Fleeing from the Hunter

On the run in Nazi-occupied Poland, thirteen-year-old orphan Marian Finkelman — later Domanski — must fend for himself in a desperate search for safety. Forced to grow up much too early, the daring young boy risks his life over and over again to slip in and out of the ghetto in his hometown of Otwock to find food. When he finally escapes the ghetto, alone and living by his wits, Marian’s perfect Polish and fair complexion help him narrowly escape death as he travels through the Polish countryside “passing” as a Polish-Catholic farmhand. A heart-rending tale of lost youth, Fleeing from the Hunter poignantly describes the quick thinking and extraordinary will to live that are Marian Domanski’s greatest strengths as he manages to survive against all odds.

Introduction by Joanna Michlic

At a Glance
Poland
Ghetto
Passing/false identity
Wartime documents
Postwar Poland
Arrived in Canada in 1970

224 pages, including index

2011 Independent Publisher Silver Medal

Recommended Ages
14+
Language
English

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Photo of Marian Domanski

About the author

Marian (Finkelman) Domanski was born in Otwock, Poland, in 1928. He joined the Polish air force after the war and worked as a photographer before moving to Denmark in 1968. He immigrated to Canada two years later, where he was very active in Toronto’s Polish-Jewish community. Marian Domanski passed away in 2012.

Explore this story in Re:Collection

I asked myself, Am I a criminal doomed for execution? I was determined to run away … that thought never left my mind.