A true story of courage, exile and the making of a refugee in the shadow of World War Two
On the night of 30 September 1938, as German troops cross the border into Czechoslovakia, Jewish businessman Harry Lewy has only hours to decide: stay and risk persecution, or leave behind everything he knows. What follows is a perilous journey from the Sudetenland across Nazi Germany and war‑torn Europe, in search of safety and a future that is far from guaranteed.
In Flight From Prague, Harry's son Michael Lewis reconstructs Harry’s flight and the fragile new life he builds in Belfast, drawing on family memories, interviews, letters and archival records. This deeply researched non‑fiction narrative brings to life the tramlines and stations of Central Europe, the quiet terror of border crossings, and the small acts of kindness that keep hope alive.
As Harry rebuilds his world in a foreign country – later reunited with his childhood sweetheart, dancer and Holocaust survivor Helen Lewis (née Helena Katz) – he must come to terms with what has been lost and what it means to be labelled a “refugee” forever.
Elegant and unsentimental, Flight From Prague is both an intimate Jewish refugee memoir and a vivid work of World War Two history, inviting us to see beyond statistics and categories to the singular human being behind each journey.
Perfect for readers who enjoy:
- True stories from World War Two and European history
- Jewish biography and Holocaust non‑fiction that centre individual lives
- Literary narrative non‑fiction in the tradition of family memoir
- Thought‑provoking books that illuminate today’s refugee and migration crises
For book clubs, students of modern history, and anyone drawn to powerful true stories of escape, resilience and moral courage, Flight From Prague offers an unforgettable journey from fear towards a new life.
Reviews
Michael Lewis captures perfectly the mix of terror, determination and sheer exhaustion that his Jewish father experienced as he fled for his life from his Czechoslovakian homeland, eventually crossing Nazi Germany to safety in Belfast shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War.
While it is the unique story of one refugee who loses everything, risks everything and starts again in a foreign country, it will surely help us understand better the plight of those who continue to make such perilous journeys in our own time, and perhaps deepen our compassion for them as well. The Revd Canon Dr Alan Billings
Harry’s story is richly informative about historical events that should never be forgotten. At the same time, its human details engage our current predicament.
It narrates an individual as we hope they would be treated in law and policy – not labelled as ‘refugee’, ‘asylum seeker’ or ‘migrant’, but recognised as a person with dignity, needs and rights. John Birtwhistle
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Table of Contents:
Contents
Notes on Sources 7
1. Prelude 9
2. Limbo 33
3. Adrift 79
4. Transit 103
5. Alien 131
6. Re-united 169
7. New World 177
8. What Happened Next 193
Afterword 197
Notes 199
Acknowledgements 217
A Linen Handkerchief 221
Michael Lewis 222
About the Author :
Michael Lewis was born in 1949 and grew up in Belfast, where he went to school. His father, the subject of this book, was a refugee and his mother was a Holocaust survivor. After reading Modern Languages at Oxford, he trained as a teacher at York University. He taught in 4 comprehensive schools in England for 35 years, the last twenty of which were as the headteacher of King Edward VII School in Sheffield.
After retirement in 2008, he took on a variety of roles, including as a non-legal member of the Employment Tribunals (2010-2024), as a member and sometime chair of the Independent Ethics Panel of South Yorkshire Police (2015-24) and as a member of the Teaching Regulation Agency’s professional conduct panel.
In 2009 the University of Sheffield awarded him an honorary Doctor of Letters in recognition of his contribution to education.
He married Petra in 1979 and they have two sons and two grandchildren. Flight from Prague is his first book.
Review :
Reviews
Michael Lewis captures perfectly the mix of terror, determination and sheer exhaustion that his Jewish father experienced as he fled for his life from his Czechoslovakian homeland, eventually crossing Nazi Germany to safety in Belfast shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War.
While it is the unique story of one refugee who loses everything, risks everything and starts again in a foreign country, it will surely help us understand better the plight of those who continue to make such perilous journeys in our own time, and perhaps deepen our compassion for them as well. The Revd Canon Dr Alan Billings
Harry’s story is richly informative about historical events that should never be forgotten. At the same time, its human details engage our current predicament.
It narrates an individual as we hope they would be treated in law and policy – not labelled as ‘refugee’, ‘asylum seeker’ or ‘migrant’, but recognised as a person with dignity, needs and rights. John Birtwhistle
