Olaf Strassmann, born in Zechau-Leesen in 1932, has seen and experienced enough for two lifetimes. Confronted with anti-Semitism already as a child, the "Polenaktion" of 1938 robs him of his father who is murdered in 1941. Because he can no longer be taught at state schools and he cannot travel to the nearest Jewish school in Leipzig and back every day, he is placed in a children's home. In 1942 he returned to Altenburg, but in 1943 his mother was sentenced to prison. With his little brother he was sent to the orphanage of the Jewish Hospital in Berlin from where he was deported to the Theresienstadt ghetto in 1944. Just in time, Olaf can ensure that he and his brother are not deported to Auschwitz. In 1945 the brothers returned to Altenburg where their mother, who had been released from prison in 1944, was waiting. In 1948 Olaf traveled alone to the newly founded Israel... This contemporary document sheds light on a special life that would have offered enough material for two.
Co-author Christian Repkewitz: "The book project 'Genug für zwei Leben' (only available in German language at the moment) began in 2017 when Olaf Strassmann asked me if I would like to work with him on his biography. Work on the book ended in 2020, but Olaf decided to go through the numerous photos again on his next visit and take a last look at the text. Unfortunately, that didn't happen anymore. First of all, the Covid pandemic ruined a visit of Olaf. In 2021 Olaf suffered a stroke from which he unfortunately never recovered. Olaf Strassmann died on September 1, 2021 and with that not just a friend and good person to talk to, but also a contemporary witness that was so important for Altenburg got lost. So I had to finish the book project on my own and decided to devote an extra chapter to him myself and to let people who appreciated Olaf and knew him well have their say. The result is a - his - life story with many pictures from different phases of his life and some good memories of a special person".