A Testament to Resilience |  A Review of Eddie Jaku’s “The Happiest Man on Earth

Eddie Jaku’s “The Happiest Man on Earth” is not a saccharine tale of denial but a profoundly moving and surprisingly uplifting memoir from a Holocaust survivor who chose joy as his ultimate act of defiance. In this concise yet powerful book, he recounts the horrors he endured – the loss of his family, the brutality of Auschwitz and Buchenwald – with a stark honesty that never descends into bitterness. Instead, his narrative shines with an unwavering determination to find light in the darkest of places and to cherish every moment of life.

What sets this memoir apart is Eddie’s infectious optimism. He doesn’t shy away from the unimaginable suffering he witnessed and experienced. Yet, his focus remains firmly on the present and the simple blessings that surround him. His philosophy, distilled through unimaginable pain, is a potent reminder of the power of perspective, the importance of kindness, and the strength found in human connection. He emphasizes the significance of family, friendship, and the beauty of the natural world as anchors in a life that could have easily been defined by despair.

His voice is direct, humble, and filled with a gentle wisdom earned through profound hardship. He doesn’t preach or offer simplistic platitudes; instead, he shares his personal journey with an open heart, allowing readers to glean their own lessons from his extraordinary resilience. The book is a testament to the enduring human spirit and a powerful antidote to cynicism.

While the subject matter is undeniably heavy, “The Happiest Man on Earth” is conclusively a message of hope. It’s a call to appreciate life’s preciousness, choose happiness even in the face of adversity, and remember the importance of love and compassion. This is a book that will stay with you long after you turn the final page, prompting reflection on your own life and the choices you make. It’s a vital read, particularly in our often-tumultuous world, offering a timeless message of resilience and the enduring power of the human spirit to find happiness, even after experiencing the depths of human cruelty.

In short, I found myself heartbroken, rooting for, crying, and smiling with Eddie. Eddie’s memoir is a small book with a monumental impact — a poignant and inspiring reminder that even in the aftermath of unimaginable darkness, the human heart can still choose to find and cultivate happiness.

Notable Quotes From Eddie

‘If you are lucky enough to have money and a nice house, you can afford to help those who don’t,’ he would tell me. ‘This is what life is all about. To share your good fortune.

there is more pleasure in giving than in taking, that the important things in life – friends, family, kindness – are far more precious than money. A man is worth more than his bank account.

If you have the opportunity today, please go home and tell your mother how much you love her. Do this for your mother. And do it for your new friend, Eddie, who cannot tell it to his mother.

The human body is the greatest machine ever made, but it cannot run without the human spirit.

The kindness he showed me wasn’t enough to rebuild my health because I was very weak, but it showed me that not everybody hated us. This was something perhaps even more valuable. It made me say, ‘Eddie, don’t give up.’ Because if I give up, I am finished. If you give up, if you say it’s not worth living anymore, you will not last long. Where there is life, there is hope. And where there is hope, there is life.

In that moment, I made a promise to God that if I lived, I would become an entirely new person. I promised I would walk from German soil and never come back to the land that had given me everything and then taken it from me. I promised that I would dedicate the rest of my life to putting right the hurt that had been done to the world by the Nazis, and that I would live every day to the fullest.

There are always miracles in the world, even when all seems hopeless. And when there are no miracles, you can make them happen. With a simple act of kindness, you can save another person from despair, and that might just save their life. And this is the greatest miracle of all.

You have to try to be happy with what you’ve got. Life is wonderful if you’re happy. Don’t look on the other side of the fence. You will never be happy if you look at your neighbour and make yourself sick with jealousy.

Here is what I learned. Happiness does not fall from the sky; it is in your hands. Happiness comes from inside yourself and from the people you love. And if you are healthy and happy, you are a millionaire.

Your efforts today will affect people you will never know. It is your choice whether that effect is positive or negative. You can choose every day, every minute, to act in a way that may uplift a stranger, or else drag them down. The choice is easy. And it is yours to make.

Anger leads to fear, which leads to hate, which leads to death.

Kindness is the greatest wealth of all. Small acts of kindness last longer than a lifetime. This lesson, that kindness and generosity and faith in your fellow man are more important than money, is the first and greatest lesson my father ever taught me. And in this way he will always be with us, and always live forever.

Sometimes I think that those of us who didn’t tell our stories for so long made a mistake. It seems that sometimes we missed out on a generation who could have helped to make this world a better place, who could have prevented the hatred that is now on the rise everywhere in the world. Perhaps we didn’t talk about it enough. There are now deniers of the Holocaust, people who don’t believe that it ever happened. Can you imagine? Where do they think six million of us went? Where do they think I got this tattoo?

A field is empty, but if you put in the effort to grow something then you will have a garden. And that’s life. Give something, something will come back. Give nothing, nothing will come back. To grow a flower is a miracle: it means you can grow more. Remember that a flower is not just a flower, it is the start of a whole garden.

I promised when I came out of the darkest hours of my life that I would be happy for the rest of my life and smile, because if you smile, the world smiles with you. Life is not always happiness.

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