The Words to Remember It: Memoirs of Child Holocaust Survivors

(Paperback)

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Accurate numbers can never be known, but it is estimated that more than one million children under the age of sixteen perished during the Holocaust. For the children who survived, what they saw and heard, and what they lost, remains an indelible trauma. In 1987 in Sydney, a number of child survivors formed a group to share their stories and begin to process their grief. Later, a member of the group, Nora M. Huppert, organised creative writing sessions for members. For many, finding ways to remember was the beginning of a painful reintegration of their sense of self - a realisation that they were, in fact, child survivors of the Holocaust. In telling their stories, there was relief to be found in finally connecting their memories with context and meaning, and in having them validated. In this indescribably moving collection, the 32 members of the group share the stories of their unfathomable experiences of loss, and of their ultimate endurance.

Reviews

"All the contributors in this necessary and enduringly important book invite us into their memories. We are better for knowing them."
--Australian Jewish News

"The stories are all, without exception, remarkable. Not necessarily for their literary merit (these aren't professional writers) but for their honesty, bravery and feeling."
--Bookseller & Publisher

"The stories this survivor group remembers are more a testament to human resilience and spirit than good fortune. Told simply and earnestly, the memoirs say more about hope and optimism than about the pit of darkness that was the Europe of their childhood...The words remembered by this group of child survivors are honest, true and carry the scars of authenticity."
--The Weekend Australian

"The Words to Remember It speaks simply, directly, without undue rancour, and with tremendous spirit and optimism to everybody. Caroline Jones's compassionate, intelligent Introduction is an added gem."
--The Courier Mail

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