Wrestling with Life
From Hungary to Auschwitz to Montreal
A story of survival and renewal from Auschwitz to success in sport and business.
Description
George Reinitz was twelve years old when he and his family were taken from Szikszó, Hungary, and deported to Auschwitz, where many of his family members were killed. As a boy on the brink of adolescence, he experienced the horrors of a Nazi death camp. Following his liberation he returned to his hometown where he remained for a few years before immigrating to Montreal in 1948 as part of the Canadian Jewish Congress’s War Orphans Project. In Wrestling with Life, George Reinitz recounts his vivid memories of childhood and his experiences in one of the worst places humans ever created. He recalls being tattooed with an unclean needle, eating raw potato skins to stave off hunger, watching his father get whipped in the face, and looking after the horses of SS officers. In Auschwitz he learned and used survival skills that he later applied in the commercial realm. George settled in Montreal and became a world-class wrestler, competing internationally and carrying the flag for the Canadian team at the 1957 Maccabiah Games in Israel. After working in a number of jobs he found his calling in the furniture business, eventually founding Jaymar Furniture, a leading manufacturer and a company that still operates successfully in Quebec. Wrestling with Life is a moving account of a child’s survival under the most difficult of circumstances. It tells the story of one man’s hard-won success as a businessman and athlete.
Reviews
“An emotional, inspiring story of one man's rise from the ashes of Auschwitz.” Daniel Ayalon, Israeli Ambassador to the United States from 2002–2006
“[Reinitz]’s memoir, he gives a remarkably tense account of the worst days of his life, when he was twelve years old and his family was taken from their home in Hungary to the Auschwitz concentration camp. Eventually, Reinitz makes it to Canada to start a
“George Reinitz’s life story illustrates how his competitive and combative spirit helped him to survive the horrors of Auschwitz. This same spirit made him a first-class athlete in the sport of wrestling. George is the only Holocaust survivor to be a Cana
“A fascinating and inspirational story recounted in a profound yet simple manner, straight from the author’s heart.” Howard Stupp, former Olympic wrestler and legal counsel to the International Olympic Committee
“George Reinitz’s story is inspirational and I am thankful to him and Eleanor for building the Reinitz Wrestling Center which, along with expert coaches and world class partners, immensely helped my career.” Georges St. Pierre, UFC World Champion