In Zaidy’s Band, Aron Heller chron­i­cles his exten­sive jour­ney with his grand­fa­ther Mick­ey Heller — his Zaidy — to uncov­er Mick­ey’s mys­te­ri­ous wartime past and the untold sto­ries of his Jew­ish Cana­di­an band of brothers.

Through many trips, calls, and emails to his Zaidy, Heller
uncov­ers dozens of pre­vi­ous­ly unknown sto­ries of lost friend­ships, per­son­al tragedies, acts of hero­ism, and emo­tion­al reunions. These men played key roles in the defin­ing events of their time — fight­ing against Nazism and con­tribut­ing to the estab­lish­ment of Israel. Their voic­es, how­ev­er, are not mere relics of the past. The dilem­mas they faced — faith, belong­ing, courage, and sac­ri­fice — con­tin­ue to res­onate today.

Part mem­oir, part his­tor­i­cal biog­ra­phy, and part mys­tery, Zaidy’s Band reveals how even the hum­blest acts of World War II ser­vice shaped a gen­er­a­tion of men and left a last­ing impact on their fam­i­lies for years to come.