Rena's Promise: A Story of Sisters in Auschwitz

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Rena's Promise: A Story of Sisters in Auschwitz

by Rena Kornreich Gelissen, Heather Dune Macadam (Goodreads Author)

4.4 of 5 stars 4.40 · rating details · 2,112 ratings · 255 reviews

Sent to Auschwitz on the first Jewish transport, Rena Kornreich survived the Nazi death camps for over three years. While there she was reunited with her sister Danka. Each day became a struggle to fulfill the promise Rena made to her mother when the family was forced to split apart--a promise to take care of her sister.

One of the few Holocaust memoirs about the lives of...more

Paperback, 288 pages

Published October 30th 1996 by Beacon Press (first published October 30th 1995)

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Jan 03, 2012 Crystal rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

It is beautifully written and a remarkable story. One might be inclined to discount it, expecting a tragic misery memoir. But this story is in the vein of Victor Frankl; it's a story about how we survive, about how family and memory can lend individuals in the direst of circumstances the most incredible strength. Rena Kornreich was among the first transport of women to Auschwitz and she is also one of the few women from that first transport who survived to see the camp liberated. Sometimes the s...more

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Oct 28, 2007 zhyune rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: ogle

This book is a touching recount of the war in the eyes of two growing young women. Among the first 999 Jewish girls on the first transport brought into Auschwitz on March 26, 1942, was twenty-one year old Rena Kornreich-the seven hundred and sixteenth woman in that infamous death camp, Auschwitz. Two days later, she recognized her sister Danka among thousand other freshly shaved heads in Auschwitz where, together, they spent the next three years of their young lives as slaves to the Third Reich....more This book is a touching recount of the war in the eyes of two growing young women. Among the first 999 Jewish girls on the first transport brought into Auschwitz on March 26, 1942, was twenty-one year old Rena Kornreich-the seven hundred and sixteenth woman in that infamous death camp, Auschwitz. Two days later, she recognized her sister Danka among thousand other freshly shaved heads in Auschwitz where, together, they spent the next three years of their young lives as slaves to the Third Reich. From then on, she made a promise, to herself and to her parents [whom she will never see again], that she will survive this thing and return triumphant, with her sister, home. This story tells of the three painful years they spent in living hell, praying fervently that they would one day be liberated. Rena, being the elder sister, took great care of Danka during their captivity, time and time again giving up her meager portion of bread to get medicine when weak Danka was ill, and doing whatever it took to ensure a place for both her and her sister to be together during the many ‘selections’ and all these while holding on to her promise.
Life in Auschwitz-Birkenau was hard; Rena had seen enough of war in occupied Poland, where she was from, to know a little of what to expect from the Nazis. Yet, she was still unable to fathom their cruelty. Rena quotes certain incidences which gave me goose bumps. There was once the kapos released dogs on a Jew who was too weak to carry on her task, and she died when the dogs bit her on her neck, still screaming all the way back to their block quarters. It was a scene that witnesses will never forget, and as I pictured that scene, it will stay etched in my mind forever. How can the Nazis enforce such cruelty? Don’t they have a conscience? Do they even have a heart? The conditions in the concentration camps were also horrible, what with no bunk beds, only shelves; three tiers high to make do as beds. The floor was basically covered in dirt and there was a sour smell of human odor. They were treated like non-living things, as if it is alright for them to suffer. Aren’t Jews humans too?
The hard times that have passed may have been part of history but the memories will never fade. As I read this book, I cannot help reflecting on myself. How I would flinch at the slightest bit of dust and grumble should I not be happy about certain ideals in my life, and how I expect everything to be nothing short of perfection. I get upset when things do not go my way, and bothered when people reprimand me. Should I have been living in Rena’s shoes, I would have just given up on my sister, given up on myself. This book inspired me to go further, think deeper into my own life and reflect on how things have been going my way, yet still moaning that this and that has yet reached perfection. Though this blind chase of perfection is not a bad thing, I realized that sometimes you just have to take things the way they are, and live with it instead of trying to change things. Rena did not try to escape, nor did she constantly grumble about life. This gave herself, as well as her sister, the courage to move out of the darkness. For those who grumble constantly hold no hope for themselves, only fear in the deepest pits of their hearts. Only with hope, could Rena and her sister survive. I have learnt a lot from this novel. Much as I love reading about their account, I cannot help wishing that all those who lost their lives in Rena’s story could have lived their life differently, happily, less painfully. Life had been so unfair to them, and death, what I think must be the saddest thing in life, was in fact a form of liberation for them. Their short twisted lives would never end the way it was meant to be. I cannot help thinking: Hey some of them could have been doctors saving lives, famous lawyers ending trials, people who would do great things! And now they would never be able to do those things ever again.(less)

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May 10, 2007 Kelly rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: history, memoirs

Rena's Promise is a story of the human constitution pushed to its capacity. The story captures the normalcy of Rena's life before the German invasion of Poland in 1939, and then follows her life in first-person through the concentration camp she endured until freedom arrived in 1943. Within the camp, Rena Kornreich illustrates how many lived hanging by a thread; that if you simply willed yourself to die, you would. But Rena retained a fervor for life, largely in part by her sister, Danka, who ar...more

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Apr 05, 2012 Robert rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebook, biography, non-fiction, own-it

It always amazes me to read or hear about the events at Nazi camps. Hearing the tale from a survivors perspective gives a better view of what we cannot even imagine happening. The book was an easy read that kept my attention.

