Rena's Promise
Average Customer Rating: 
List Price:
$16.00
Romania Hotels Travel Price:
$10.88
Your Savings: $ 5.12 ( 32% )
Subject To Change Without Notice
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Beacon Press
|
|
|
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 940.5318094386
EAN: 9780807070710
ISBN: 0807070718
Label: Beacon Press
Manufacturer: Beacon Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 240
Publication Date: 1996-10-30
Publisher: Beacon Press
Studio: Beacon Press
|
|
|
|
|
|
Editorial Reviews:
|
A Story of Sisters in Auschwitz
As a young woman, Rena Kornreich endured the Nazi death camps for almost three and a half years. Rena's Promise, the remarkable story of her survival, shows how her relationship with her younger sister, Danka, gave her the will to persevere under unimaginable circumstances.
"Deeply moving."
-Dena Taylor, San Francisco Chronicle
|
|
|
Spotlight customer reviews:
|
Customer Rating:
Summary: Rena and Danka's story of survival in the Holocaust is essential reading!
Comment: Though I am writing a review of Rena's Promise for the first time, I first read it about four years ago and have since read it about three times, the most recent being a week ago. The story of one Holocaust survivor's ordeal during her incarceration in a Nazi extermination camp makes for a harrowing but truly memorable read. This book ranks as my all-time favorite Holocaust memoir, together with Olga Lengyel's Five Chimneys [about her experiences in Auschwitz] and also A Jump for Life by Ruth Altbeker Cyprys. There are many more Holocaust memoirs in my library, but these three have remained constant favorites.
In Rena's Promise, Rena is a young farm girl living in a small village, Tylicz in Poland. She comes from a Jewish Orthodox family and their life seems ordinary and idyllic until the Nazis invade Poland. At a certain point, Rena has to leave her family and live with another family but when she fears for that family's safety in harboring a Jew, she leaves for a German work camp, naively thinking that she will be able to work and also save her family from the Nazis. Too late, Rena realises that she has been sent to Auschwitz, a Nazi concentration camp where the ultimate goal is to exterminate all Jews and undesirables. Rena's younger sister Danka arrives soon after and both sisters try their best to acclimate themselves to the horrendous living conditions in the camp.
When Danka's will to survive begins to wane, Rena makes her sister a promise that she will also die if Danka dies or is chosen for the gas. This gives Danka the will to live and also gives Rena a reason for existing amidst the direst conditions. They soon find themselves coming into contact with old friends and cousins, all the while hoping their parents are safe and alive somewhere.
What truly sets apart this memoir for me is the detailed descriptions of day to day life in the camp. To me, these details were not tedious at all, but provided an insight into the evil mentality and precision of the Nazi extermination machine. The Nazis were sticklers for discipline and order and systematically drove their prisoners to the brink of starvation, fatigue and eventually death. That Rena and her sister escaped death over and over again [be it a scabies infection that in a camp could be fatal, a selection for medical experiments by the infamous Dr Mengele, calesthenics by a sadistic camp guard, and other 'selections' for life or death] is miraculous indeed.
Another thing that makes Rena's memoir a fascinating read is that not only are readers given a detailed picture of daily life in the camps and accounts of Nazi brutality, but also Rena's experiences as a woman - how she copes with getting her period in a place where sanitation is at the worst level [no underwear, no pads], her burgeoning feelings for some male admirers that she comes into brief contact with [an indication that even as the Nazis tried to dehumanise their victims, the human will to endure and experience the beauty of life was still very strong], and also the camaraderie shared between Rena, Danka and their circle of friends. It made me realise that as horrific as Auschwitz was, there were still moments that affirmed the beauty of love, friendship and the will to live amidst all that depravity and suffering.
I can't imagine anyone who reads this memoir not being touched by Rena's experiences. Her story is essential reading for all those interested in the Holocaust, for those who wonder what the Shoah was all about and for those who still doubt that such things could have happened [and still do to this very day]. A memorable and haunting Holocaust memoir.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Amazing Story
Comment: This is an outstanding book detailing two sisters and their survival in Auschwitz-Birkenau. Rena did an excellent job of taking the reader through her horrifying journey and making them feel as if they are right there with her at every moment. The result is a shocking and unbelievable story of courage, strength and humility in the face of undeniable evil. This book is a must for anyone interested in the Holocaust; specifically "life" in the concentration/extermination camps. Her story will stay with you.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Amazing Rena and amazing struggle to live
Comment: It's my #5 book on memoirs of the Holocaust. All of them I discovered right here, on Amazon.
The first one was "Thanks to my Mother" by Shoshana Rabinovici about life and survival by a minute in the Vilna Ghetto. Then was "Alicia", "Cage"...
Rena and Danka are two sisters in Poland. Rena promised their mother to be with her littler sister and watch her. And all she was doing in Auswitz was to keep Danka alive. Amazing woman and very very street smart. There were so many situations where most people would loose the will to live, but Rena kept finding the ways to save herself and Danka at the last split of a second. Over two years to be in the Death camp and survive!
An amazing Courage to fight for Life!
An amazing example for us all!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent reading!
Comment: I just started reading this book yesterday, and I must say I am completely intrigued! I do like this type of memoir reading and I love to read about the atroscities of the holocaust. This book is a very easy read and it really captivates you; I haven't wanted to put it down yet!!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Unbelievable but True
Comment: This is an incredible story of sisters in a concentration camp. I've done a great deal of research into the Holocaust, but never have I come across a book quite like this one. It literally changed my life. I found myself thinking about it for days afterwards, little things reminding me of Rena's story--eating a potato, walking outside with a coat on, seeing a young child playing. I found a distinct connection with Rena, even asking myself if I could do what she did.
Rena is an astonishing woman who is responsible for her sister surviving Auschwitz. The critic got it wrong when s/he said that Rena's promise was made to her mother to protect the baby; Rena's promise is to her sister, that if her sister is to die in that terrible place, she will not die alone. Rena went through a terrible ordeal to keep them both alive, and to attempt to recount it here would be a great injustice to Rena's story and spirit.
Read the book. It will change your life.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Romania Trips Books
Romania Trips DVD
Romania Trips Softwares
Romania Trips Magazines
Romania Posters
Romania Art Prints
Romania Travel 2007 Calendars
2007 Monthly Calendars
Romania Arts
Romania Entertainment
Romania Business
Romania Culture
Romania Education
Romania Government
Romania Health
Romania Map
Sports & Recreation
Travel & Tourism
Romania Destinations
Bucharest, Romania
Cluj, Romania
Constanta, Romania
Poiana Brasov, , Romania
Craiova, , Romania
Iasi, , Romania
Prahova, , Romania
Sibiu, , Romania
Suceava, Romania
|
Romania Hotels Travel
Maintained by: Marketer Solutions | Link Building
