Broken Promise

On the eve of WWII, in the small Slovak town of Báncove, young Martin Friedmann-Petrasek has two main concerns: his Bar Mitzvah, and being scouted for a nationally-ranked football team. But larger fears loom for the Friedmann family and its nine children as the newly-formed Slovak state makes an alliance with Hitler. Martin's father senses the dangers ahead and struggles to keep the family together and safe, but one sibling after another is transported to Poland. Oblivious to these threats, Martin volunteers to go to to a work camp in Sered, where his friend has secured him a place on a football team. From here on, through sheer luck and his talent as a football player, Martin finds unexpected refuge in a sanatorium, a monastery, and partisan hideaways...