The Jew with the Iron Cross

[Phyllis Rauch]

My husband and I are in the process of publishing his memoir of WWII, entitled"The Jew with the Iron Cross." Although his Jewish maternal line is unbroken, according to Hitler's rule book Georg was 1/4 Jewish, therefore he was drafted and sent to the Russian Front in 1943. There he participated in the agony of the retreats, the awful Russian winter and much more. In the summer of 1944 he was captured by the Russians on the River Prut, and force marched back to Kiev, where he remained a prisoner of war until Oct. 1945. As a prisoner, he was recruited to be a Russian spy against the Germans. During most of this time, Georg's mother was hiding Jews in their attic in Vienna.

The book, based on 84 original letters sent to his mother from the Russian trenches, includes many little-known details of how the daily life at the front, of how the soldiers survived (or didn't), of battles, and of the prisoner of war experience. The story of how Georg was awarded his Iron Cross is one of many exciting tales.

Since we are self publishing the book with iUniverse, I am writing to ask if any of you have any suggestions of how we can best market this book over the Internet. It will be listed on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble, but I would like to contact as many additional sources as possible myself, by Googling WWII, Jewish History, perhaps German and Austrian sites. I will be very appreciative of any help you can give me, Thank you. Oh, you may read the first chapter of the book on: www.georgrauch.com Regards, Phyllis Rauch

[McCulloh]

Put it on ebay as a rare, limited number, private memoir.
Be sure to have lots of illustrations. If you don't have any, we can be sure to supply a few "fillers" (Kiev in 1943 etc. etc.).
A modern portrait of your husband wearing his medals (or 1957 versions thereof) would be VERY,VERY collectable in and of itself.
Be sure to send copies to WW2 Magazine,Benders and MHQ for review.
Have a "publishing party" locally-invite lots of media. If the AP picks it up-and it's the sort of thing they'd like, you'll get more publicity.
Also, having your husband here on this Forum at a few select moments to answer questions would also help. We love to "e-talk" to vets. It'll generate a lot of buzz.
Lastly, consider doing a few shows-like the MAX etc. You'll sell a lot of copies there to be sure.

[PaulR]

This book sounds like it has potential to be a very unique and interesting read.

I agree with what was said above. On top of what Jeff suggested, I would also selling on Amazon.com, as the book would have the widest population coverage.

Also like Jeff suggested, photos will add a great touch!

How many copies are planned for the first run?

Best regards
Paul Reck

[Phyllis Rauch]

Jew with the Iron Cross

Very much appreciate your comments. I forgot to mention the illustrations which will be in a separate, mid-book section and will include a few pictures of Georg in German uniform, later in Russia, as well as drawings from the original letters (Georg has been a professional artist all his adult life) and some photos of his mother and Jewish forefathers. When Georg was captured by the Russians, they took everything but German money and his harmonica. No German soldiers who returned home from the prison camps still had their medals (to the best of our knowledge.)
Georg would be happy to make himself available for answering questions on your forum. We are planning local book signing parties, but since we live in Mexico, it's unlikely that the AP will pick it up. Finally, what do you mean by "consider doing a few shows like the MAX." Don't know what you are referring to here. Again, many thanks, Phyllis

Put it on ebay as a rare, limited number, private memoir.
Be sure to have lots of illustrations. If you don't have any, we can be sure to supply a few "fillers" (Kiev in 1943 etc. etc.).
A modern portrait of your husband wearing his medals (or 1957 versions thereof) would be VERY,VERY collectable in and of itself.
Be sure to send copies to WW2 Magazine,Benders and MHQ for review.
Have a "publishing party" locally-invite lots of media. If the AP picks it up-and it's the sort of thing they'd like, you'll get more publicity.
Also, having your husband here on this Forum at a few select moments to answer questions would also help. We love to "e-talk" to vets. It'll generate a lot of buzz.
Lastly, consider doing a few shows-like the MAX etc. You'll sell a lot of copies there to be sure.

