NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 11, 2026--
Award-winning writer and Sunday Times bestselling author Michael Calvin and globally renowned collator of Holocaust testimony Rabbi Naftali Schiff will release the incredible true story Miracle: The Boys Who Escaped the Gas Chamber at Auschwitz with Harper Horizon on June 9, 2026.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260311126328/en/
A miracle unfolded on October 10, 1944, at Auschwitz. Amid the gas chambers and crematoria, a ragtag group of Jewish boys, aged thirteen to seventeen, were marched naked into Crematorium 5, their names already crossed out in Nazi ledgers as gestorben — “dead.” They would soon be put to death in the infamous gas chambers.
But just moments before Zyklon B pellets were released, fate intervened: Three German officers arrived on motorbikes and ordered their evacuation, selecting them to unload a consignment of potatoes from Greece.
This is their astonishing story. Miracle: The Boys Who Escaped the Gas Chamber in Auschwitz illuminates their incredible journey from the brink of death to lives of profound purpose and resilience.
Experience the raw emotion, the struggle for survival, and the lasting power of faith amid unimaginable cruelty. These boys—who endured concentration camps, death marches, and constant dehumanization—rebuilt their families and became living testaments to hope.
Through archival research, survivor testimonies, and haunting personal accounts, Miracle gives voice to a chapter of Holocaust history that was nearly lost. It reveals how a single twist of fate and the strength of the human spirit changed the course of so many lives.
“At a time of denial and disinformation, it is more important than ever to tell the stories of Holocaust survivors,” said Michael Calvin. “Once their voices fade away, other, more malign, influences will have an opportunity to flourish. The boys who share their experiences in Miracle speak for their generation, to a world that must be reminded of the truth they represent.”
“After a twenty-year international search to identify eyewitnesses to the most extraordinary Holocaust story I had ever encountered, I conducted six in-depth interviews across three continents,” said Rabbi Naftali Schiff. “The lucidity, authenticity, and moral courage of these boys, now in the twilight of their lives, compelled me to bring the stark truth of their experience to light. In an age marked by distortion and diminishing historical memory, their undeniable testimony must be heard.”
An instant Sunday Times Bestseller in the UK, Miracle is more than a historical account; it is a memorial of tears, defiance, and unimaginable dignity, urging us to remember and carry forward their legacy for a better future. Their courage echoes through time, reminding us that even in history’s darkest moments, the light of humanity can prevail.
Miracle will be available in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook. You can pre-order today at: https://www.harpercollinsfocus.com/9781400255580/miracle/.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
Michael Calvin is an award-winning writer and Sunday Times bestselling author whose books have been hailed for their insight and influence. He has collaborated with such celebrated sportsmen as Sir Alastair Cook, Dylan Hartley, and Gareth Thomas, and is the only writer to win the British Sports Book of the Year award in successive years. Most recently, and in a wider context, he has collaborated on critically acclaimed autobiographies of Toby Gutteridge, a quadriplegic former Special Forces soldier, and of Josef Lewkowicz, a Holocaust survivor and Nazi hunter.
Rabbi Naftali Schiff is a leading social entrepreneur and innovator who has conceived and built numerous successful educational organizations working to ensure Jewish futures. He is also a globally renowned collator of the testimonies of Holocaust survivors and a documentary filmmaker. He has personally interviewed over two hundred Holocaust survivors to ensure their testimonies, legacy, and values are preserved for future generations. Naftali is committed to constantly identifying new pathways and vehicles in order to inspire today’s younger generation.
ABOUT HARPER HORIZON:
Harper Horizon is a Nashville-based imprint of HarperCollins Focus focused on the stories, values and diverse voices of Americana and beyond, publishing authors such as Shea McGee, Penn & Kim Holderness, Willie Nelson, Luke Russert, and more. For more information, please visit www.harpercollinsfocus.com/Harper-Horizon.
Courtesy of Harper Horizon, an imprint of HarperCollins Focus.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Onion’s plan to take over the Infowars platforms that Alex Jones built into a bullhorn of conspiracy theories and turn them into parody sites was in limbo again Thursday, after a Texas court paused a proposed deal involving the satirical news outlet.
Austin-based Infowars is facing liquidation because of the more than $1 billion in defamation lawsuit judgments Jones owes relatives of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting for calling the Connecticut massacre a hoax. The proposed licensing deal would give The Onion temporary authority to use Infowars' trademarks, copyrights and intellectual property while a state receiver in Texas works toward liquidation.
A state judge in Austin had scheduled a hearing Thursday on whether to approve The Onion deal with the receiver. But the proceeding fizzled into a status conference because the Texas Third Court of Appeals late Wednesday approved an emergency motion by Jones’ lawyers that temporarily blocked the transfer of any Infowars assets. The judge set another hearing for May 28.
Lawyers for the Sandy Hook families had asked the Texas Supreme Court to overturn the appeals court ruling, but the high court did not issue a decision before Thursday's hearing.
“This newly insane, unprecedented legal stalling does nothing but delay our deal with the receiver to take control of InfoWars,” Ben Collins, The Onion's CEO, said in a social media post ahead of the hearing. “We now expect new traps in Alex Jones’ amoral war to deny paying the Sandy Hook families, but we’re freshly surprised by the U.S. legal system’s appetite to put up with it.”
The Onion already has been selling Infowars merchandise on its own website, including T-shirts and tote bags with an Infowars logo that replaces the “o” with its trademark onion image. It wants to turn the Infowars platforms into comedy sites that would include spoofing Jones, conspiracy theories and right-wing talking points, while giving revenue to the Sandy Hook victims’ relatives.
Jones declared victory in videos posted on his social media sites after the appellate court ruling. He called The Onion's plan illegal, citing pending appeals and his continuing personal bankruptcy case.
“I said days ago there’s no way the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Texas doesn’t overturn this — you know they’re all Democrats — because it’s so outrageous what you’ve done,” Jones said.
After Thursday’s hearing, Mark Bankston, a lawyer for some of the Sandy Hook victims’ relatives, accused Jones of delaying the liquidation of Infowars numerous times with court filings.
“As far as the world is concerned, Infowars is dead. Everybody knows that,” he said. “He’s trying to keep the bloated corpse of a media organization alive. It’s all a joke. Everybody knows where this is going.”
It’s not the first time The Onion has hit a legal setback in plans to take over Infowars.
In November 2024, the Chicago-based satirical outlet was named the winner of a bankruptcy court auction of the assets of Infowars’ parent company, Free Speech Systems, aimed at helping pay some of the defamation judgments. But a federal judge overturned the auction results, citing problems with process and The Onion’s bid.
Jones said on his show this week that he has a new studio nearing completion. He already has set up a new phone app and websites, including one that sells the dietary supplements, clothing and other merchandise he hawks on his shows. And his personal X account, where he posts videos of his shows and has 4.5 million followers, is not affected by any of the court cases.
Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut.
Mark Bankston, an attorney for relatives of the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook School shooting, speaks to the media following a hearing at the county courthouse in Austin, Texas, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Mark Bankston, an attorney for relatives of the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook School shooting, speaks to the media following a hearing at the county courthouse in Austin, Texas, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
A person records with a smartphone Mark Bankston, an attorney for relatives of the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook School shooting, as he speaks to the media following a hearing at the county courthouse in Austin, Texas, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
FILE - A copy of the satirical outlet The Onion is seen, Nov. 14, 2024, in Little Rock, Ark. (AP Photo/Jill Bleed, File)
FILE - Right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones speaks to the media after arriving at the federal courthouse for a hearing in front of a bankruptcy judge, June 14, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)
