Blog Archives
Rena’s Promise: A Story of Sisters in Auschwitz
Author: Rena Kornreich Gelissen & Heather Dune Macadam
4am
Raus! Raus!
No matter how much we’ve heard or read or seen, it’s always shocking and extremely sad to know what was done to the people in the concentration camps during WWII. But as horrific as it was, it’s amazing – and I would call it a miracle due to the circumstances – that some survived and were able to tell their stories (I, for sure, don’t believe I would have survived 1 day).
Rena’s Promise is the story of Rena Kornreich Gelissen, a Polish woman who, at 21 years old, arrived in Auschwitz on the 1st train and stayed in Nazi concentration camps for more than 3 years before being released. She tells us about her life pre-war in a small town called Tylicz, in Poland; then in Slovakia, where she had to get refuge; and finally all the horrors she experienced in Auschwitz, where she was able to find her younger sister, Danka (who arrived on the 2nd train) and keep both alive – thankfully escaping Dr. Mengele’s experiments.
The Book Thief
Author: Markus Zusak
Set in Germany during World War II, this could be another book amongst millions that explore the war period with a dramatic story on top. Huge mistake. The Book Thief is simply a masterpiece and should be in the bookshelves of every person in the world. So what makes it so special?
