Author talk: No Heil Hitler – Jeff Steel

Join award-winning author Jeff Steel (National Seniors Literary Prize and the Philpott Prize) as he shares the remarkable true story of Paul Cieslar.

As a young schoolboy in Poland, Paul witnesses the Nazi invasion of his homeland. When his family refuses to say “Heil Hitler,” they come under the scrutiny of the Gestapo. Fleeing to the remote high country, Paul lives as a shepherd, isolated from the dangers of his village—yet facing new and unexpected hardships.

Against the odds, he survives. But his return home offers little safety. He is soon kidnapped and forced into a Hitler Youth unit, sent into battle against Russian tanks—on bicycles. Amid the chaos of war, Paul also experiences love, only to have it suddenly torn away when the girl he cares for disappears without a trace.

This is a story of survival, resilience, and lost innocence—and the most astonishing part is that every word is true. Paul Cieslar eventually made a new life in Australia, settling right here in the Yarra Valley.