[Phyllis Rauch]

Jew with the Iron Cross

Thank you for your comments! In addition to photos and drawings, we will include a map showing, as much as possible, Georg's wartime journey.

Regarding how many copies: since iUniverse is a publish on demand company, there is no first run per se. We will order a number of books ourselves to sell, otherwise the books are printed as the orders come in, from Amazon e.g.
Regards, Phyllis

This book sounds like it has potential to be a very unique and interesting read.

I agree with what was said above. On top of what Jeff suggested, I would also selling on Amazon.com, as the book would have the widest population coverage.

Also like Jeff suggested, photos will add a great touch!

How many copies are planned for the first run?

Best regards
Paul Reck

[sniper1shot]

Phyllis;
Well, I am interested in German Memoirs for sure. You can count me in for one copy.
As for maps in your book....check out this site.
http://www.mapsatwar.com/

The gentlemans name is Tom and he has done maps for some German WWII Memoirs in the past.
Dan

[münster]

Which camp was he intenrned in Russia? Iam very interested. My Grandfather never made it out and Iam very curious of his daily life. You can e mail me at dion1@gmx.de

I would be very interested in such a book and would link it out on my website

[Raymond]

I look forward to reading about your husbands life during the war.The MAX is one of the largest military shows in the US,and held in North Carolina.There are other big shows such as the SOS and JAG both in Kentucky.I'll try to find a link for you.

[Phyllis Rauch]

Jew with the Iron Cross

Thank you! I am quickly learning that there is an entire WWII world out there of collectors, magazines, websites, shows et. al. I had no idea. I'll appreciate that link if you can find it. Phyllis

I look forward to reading about your husbands life during the war.The MAX is one of the largest military shows in the US,and held in North Carolina.There are other big shows such as the SOS and JAG both in Kentucky.I'll try to find a link for you.

[Phyllis Rauch]

Jew with the Iron Cross

Thank you for your interest in the book and for the map tip! I'll definitely check it out. Phyllis

Phyllis;
Well, I am interested in German Memoirs for sure. You can count me in for one copy.
As for maps in your book....check out this site.
http://www.mapsatwar.com/

The gentlemans name is Tom and he has done maps for some German WWII Memoirs in the past.
Dan

[Raymond]

The MAX show this year is Sept.30th-Oct.2nd,2005.Here is the link to get all the info you need. www.themaxshow.com .I couldn't find a web address for the SOS or JAG shows.The SOS is done by The Ohio Valley Military Society.There e-mail is OVMSHQ@aol.com ,the next show is in the begining of 2006.The next JAG show is Sept.10-11 for info call 513-523-3574.

[Raymond]

Here are some magazines/publications to consider.

www.militarytrader.com
www.bender-publishing.com
www.wwiihistorymagazine.com
www.TheHistoryNet.com
Militaria International Magazine 1-888-428-1942
Even model magazines would be good. www.finescale.com
There are more out there but these should give you a head start.
Good luck,
Ray

[Phyllis Rauch]

I contacted Tom O'Houlihan, like very much the sample maps on his site and he will be doing the map for our book. His prices are also very reasonable. Thanks again for the great tip!

Phyllis;
Well, I am interested in German Memoirs for sure. You can count me in for one copy.
As for maps in your book....check out this site.
http://www.mapsatwar.com/

The gentlemans name is Tom and he has done maps for some German WWII Memoirs in the past.
Dan

[sniper1shot]

Hey No problems there. Glad I could of been a help. We're all in this together and as stated earlier. You can put me down for one copy for sure.

[Waldmurmeltier]

This sounds really interesting. Reminds me of Solomon Perels Europa Europa. Soldiers personal stories always appeal to me more than anything. Might I suggest that he signs the copies as this has great appeal to collectors, historians, etc. I wish you much luck on the sales of your endevour.