Jack Kuper

Jack Kuper was born Jankel Kuperblum to a Jewish family in rural Poland. When he was nine years old, he came home one day to find his entire family gone. It was during World War II, and the Germans had come to his village and taken away all the Jews. Alone in the world, he wandered through Nazi Occupied Poland for four years, changing his name and posing as a Catholic Polish child. He survived to the end of the war, and at age 15, escaped Poland and migrated to Canada. His memoir Child of the Holocaust, written during this time, was first published years later in 1966. It has been in print in various editions in English and a dozen other languages since then. He married his wife Terrye, with whom he had four children and lived in Toronto. He studied commercial art and worked as a graphic designer for the CBC, then in advertising, producing and directing award-winning television commercials. He also wrote and directed several short films. He also is the author of several other books, including After the Smoke Cleared (1994), which continued his life story. He has spoken in public often about his experiences during the Holocaust.