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Apr 25, 2013 Quinn Barrett rated it 5 of 5 stars

Wise Bear Books Reviews Rena’s Promise by Rena Kornreich Gelissen and Heather Dune Macadam -- 5 Paws!

Rena's Promise: A Story of Sisters in Auschwitz, co-authored by Rena Kornreich Gelissen and Heather Dune Macadam, is a life-changing story not just for the women who lived to share the horrors of their experience, but for anyone who reads this personal account of the most heinous genocide of the 20th century. Many books have been written about the holocaust, Auschwitz and other Nazi death camps,...more Wise Bear Books Reviews Rena’s Promise by Rena Kornreich Gelissen and Heather Dune Macadam -- 5 Paws!

Rena's Promise: A Story of Sisters in Auschwitz, co-authored by Rena Kornreich Gelissen and Heather Dune Macadam, is a life-changing story not just for the women who lived to share the horrors of their experience, but for anyone who reads this personal account of the most heinous genocide of the 20th century. Many books have been written about the holocaust, Auschwitz and other Nazi death camps, and each story has its own personal perspective of the inhumanities European Jews were forced to endure during World War II. What make's Rena's story unique is she was one of the first admitted into Auschwitz's gates during the initial gatherings of Jews. In fact, as number 716 she was on the first transport, yet managed to live to tell her story, albeit much later in life.

The process of creating Rena's story is an interesting side note as well. Rena and writer Heather Dune Macadam's collaboration came about as a chance meeting. A friend-of-a-friend type referral is the basis for their first introduction. Macadam does a superb job of painting their tentative encounter. There is an easy conversational style to the author's writing that some might feel crosses literary lines, but we found this approach created an authentic observational technique as if we as readers are sitting in the room personally involved in their discussion.

There's a profound emotion in this book and not just because of its sensitive subject matter. There is a depth of connection between the writing partners, the Kornriech sisters, and many of the women who have the shared experience of bearing the burden of their memories.

Rena's Promise begins with a good background story about Rena and her family's happy life prior to Rena's decision to comply with the Nazi's edict for Jews to surrender themselves to the nearest occupation camp for labor. Her preemptive move was at first shocking, but makes sense as we come to understand that the Nazis’ atrocities were closely guarded secrets initially. Rumors circulated, but little to no proof existed till much later in the war. There's a lot you'll learn about the Holocaust by reading Rena's Promise that isn't taught in school or written in history books.

There is a redundant quality to the author's storytelling, but this isn't a criticism. The daily 4:00 a.m. wake up call of “Raus! Raus!” meaning “Go! Go!” was the only means of separating the drudgery of one day to the next. It's an unconventional yet effective section break in the story telling which also helps to keep the story moving for readers. By the end of the book it feels like a victorious battle cry, especially as momentum in the war shifts and the Jewish prisoners dare to hope for freedom from their captors.

The defining quality of Rena, her sister Danka, and all these women who survived is courage. Despite the constant traumas and heartbreak, Rena and Danka will each other to survive; the fact that they endure feels triumphant to us as readers, although it's not likely Rena would describe her and her sister's ultimate liberation from hell in such lofty terms. You see, the scars of their experiences can never be erased—hence the decision to partner with Macadam in the cathartic telling of her personal first-hand knowledge.

The joint authors don't hold back. These are not easy remembrances to relate or to read, and yet they are essential to the collective consciousness of the human race. Readers have a tremendous opportunity to learn, remember, and share books of such import.

It's hard to imagine an all-knowing, loving God exists while reading Rena's Promise as we see Rena struggle with her faith, but it's also equally hard to believe that Rena and Danka could have survived such base depravity without some divine intervention. Applying a label to an unknown deity isn't relevant to a book like Rena's Promise, but there is clearly something transcendent, even magical in the story of these two sisters.

Rena's Promise is a well-written, thoughtful story that flows well and is a surprisingly fast read considering the intensity of the subject matter. How Rena managed to maintain any level of gratitude or compassion for her tormentors' physical, mental, and emotional abuse is miraculous. Probably the greatest teaching of her story is that it embodies a quintessential teaching of forgiveness, which is that it's not so much an act as an attitude.

This book was reviewed as part of the Wise Bear Digital Book Awards competition. Entry fees associated with the contest are administrative in nature and do not influence our honest, unbiased book reviews.(less)

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Oct 01, 2012 A.L. rated it 5 of 5 stars

Rena's Promise tells the unbelievably true story of two sisters who survived more than 3 years in the Auschwitz death camp. As a writer, and a student of Macadam's, I find myself at a loss for words to describe this book. The book is incredible, and rich with organic metaphor and stories. Reading this book, I found myself closing the book and hugging it to my chest.

