The Boxer

Award winner Reinhard Kleist’sThe Boxer is a graphic biography that reveals the true story of Holocaust survivor Harry Haft.

Poland, 1941. Sixteen-year-old Harry Haft is sent to Auschwitz. When he is forced to fight against other inmates for the amusement of the SS officers, Haft shows extraordinary strength and courage and a determination to survive. As the Soviet Army advances in April 1945, he makes a daring escape from the Nazis. After negotiating the turmoil of postwar Poland, Haft immigrates to the United States and establishes himself as a professional prizefighter, remaining undefeated until he faces heavy­weight champion Rocky Marciano in 1949.

In The Boxer, Reinhard Kleist reveals another side to the steely Harry Haft: a man struggling to escape the memories of the fiancée he left behind in Poland. This is a powerful and moving graphic biography about love and the will to survive.

“A testament to the good will of the individual triumphing over the evil that man is capable of. Haft survived against all odds while facing extreme adversity, turning the horror of his circumstances into inspiration. Reinhard Kleist’s The Boxer is a story for all times and all peoples and for always.” —John Leguizamo