Book picks similar to
Family Tree: Rooted in Survival by Rebecca Freimann
holocaust
jews-jewish
memoir
rebecca-freimann
Seducing and Killing Nazis: Hannie, Truus and Freddie: Dutch Resistance Heroines of WWII
Sophie Poldermans - 2019
They provided Jewish children with safe houses and gathered vital intelligence for the resistance. They did what they did "because it had to be done." Above all, they tried to remain human in inhuman circumstances.Hannie Schaft was executed by the Nazis three weeks before the end of the war and became the icon of female Dutch resistance. Truus and Freddie Oversteegen survived the war, but were forever haunted by the demons of their past.
The Fuhrer’s Orphans : a moving and powerful novel based on true events
David Laws - 2020
Their parents have been sent to concentration camps and they have nowhere else to go.Teacher Claudia Kellner discovers the group when she first takes in two homeless victims, risking her own safety by giving them shelter.Meanwhile, Commando Peter Chesham, a spy working for the British, succeeds in entering Third Reich territory. But his top-secret mission is threatened when he discovers the hiding place of the orphans.If he continues with his mission it will have fatal consequences for everyone around him, but if he doesn’t, the Nazis could win the war. Peter faces the agonising dilemma; obey orders or save the children.Will he lead the ultimate escape operation or complete the task he has been given?What he decides could determine the fate of history…Based on true events The Fuhrer’s Orphans is a powerful and moving novel set during the Second World War and is perfect for fans of Heather Morris and Robert Harris.
Vittoria: A Historical Drama Based on A True Story
Dafna Vitale Ben Bassat - 2016
With the onset of World War II, her life is carried by a swirl of atrocities, decisions, farewells and remorse that will scar her forever.
A stirring historical drama about the life of a Jewish family during WW II.
This is the story of one unforgettable woman, supporting her husband and children under impossible conditions. It is also the story of a Jewish family who feels safe from war because of its status and wealth, and wakes up to a disastrous reality. More than anything, it is the story of the entire Italian Jewish community in face of the Holocaust – a story of disaster, overcoming and eventual immigration to Israel as a part of the Zionist movement.
Behind every successful man stands an insightful woman.
Daily life soaked in historical consequences, family ties and general atmosphere, aromas, sounds and tastes, based on thorough research, interviews and original historical manuscripts. A drama of loss and despair, survival and human triumph with unforgettable characters that stay with you long after the last page. Scroll up to grab your copy of Vittoria now!
Children to a Degree: Growing Up Under the Third Reich: Book 1
Horst Christian - 2013
Karl Veth, the oldest of three children, was born in Berlin, Germany in 1930. By the time he was old enough to start school and begin his education, Hitler had already established a firm death-grip on the country. Children were fed a steady diet of Nazi propaganda and were often encouraged to turn on their family and friends but contrary to popular belief, not all of them bought into it. Karl is an intelligent young boy who strives to excel in his studies, but he questions everything. Dangerous questions during a time when people are closely monitored. Karl’s father and grandfather are not blind followers and they have their own opinions about Hitler and his regime. The lessons they teach Karl often contradict what he is taught in school, yet they also inspire him to think on his own and form his own opinions. German law mandates that all children must become members of the Hitler Youth and at the age of 10, Karl enters the Jungvolk, the junior branch of the Hitler Youth. He must wade through the propaganda and everything he is taught to decide for himself what is right and what it wrong. Little does he know at the time, but many of his grandfather’s predictions about the future of the Third Reich will eventually come to pass. The lessons he learns now and the opinions he forms will determine his fate in dangerous times ahead. Children To A Degree is the first book in a four-book series. Karl's incredible story continues in: Loyal To A Degree Trust To A Degree Partners To A Degree
Final Witness: My journey from the holocaust to Ireland
Zoltan Zinn-Collis - 2006
In Bergen-Belsen concentration camp he survived the inhuman brutality of the SS guards, the ravages of near starvation, disease, and squalor. All but one of his family died there, his mother losing her life on the very day the British finally marched into the camp. Discovered by a Red Cross nurse who described him as ‘an enchanting scrap of humanity’, Zoltan was brought to Ireland and adopted by one of the liberators, Dr Bob Collis, who raised him as his own son on Ireland’s east coast. Now aged 65, Zoltan is ready to speak. His story is one of deepest pain and greatest joy. Zoltan tells how he lost one family and found another; of how, escaping from the ruins of a broken Europe, he was able to build himself a life – a life he may never have had.
The May Beetles: My First Twenty Years
Baba Schwartz - 2016
It is the story of a spirited girl in a warm and loving Jewish family, living a normal life in a small town in eastern Hungary. In The May Beetles, Baba describes the innocence and excitement of her childhood, remembering her early years with verve and emotion, remarkably unaffected by what took place after the Nazis arrived.What did happen was unspeakable horror. Baba describes the shattering of her family and their community from 1944, when the Germans transported the 3000 Jews of her town to Auschwitz. She lost her father to the gas chambers, yet she and her two sisters survived this concentration camp and several others to which they were transported as slave labour. They eventually escaped the final death march and were liberated by the advancing Russian army. Baba writes about this period of horror with the same directness, freshness and honesty as she writes about her childhood. Baba wrote this book in 1991 but only revealed the manuscript last year, when she was eighty-eight. The May Beetles, prepared with the assistance of Robert Hillman, has a story to tell that will affect all readers deeply.
