For Want of 40 Pounds

In 1938, Berthold Skurmann was a young boy living in Vienna, Austria when Hitler’s Anschluss changed his world. With his father already interred in a concentration camp, and the family home confiscated, life in Vienna grew darker by the day for anyone of Jewish descent. Those who were lucky to have money were able to escape, while others, including Bert’s mother and brother, waited in a climate of anti-Semitism and fear of death. At 13 years of age, Bert decided to create his own fate. With a young boys sense of adventure and a child’s faith that dreams come true, Bert set out to save his family.  

From Vienna to Amsterdam, Bert walked for months through enemy territory evading Nazis and sympathizers, a 1500 km trek with a compass, courage and a fierce determination to get to England, where he believed freedom lived for himself and his family. This book is his story. His legacy of courage, inspiration, tenacity, freedom, and success. From immigrant to millionaire, it is the Immigrant’s Dream brought to life.