We Fought Like Lions, is about my grandfather’s, Charles Leonek's World War Two account. The foundation of the story was born out of a decade and a half of genealogical research. I uncovered the account 18 years after my grandfather’s death through JewishGen, JewshGen Family Finder, JRI-Poland, the Museum of Jewish Heritage, the USHMM, the YIVO, and Yizkor books. It has been an amazing journey that has culminated with the publishing of the book. The book is based on my transcription of a lost 2 hour interview found in a museum archive. My grandfather, Charlie Shaya Lelonek, discusses the environment, history, and challenges facing Polish Jews in September 1939. He vividly describes the experience of Jewish refugees in the Soviet Union during the war, joining the Polish division of the Russian Army and liberating Europe with other Jewish soldiers. After fighting in the Warsaw Uprising in 1944, he survived as a “good Polish Catholic” in a German POW camp. Finally, he recounts liberation, reuniting with his family, DP camp life and emigration to the US. Throughout the book, I have used “historical context” boxes to stimulate thought and challenge misconceptions of Jews as passive victims of the Nazis, lack of resistance, political knowledge, patriotism, being proactive and courage. The book is written in my grandfather’s voice, contributing to the authenticity of the book. It also engages the readers whose parents and grandparent spoke similarly.