The Daughter of Auschwitz
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER - a heartbreaking true story of courage, resilience and survival
Published on 1. September 2022
Book
Hardback
352 pages
978-1-5294-2346-4 (ISBN)
Description
The harrowing, moving and poignant account of one of the youngest survivors of Auschwitz: a girl who was only five years old when she was sent to an extermination camp, and was one of the few people who entered a gas chamber and lived to tell her story.
'I am a survivor. That comes with a survivor's obligation to represent one and half million Jewish children murdered by the Nazis. They cannot speak. So I must speak on their behalf.'
With a special foreword by Sir Ben Kingsley.
'Every so often a book arrives that demands to be read' John Humphrys
'An unforgettable and deeply moving story' Jeremy Bowen
AN INCREDIBLE STORY OF COURAGE, RESILIENCE AND SURVIVAL
Tova Friedman was one of the youngest people to emerge from Auschwitz. After surviving the liquidation of the Jewish ghetto in Central Poland where she lived as a toddler, Tova was five when she and her parents were sent to a Nazi labour camp, and almost six when she and her mother were forced into a packed cattle truck and sent to Auschwitz II, also known as the Birkenau extermination camp, while her father was transported to Dachau.
During six months of incarceration in Birkenau, Tova witnessed atrocities that she could never forget, and experienced numerous escapes from death. She is one of a handful of Jews to have entered a gas chamber and lived to tell the tale.
As Nazi killing squads roamed Birkenau before abandoning the camp in January 1945, Tova and her mother hid among corpses. After being liberated by the Russians they made their way back to their hometown in Poland. Eventually Tova's father tracked them down and the family was reunited.
In The Daughter of Auschwitz, Tova immortalizes what she saw, to keep the story of the Holocaust alive, at a time when it is in danger of fading from memory. She has used those memories that have shaped her life to honour the victims. Written with award-winning former war reporter Malcolm Brabant, this is an extremely important book. Brabant's thorough research has helped Tova recall her experiences in searing detail. Together they have painstakingly recreated Tova's extraordinary story about one of the worst ever crimes against humanity.
'I read this book with gratitude and urgency' Fergal Keane
'[A] vividly written and compelling story' Lindsey Hilsum
'A truly remarkable book' Christine Lampard, Lorraine
'I am a survivor. That comes with a survivor's obligation to represent one and half million Jewish children murdered by the Nazis. They cannot speak. So I must speak on their behalf.'
With a special foreword by Sir Ben Kingsley.
'Every so often a book arrives that demands to be read' John Humphrys
'An unforgettable and deeply moving story' Jeremy Bowen
AN INCREDIBLE STORY OF COURAGE, RESILIENCE AND SURVIVAL
Tova Friedman was one of the youngest people to emerge from Auschwitz. After surviving the liquidation of the Jewish ghetto in Central Poland where she lived as a toddler, Tova was five when she and her parents were sent to a Nazi labour camp, and almost six when she and her mother were forced into a packed cattle truck and sent to Auschwitz II, also known as the Birkenau extermination camp, while her father was transported to Dachau.
During six months of incarceration in Birkenau, Tova witnessed atrocities that she could never forget, and experienced numerous escapes from death. She is one of a handful of Jews to have entered a gas chamber and lived to tell the tale.
As Nazi killing squads roamed Birkenau before abandoning the camp in January 1945, Tova and her mother hid among corpses. After being liberated by the Russians they made their way back to their hometown in Poland. Eventually Tova's father tracked them down and the family was reunited.
In The Daughter of Auschwitz, Tova immortalizes what she saw, to keep the story of the Holocaust alive, at a time when it is in danger of fading from memory. She has used those memories that have shaped her life to honour the victims. Written with award-winning former war reporter Malcolm Brabant, this is an extremely important book. Brabant's thorough research has helped Tova recall her experiences in searing detail. Together they have painstakingly recreated Tova's extraordinary story about one of the worst ever crimes against humanity.
