The Streetcar to Life

It is October 16, 1943, and Hitler’s invasion of Europe is spreading like unquenchable fire. In a ghetto in Rome, the Nazis begin rounding up the city’s Jews for deportation to deadly concentration camps.

Twelve-year-old Emanuele makes a desperate attempt to save his mother. Instead, he’s chased by German soldiers and must take refuge on a Roman streetcar traversing the city. Stop after stop, Emanuele hides in plain sight for three full days, hoping to find his family alive and putting his own life into the hands of kind strangers who risk being shot for concealing a Jew.

A testament to good’s power over evil and based on real life events, The Streetcar to Life is a luminous tale of sacrifice, love, and of finding light when all else seems to go dark.

From the introduction:

My name is Emanuele Di Porto and I am ninety-one years old. On the morning of October 16th, 1943, when the Germans came to the ghetto to carry out a raid, my mother was taken and put on a truck. I ran into the street to save her, but instead she saved me. I have told my story for more than seventy years, but it has only recently gained recognition; many people now recognize me on the street and call me "the tram kid." But I have never been a kid, because at that time there was utter poverty, and everyone had to hurry to grow up and help their family. I have never been a kid, but I will never be old, because in my heart, time has stopped. My story is captured in this book, with some parts being completely true, and others embellished by Tea to bring the past to life.