Lodz, Poland, 1944. As teenaged Henia Rosenfarb sits with her family in a small, secret room, hiding from Nazi soldiers while the net tightens around them, she makes herself two promises: that she will one day travel to Paris and that she will become a teacher. With the support of her family and the Bund, a political movement dedicated to social justice, Henia keeps her focus on these promises. Little can the fiery redhead imagine that her path will take her from wartime Poland to faraway Canada. These "bits and pieces" of her life give us a glimpse of a tumultuous past and a faith in the future.

Bits and Pieces (The Azrieli Series of Holocaust Survivor Memoirs, 3)

Biographies & Memoirs

Reinhartz, Henia

Historical

The Holocaust Survivor Memoirs Program

Nineteen-year-old Tommy Dick is killed, only to resurface. Born into a Hungarian family who had converted from Judaism, Tommy soon finds out that in the eyes of the Nazis, he's still a Jew, still a target for extermination. On the run and in disguise, Tommy is chased by death as much as he is by luck. A vivid and gripping account of how the courageous acts of others, unshakeable friendships and Tommy's own extraordinary quick-wit conspired to save the life of an adventurous and determined young man in the cruelest of times.

Getting Out Alive (The Azrieli Series of Holocaust Survivor Memoirs, 1)

Dick, Tommy

"Into a new world I was brought by a dream Never to see blood spilled again But can I really throw away The dreams that soiled my youth?" A young boy who loved soccer as much as he loved to write, Spring's End tells how John Freund's joyful childhood is shattered by the German invasion of his homeland, Czechoslovakia. Hoping at first that the conflict and persecution would soon blow over, John's Jewish family suffers through the systematic erosion of their rights only to be deported to Theresienstadten route to the Auschwitz death camp. John’s loss of innocence and suffering are made all the more poignant as his vivid words reveal an unwavering faith in humanity, determined optimism and commitment to rebuilding his life in Canada.

Spring's End (The Azrieli Series of Holocaust Survivor Memoirs, 2)

Freund, John

Community & Culture

Rachel Milbauer, a vivacious and outgoing music lover, lay hidden and silent with her family and a family friend in an underground bunker in Nazi-occupied Poland for nearly two years. Adam Shtibel, only eight years old when the war broke out, survived in the forest with other Jewish children until he was taken in by a gentile couple and "passed" as a non-Jew. After the war, the recovered violin, case and photos hidden away by her beloved Uncle Velvel became cherished symbols of survival and continuity. Saved by inner fortitude, luck, and the courage and caring of friends and strangers, Rachel and Adam met and fell in love, and set about building a new life together. Half a century later, a chance remark inspired Rachel to explore her memories. Always at her side, Adam found himself compelled to break his long self-imposed silence in the only way he could.

The Violin/A Child's Testimony (The Azrieli Series of Holocaust Survivor Memoirs, 4)

Shtibel, Rachel

Shtibel, Adam

William Tannenzapf never wavers in his determination to survive and save his wife and baby girl from the evil gripping his hometown of Stanisławów. Blond, cherubic, Renate Krakauer was a "miracle baby", born as the world descended into war and soon surrounded by misery and death. Starving and enslaved, Tannenzapf entrusts his daughter to a Polish family so that little Renate can live in "childhood oblivion"—yet still under the eyes of her loving parents. Later reunited and thrown into the trials of refugee and immigrant life, Krakauer's thoughtful observations provide fascinating insight into the perceptions of a child survivor and offer a poignant counterpoint to Tannenzapf’s adult reflections on the same events. This gripping volume offers the reader the rare opportunity to read survival stories from two members of the same family.

Memories From the Abyss/But I Had A Happy Childhood (The Azrieli Series of Holocaust Survivor Memoirs, 9)

Tannenzapf, William

Krakauer, Renate

Fred Mann's compelling memoir is at once the nerve-wracking account of his family's efforts to stay one step ahead of the Nazi death machinery and the captivating story of one boy's rapid entry into manhood. Using the biblical theme of Exodus to give shape to his story, Fred Mann traces his family's exile through Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, Jamaica and finally to a new home in Canada. It is both a story of persecution and exile and the narrative of a boy who found himself taking on adult responsibilities while only beginning to explore the adult world. Proud as he is of his success in helping his family in a time of desperate need, Fred Mann's story is also a lament for a lost childhood, for having to grow up far too fast.

A Drastic Turn of Destiny (The Azrieli Series of Holocaust Survivor Memoirs, 6)

Mann, Fred

The son of a diamond merchant in Antwerp's famous diamond exchange, Paul-Henri Rips was ten years old when the Nazis invaded Belgium in May 1940 and ended what he calls his "golden childhood" forever. Vividly told from a child's perspective, this fascinating account explores the diverse cast of characters who inhabited Belgium and France during the Nazi occupation and the experiences of one family against the backdrop of large-scale events. Guided throughout by his father's words of wisdom—"A klapt vargayt, a wort bestayt" (A blow will go away again, but a word lasts forever) and "Sei a mensch" (Be a decent human being)—Rips conveys his unwavering belief in the importance of holding on to one's own humanity in the face of unfathomable inhumanity.

E/96: Fate Undecided (The Azrieli Series of Holocaust Survivor Memoirs, 7)

Rips, Paul-Henri

Ann Szedlecki was a Hollywood film-loving fourteen-year-old when the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939 and she went to the Soviet Union with her older brother, hoping to return for the rest of her family later. Instead, she ends up spending most of the next six and a half years alone in the Soviet Union, enduring the harsh conditions of northern Siberia under Stalin's Communist regime. Szedlecki's beautifully written story, which lovingly re-constructs her pre-war childhood in Lodz, is also compelling for its candour about her experiences as a woman in the Soviet Union during World War II. As a very young woman without family, living largely by her wits, she is only too aware of her own vulnerability and meets every challenge she faces with a fierce determination to survive. Throughout her ordeals she hears the echo of her mother's last words to her: "Be decent."

Album Of My Life (The Azrieli Series of Holocaust Survivor Memoirs, 8)

Szedlecki, Ann

On the run in Nazi-occupied Poland, thirteen-year-old orphan Marian Finkelman―later Domanski―must fend for himself in a desperate search for safety. Forced to grow up much too early, the daring young boy risks his life over and over again to slip in and out of the ghetto in his hometown of Otwock to find food. When he finally escapes the ghetto, alone and living by his wits, Marian's perfect Polish and fair complexion help him narrowly escape death as he travels through the Polish countryside "passing" as a Polish-Catholic farmhand. A heart-rending tale of lost youth, Fleeing from the Hunter poignantly describes the quick thinking and extraordinary will to live that are Marian Domanski's greatest strengths as he manages to survive against all odds.

Fleeing from the Hunter (The Azrieli Series of Holocaust Survivor Memoirs, 10)

Domanski, Marian

For six desperate years, Willie Sterner's skill as a painter saves him from death at the hands of the Nazis. Faced with inhumane conditions in slave labour camps and grieving the loss of his close-knit family, Sterner relies on courage and ingenuity to hold onto his dignity. Through almost random luck, he comes under the protection of the famed Oskar Schindler and becomes his personal art restorer. An unvarnished account of what he experienced and what he lost, The Shadows Behind Me also follows the story of Willie and Eva―the woman he meets on a death march―as they rebuild their lives and regain hope in Canada. Gripping and moving, this is a tribute to one man’s remarkable determination to survive.

The Shadows Behind Me (The Azrieli Series of Holocaust Survivor Memoirs, 11)

Sterner, Willie

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