Hearing a Different Drummer: A Holocaust Survivor's Search for Identity

In this book, prominent Atlanta businessman and architect Benjamin Hirsch recounts his awakening identity as an observant Jew. While serving in the United States Army during the Korean War, Hirsch faced the ridiculousness of army life as well as the horror of war from a unique perspective, that of a child survivor of the Holocaust. He also found that as a Jew he was regarded as alien and as a man he must cope with being a soldier in the United States Army during the Korean War. Memories of the Shoah are brought back by wartime experiences in Korea. Hirsch also used his position in the Army to get back to Germany and search for lost relatives. Amazingly, he is able to relate amusing experiences, showing how he and others coped with the difficulties of living amidst horror.

In the course of his research, Hirsch found evidence supporting the claim of many survivors that the Nazis made soap from the bodies of some Jews. This is presented in hope of reopening discussion of this horrific and controversial topic that has divided survivors and historians.