Michael Calvin and Naftali Schiff to Release the Astonishing True Story, Miracle, With Harper Horizon on June 9, 2026

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.

LONDON (AP) — The British government on Wednesday published a batch of documents related to the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the U.S., as police investigate potential misconduct stemming from the ex-diplomat’s ties to the late Jeffrey Epstein.

The 147-page release was published Wednesday on the government website.

Lawmakers have forced Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government to disclose thousands of files about the decision to name Mandelson to the key diplomatic post at the start of U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term, despite a past friendship with the convicted sex offender.

The government has said the files will show that Mandelson misled officials about the extent of the relationship. But Starmer is facing a political storm over his decision to give him the Washington job.

Mandelson, 72, a former Cabinet minister, ambassador and elder statesman of the governing Labour Party, was arrested Feb. 23 at his London home on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He has been released without bail conditions as the police investigation continues.

He has previously denied wrongdoing and hasn’t been charged. He does not face allegations of sexual misconduct.

Cabinet minister Darren Jones said the “first tranche of documents” will be published Wednesday afternoon.

The documents are being published in batches after review by Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee. Police have asked the government not to release files that could compromise their criminal investigation into Mandelson.

“The documents that will be published today later to Parliament will provide full transparency about the appointments process, bar one document that has been held back by the Metropolitan Police because of an ongoing criminal investigation,” Jones told broadcaster ITV.

Starmer fired Mandelson in September after an earlier release of documents showed he had maintained contact with Epstein after the financier's 2008 conviction for sexual offenses involving a minor.

Further details about Mandelson's ties with Epstein, revealed in a huge trove of files published by the U.S. Department of Justice in January, drove opponents and even some members of Starmer’s Labour Party to call for the prime minister’s resignation. Starmer survived the immediate danger, but his position remains fragile, even though he never met Epstein and is not implicated in his crimes.

Starmer has apologized to Epstein’s victims and said he was sorry for “having believed Mandelson’s lies.”

The Epstein files suggest that Mandelson sent market-sensitive information to the convicted sex offender when he was the U.K. government’s business secretary after the 2008 financial crisis.

That includes an internal government report discussing ways the U.K. could raise money, including by selling off government assets. Mandelson also appears to have told Epstein he would lobby other members of the government to reduce a tax on bankers’ bonuses.

Mandelson is also facing a separate probe by the European Union’s anti-fraud office for the time he spent as the bloc’s trade representative.

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer leaves 10 Downing Street to attend the weekly Prime Ministers' Questions session in parliament in London, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Peter Mandelson, the former U.K. ambassador to the United States, leaves his house in London, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Peter Mandelson, the former U.K. ambassador to the United States, leaves his house in London, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Peter Mandelson, the former U.K. ambassador to the United States, leaves his house in London, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)