Unstoppable: Siggi B. Wilzig's Astonishing Journey from Auschwitz Survivor and Penniless Immigrant to Wall Street Legend

I came across a posting about this book, Unstoppable, and knew from its subtitle how “heavy” the subject was but was assured that the horror of the holocaust was only the first few chapters and that the remainder was quite different. That’s an understatement – except for the fact that Siggi, in his own words, “lived in Auschwitz every day”!The book opens up shocking truths hard to accept that Siggi so bravely lectured about. His dedication to his faith and for doing good for everyone associated with him using common sense, humor, generosity, and honesty is a testimony to the power of goodness and its triumph over evil. I am convinced that Siggi has likely done more for Jews than any pope has done for Christians. He believed that his survival had all to do with the Almighty, and as much as you can believe that it did, you must believe his work educating the world about the true horrors of the Holocaust came from “the hand of the Almighty” so that it will never happen again. Siggi is an inspiration to mankind.Just like Elie Wiezel, his friend and author of the Nobel Peace Prize winning book, Night, Unstoppable will stay with you for the remainder of your life and should be required reading for anyone graduating high school regardless of faith. The book is a great gift too for many reasons.

While it is fashionable in some circles today to believe that achieving the “American Dream” of health, wealth and happiness is no longer possible, "Unstoppable" proves the contrary. Siggi Wilzig’s “rags to riches” story is all the more amazing because he came to the United States in 1947 at the age of 21 with $240 in his pocket and then began his new life as a poor immigrant shoveling snow, cleaning toilets, and selling household goods as a travelling salesman. When one considers that Siggi had already survived torture and starvation at the hands of SS guards in Auschwitz, what he was able to achieve before his death in 2003 truly deserves to be called an “astonishing journey.”Sigi got his opportunity to achieve his American Dream in the mid-1950s, when Sol Diamond, a prominent entrepreneur in then his late 70s, sensed that his much younger friend was the right person to take control of a struggling Texas oil company in which both Diamond and Sigi owned stock. By 1964, Sigi and a small group of friends and family had accumulated enough stock in the Wilshire Oil Company of Texas to get two seats on the company’s board of directors. A year later, Sigi was the president and chief executive officer of the company as well as the chairman of the board.By the late 1960s, Sigi had also taken over a commercial bank—the Trust Company of New Jersey—and was its chief executive officer and chairman of the board. By the early 1990s, the bank’s assets had grown from $180 million to more than $2.2 billion and it was considered the “healthiest bank” in New Jersey.Despite never having finished junior high school, Sigi Wilzig had the instincts and drive to become a phenomenal business success—and a bigger-than-life personality in the American Jewish community. He was a world-class story-teller comedian and charmer and these character traits also were very important to his success. But when talking about his achievements, Sigi insisted that he could not have become a business success anywhere else in the world. “Only in America is such a miracle possible. Only America is the land of freedom and opportunity.” Whether this is a true statement is not the point. Rather, Sigi believed it to be true and he acted accordingly.While Sigi certainly enjoyed financial success, he never forgot his early years in Auschwitz and this explains why his own motto for life was: “Free Men Who Forget Their Bitter Past Do Not Deserve a Bright Future.” That said, Sigi loved his fellow human beings and had great empathy for them.Author Joshua Greene, an accomplished scholar of the Holocaust whose books have sold more than 500,000 copies, brings Sigi to life in the pages of this superb biography. Unstoppable is an inspiring story of a remarkable American. It deserves to reach a wide audience and reading it is time well spent.

Writing reviews can be easy; but I think biographical reviews are hard to write..What content to extrapolate to capture the character of a man, but not allow the review to read as a biography?I thought this book would be how an eighteen yr old survived two concentration camps. Wrong!So.. you need to know this book is not about life in Germany or Poland. It's about being granted that gift of a second chance to live.A hero of sorts; a man who had an exceptional drive to succeed and knew how high to jump in clearing hurdles.Siggi Wilzig got off the ship in 1947-America- donning an extremely thick head of dark hair and a huge smile. Having no money and somewhat of an elementary school education Siggi had a generous heart, people skills, and was always told he had a great sense of humor. These attributes wouldn't show their worth until years later.His very first job was shoveling snow for a dollar; the next - cleaning toilets in a sweatshop, both without complaints- because I'm in America, he would say. Siggi recognizes quickly in order to get better jobs he must pretend he had the knowledge; ultimately impressing his bosses by turning a profit for their small businesses. Speak the language, study the job was Siggi's mantra .Enter the late 50's and 60's ; Siggi notices many companies refusing to hire or do business with Jews. Well, I know a little something about that problem he says, and uses those gifts of his persona to diffuse many of the issues. Siggi now owns a reputation of outstanding business acumen and ethics. This confidence convinces him to make the moves in cultivating some very difficult relationships. The deals that went solid would put him in the limelight and Siggi of course, had his own set of cheerleaders.He is now President and CEO of The Wilshire Oil Company. Not enough, Siggi thinks, I want more, and more he got.And so it goes, Siggi became the President of a New York Stock Exchange company; a full service bank- where he tops it's assets to over 4 billion dollars.More important, Siggi vowed three things when he touched American turf, and in this particular order:" To never go hungry again To support the Jewish people To speak out against injustice."When asked if he forgot his past- "No", he said with humility "I am in Auschwitz every day" .Siggi lived an extraordinary life that wasn't handed to him nor was it luck. Though he dined with Presidents, Heads of State, and VIP's, his loyalty was to family, every employee, and to Israel. He leaves a legacy as a Humanitarian, Activist, and Jewish Philanthropist.He impresses me as quite a gentleman.48 likes

A Bissell drek with unnecessary boring details