10 January

Literary Prize for tale of survival under Nazism

A true story of survival in Nazi-occupied Poland has taken out the inaugural National Seniors Phillpotts Literary Prize, presented at a ceremony in Melbourne today. No Heil Hitler by Paul Cieslar and Jeff Steel tells of Cieslar’s life as a young man when Germany invaded Poland in 1939. “His family wouldn’t say Heil Hitler,” said Steel, who co-wrote the book with Cieslar who is now 85. “He was actually grilled by the Gestapo and managed to persuade them he was a half-wit.

“If he had said his parents had told him not to say Heil Hitler, the Nazis would have sent them to Auschwitz.”

Steel said Cieslar was also targeted by a Russian spy and spent more than a year on the run, working as a shepherd.

The story was a compelling one and both Steel and Cieslar said they were “absolutely bowled over” to have won the $5,000 prize.

The award, which recognises unpublished works of non-fiction by authors aged over 50 in Australia, helps with the costs of editing, printing, publishing and marketing of a non-fiction work.

National Seniors member David Needham came up with the idea after researching and writing a book about the life and works of prolific but now little known English author Eden Phillpotts, who died in 1960, pen in hand, at the age of 98.

Needham said 65 authors had submitted their work for consideration.

“Hopefully this will become a book prize on the national literary scene,” Needham said.

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With a quarter of a million members Australia-wide, National Seniors is the consumer lobby for the over 50s. It is the fourth largest organisation of its type in the world.