'I read this book with gratitude and urgency' Fergal Keane
'[A] vividly written and compelling story' Lindsey Hilsum
'A truly remarkable book' Christine Lampard, Lorraine
Reviews / Votes
Every so often a book arrives that demands to be read. This is such a book. It should be compulsory reading for those who know little of one of humanity's greatest crimes and the awe-inspiring bravery of those like Tova Friedman who survived to tell their story. But also for those who think of the Holocaust as ancient history. It is not. It is an eternal reminder that evil needs only ignorance to flourish. That is the true value of this remarkable book * John Humphrys * Tova Friedman's vividly written and compelling story serves as proof that after suffering unimaginable cruelty and trauma, it is still possible to forge a life. This unforgettable book not only ensures we remember the horrors of the Holocaust, but can see the dangers of anti-semitism and other forms of racism today * Lindsey Hilsum * An unforgettable and deeply moving story. Malcolm Brabant brilliantly evokes the world of the ghetto and of Auschwitz through the eyes of Tova Friedman, a small child who survived the brutality of the Holocaust * Jeremy Bowen * I read this book with gratitude and urgency. Gratitude for the courage Tova Friedman has shown in deciding to share her story. We are all the beneficiaries of such powerful witness. The urgency comes from the knowledge that as time marches on such vivid voices are becoming increasingly rare. Read this book, cherish the lessons. It is a book rooted in the terrible events of another time, but the truths it reveals are eternal * Fergal Keane * Tova Friedman is telling her story for a reason, and that's clear in every page. It is a surprising and moving book which makes you furious, and I suspect that's what she wants -- Krishnan Guru-Murthy * Channel 4 News * [A] harrowing and lyrical memoir * Sunday Independent * An absolutely riveting book - please read it -- Judy Woodruff * PBS Newshour * A truly remarkable book -- Christine Lampard * Lorraine * Heart-breaking and powerful reading * History Revealed * In this vivid account, [Tova's] harrowing memories are brought to life with meticulous research from war reporter Malcolm Brabant. This result is a poignant, extraordinarily powerful book * Woman's Own * The combination [of authors] ... has turned into gold, as Brabant unerringly provides accurate research to support Friedman's callow memories. This is the real thing, the horrors of the Holocaust brought shudderingly to life, and all from the point of view of a small child who could barely read or recognise numbers. * Jewish Chronicle * Friedman is unflinching in choosing to reveal the trauma of her childhood and enlist the reader in her struggle to ensure that it can never be forgotten, and in the hope that it will never happen again. * Church Times *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 239 mm
Width: 154 mm
Thickness: 34 mm
Weight
590 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5294-2346-4 (9781529423464)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Tova Friedman (Author)
Tova Friedman was born in 1938, just one year before the outbreak of the Second World War. She was one of thousands of Jewish children living in the Polish town of Tomaszow Mazowiecki at the time. By the war's end, only five children from Tomaszow were still alive. Tova is one of the youngest survivors of Auschwitz and a campaigner against anti- Semitism. She was the director of a non-profit social service agency for twenty-five years. She is a therapist, and lives in Highland Park in New Jersey, US.
Malcolm Brabant (Author)
Malcolm Brabant is an award-winning British former BBC war correspondent, who witnessed genocide in Bosnia. He is now a Foreign Correspondent for America's PBS Newshour, with several accolades to his name. He met Tova at the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Birkenau, and they became firm friends. He lives in Brighton.
Tova Friedman was born in 1938, just one year before the outbreak of the Second World War. She was one of thousands of Jewish children living in the Polish town of Tomaszow Mazowiecki at the time. By the war's end, only five children from Tomaszow were still alive. Tova is one of the youngest survivors of Auschwitz and a campaigner against anti- Semitism. She was the director of a non-profit social service agency for twenty-five years. She is a therapist, and lives in Highland Park in New Jersey, US.
Malcolm Brabant (Author)
Malcolm Brabant is an award-winning British former BBC war correspondent, who witnessed genocide in Bosnia. He is now a Foreign Correspondent for America's PBS Newshour, with several accolades to his name. He met Tova at the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Birkenau, and they became firm friends. He lives in Brighton.