In the Face of Fear: The Authentic Holocaust Survival Story of the Weisz Family
Thomas Weisz - 2018
Tomorrow they will be taken to the ghetto, the last step before deportation to Auschwitz and certain death. But one man defies the Nazis and seeks to deny them these victims. Alone, unarmed and crippled, Joseph Cseh, a smooth talking (black marketer), struggles to rescue the woman he loves and her entire family. Surrounded on all sides he stands up to the fascists, playing a life and death con game. But can he bluff the Gestapo and defeat an army? This is the amazing true story of the Weisz family and the man who took it upon himself to try and do some good in a world turned evil.
Forgiveness Unforgettable
Nikki Lee Brannon - 2015
Take a walk into this riveting true story of terror,survival,faith and finally forgiveness as Nikki reveals explicit first-hand accounts of her memories.
The Librarian of Auschwitz
Antonio Iturbe - 2012
Taken, along with her mother and father, from the Terezín ghetto in Prague, Dita is adjusting to the constant terror that is life in the camp. When Jewish leader Freddy Hirsch asks Dita to take charge of the eight precious volumes the prisoners have managed to sneak past the guards, she agrees. And so Dita becomes the librarian of Auschwitz. Out of one of the darkest chapters of human history comes this extraordinary story of courage and hope.
Her Smile
Carla Kelly - 2021
Thanks to an impulsive request from Elizabeth Ann Everett, the Everett family from Omaha, Nebraska, become tourists on a vacation in newly created Yellowstone National Park. The year is 1877 and the weather is fine, . When the Nez Perce, fleeing the U.S. Army, charge into a tourist camp, pampered, wealthy Elizabeth Everett gets more than she bargains for. So do the Nez Perce.
Undaunted: Surviving Jonestown, Summoning Courage, and Fighting Back
Jackie Speier - 2018
Ryan was killed on the airstrip tarmac. Jackie was shot five times at point-blank range. While recovering from what would become one of the most harrowing tragedies in recent history, Jackie had to choose: Would she become a victim or a fighter? The choice to survive against unfathomable odds empowered her with a resolve to become a vocal proponent for human rights.From the formative nightmare that radically molded her perspective and instincts to the devastating personal and professional challenges that would follow, Undaunted reveals the perseverance of a determined force in American politics. Deeply rooted in Jackie’s experiences as a widow, a mother, a congresswoman, and a fighter, hers is a story of true resilience, one that will inspire other women to draw strength from adversity in order to do what is right—no matter the challenges ahead.
By the Grace of the Game: The Holocaust, a Basketball Legacy, and an Unprecedented American Dream
Dan Grunfeld - 2021
The boy who escaped to America with them, who was bullied as he struggled to learn English and cope with family tragedy, was now a young man who had discovered and secretly honed his basketball talent on the outdoor courts of New York City. That young man was Ernie Grunfeld, who would go on to win an Olympic gold medal and reach previously unimaginable heights as an NBA player and executive. In By the Grace of the Game, Dan Grunfeld, once a basketball standout himself at Stanford University, shares the remarkable story of his family, a delicately interwoven narrative that doesn't lack in heartbreak yet remains as deeply nourishing as his grandmother's Hungarian cooking, so lovingly described. The true improbability of the saga lies in the discovery of a game that unknowingly held the power to heal wounds, build bridges, and tie together a fractured Jewish family. If the magnitude of an American dream is measured by the intensity of the nightmare that came before and the heights of the triumph achieved after, then By the Grace of the Game recounts an American dream story of unprecedented scale.From the grips of the Nazis to the top of the Olympic podium, from the cheap seats to center stage at Madison Square Garden, from yellow stars to silver spoons, this complex tale traverses the spectrum of the human experience to detail how perseverance, love, and legacy can survive through generations, carried on the shoulders of a simple and beautiful game.
Interrogating Ellie
Julian Gray - 2015
When her marriage breaks down and she finds herself alone in an enemy land, her passionate, restless nature drives her in a struggle for survival against the odds. Who can she trust? And ultimately, who can she love? Interrogating Ellie is based on a true story.Visit www.interrogating-ellie.comto find out more
Crucible of Terror
Max Liebster - 2003
After his arrest, followed by four months of solitary confinement in a Nazi prison, Liebster plummets headlong into the nightmare
Eyes Pried Open: Rookie FBI Agent
Vincent Sellers - 2014
His journey is chronicled in Eyes Pried Open: Rookie FBI Agent. Readers will experience both the highs and the lows of an FBI agent working bank robbery, kidnapping, murder-for-hire cases, and border-related crimes in San Diego, California. The book's from-the-heart narrative demonstrates that the typical lifestyle of an FBI agent assigned to a violent crime squad may not be for everyone. This is the first book to be written from the fresh perspective of an agent who joined the FBI after 9/11.