontent. A passionate reunion with his wife, running a business, his dream of going to college, even the joy of his young son all leave him unfulfilled. He joins the Jewish fleet, financed by the Mafia, and helps smuggle survivors into Palestine. Could Yehuda, the brother left behind, or one of his children, be one of those survivors?