On Both Sides of the Iron CurtainThe Story of a Russian Refugee in America

He was born in Moscow, Russia. I was born right here in Divine Providence, U.S.A. But we share the same date of birth. Israel Helms came to Rhode Island and to my neighborhood in 1955, having survived both World War II and the Stalinist Soviet Union, the totalitarian cruelties of fascism/Nazism and those of communism.

Israel Helms has written a 122-page memoir, titled On Both Sides of the Iron Curtain: The Story of a Russian Refugee in America, and read from the text on October 19, at Barnes and Noble Bookstore.

This is a riveting review of a remarkable life. Yes, it reflects the language difficulties of an adult immigrant. Yes, it has some awkward phrases and misspellings. The reader has to get rid of some slick expectations about polished volumes. But this compressed autobiography holds some marvelous insights, surprises, reminders, and challenges. Here at Brown and among its East Side blocks, it comes naturally to praise the blue states and the Democratic agenda and to mock the patriotic platitudes of the red states and the rhetoric of the Republicans. But not for those who sought relief from communism, and who required refuge from fascism. Helms praises Reagan’s vilification of the “evil empire.”

“As a person who spent a lifetime on both sides of the ideological divide, and had an opportunity to take a good hard look, compare and reflect, I have something to say both to the young liberals and their politically charged spiritual leaders. Those of them who don’t realize what is at stake in our fight with modern totalitarianism, those who just don’t get it again, please feel free to use my shoes just to clear your minds a little bit.”

The ironic truth is that Israel Helms is not blessed with happy-ending Hollywood good luck. His marriage broke up. His daughter’s also. He married again, but the result was no better. The pursuit of happiness is guaranteed in our Constitution, but not the achievement thereof. But this melancholy mood does not diminish the dignity of his quest for freedom and personal fulfillment.

Some anecdotes from “Both Sides” may strike the youthful reader as a familiar echo: the anti-Semitism of Greater Russia, the value of simple kindness, the terrible bind that the liberators of east Europe were in their turn also oppressors, the rebirth of old-fashioned flag-waving among newcomers to our blessed shores. Indeed the cover of this incredible wee slim tome has an American banner over a hammer and sickle, announcing its theme.

Michael Fink is Professor at the Rhode Island School of Design