The story is incredibly captivating and is a must read for anyone, especially those with an interest in Holocaust literature, Judaic...more

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Mar 06, 2011 Heather Dune Macadam rated it 5 of 5 stars · (Review from the author)

"The most important book of the modern age!"
Neal Lavon, Voice of America

"The most historically accurate book ever written of the first transport of women into Auschwitz--the only book ever written by a survivor of that transport, who survived 3 years and 41 days in the camps."
Irena Strezlecka,
Director of the Museum of Women at Auschwitz

On March 26, 1942, the first transport of women arrived in Auschwitz. Among the 999 young Jewish women was Rena Kornreich, the 716th woman numbered in camp....more

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May 25, 2012 Carrie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I am convinced that I would have never survived Auschwitz/Birkenau. I would have been exterminated the first day or so. Rena and her sister Danka have my admiration. Rena made a vow to her mother early in life that she would always take care of "the baby", her sister Danka. When both ended up at Auschwitz, Rena made a promise to herself to bring "the baby" back to her mother safely. Both girls suffered unbelievably during their imprisonment, witness to one horror after another. They got each oth...more

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Mar 21, 2012 BarbaraNathalie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Rena and Danka are sisters in a small town near the Polish borders when Germany starts WWII. They are separated for a time while Rena is in Aushwitch, but Danka soon joins her. Together they forge a three year effort to survive all the atrocities that take place in the death camp.

In the book, we hear of the brutalities which have been depicted in holocaust memoirs, but this tale has something different. Rena's story resonates with hope for humanity. In her small border town, Jews are not single...more

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Nov 20, 2012 Sylvia Harrow rated it 5 of 5 stars

Some might fear reading such a book, not wanting to know the horrors of the concentration camps. For those people, I would suggest they take heart and learn about the spirit of survival and the strength of human bonds and the way those bonds allow us to survive and thrive. This is a story of resilience, a story of sisterly love, and a tale of the ability to make the most out of a dire situation. You will immediately fall in love with the main character, Rena, and you will thrill in her love of l...more

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Apr 15, 2012 Sunflower rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: e-books, europe, non-fiction-read-2012

Rena sounds like she was a truly amazing woman, and this book is reported to be one of the most authentic of those written by survivors. 3 years and 41 days in Auschwitz, several other camps, and the death march, and one of the very few first transported people to survive. How did she do it? Partly luck, surely, given the "selections", but also her spirit, her plan to remain faceless in the crowd, her burning love of family, and the need she felt to keep her younger sister safe through it all. H...more

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Jan 13, 2012 Lyla rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction-memoir, holocaust

I've only read 3 books thus far about Holocaust survivors and of those three this one seems to touch me the most. It's amazing how Rena was able to almost out-think her captors at the most difficult and deadliest moments. Her inner strength, devotion to her sister, and unwillingness to being selfish with whatever she happend to receive speaks volumes about how she was brought up and the compassionate person her mother must have been.

This story angered me, turned me cold, brought tears to my eyes...more

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Apr 29, 2012 Elizabeth Walker rated it 5 of 5 stars

There are many holocaust books out there to choose from, both fiction and nonfiction. The subject matter is heavy and not always easy for some to read about. And yet I know many who seek out books in this genre, seeking to further their understanding.

For me, Rena's Promise offered something that many of the other fictional holocaust books I've read were missing. In many holocaust books when a main character somehow overcomes a dangerous or risky situation in an internment camp there is always a...more

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Apr 22, 2012 Kolleen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: autobiographies, nonfiction

I love books about the Holocaust, both fiction and nonfiction. So as I began this book, I was surprised to find that I found it to be somehow detached and non-emotional (if anything about this subject could somehow ever be that way, but I can't help how my mind works). What I was reading seemed to be relayed in the form of facts rather than feelings. However, that all changed very quickly, and I am ashamed to say that I ever felt this way at all.

Rena gives her account of living, and surviving, i...more I love books about the Holocaust, both fiction and nonfiction. So as I began this book, I was surprised to find that I found it to be somehow detached and non-emotional (if anything about this subject could somehow ever be that way, but I can't help how my mind works). What I was reading seemed to be relayed in the form of facts rather than feelings. However, that all changed very quickly, and I am ashamed to say that I ever felt this way at all.

Rena gives her account of living, and surviving, in Auschwitz for three years. What keeps her hope alive is the fact that her sister is there with her and needs to make sure that she lives. There were so many heartbreaking moments in the book, like when the mothers were brought in to bring the girls hope, only to be exterminated, and when they marched the children through the camps to the gas chambers. Here is an excerpt from the book that will stick with me forever:

"I am standing there just like a ghost. Their little angelic faces, the white knuckles of their hands haunt me. I fight back my tears, my rage. My heart screams, Stop! Stop this madness! They are babies! God? I rarely say God anymore, but seeing their faces reflected in my heart I must try to pray one last time: Won't you strike just one of these monsters down? Smite just one SS for these children, your children. Never mind my suffering. Never mind the things I've heard about people being burned and gassed. Never mind about me. What about these sweet children? For them, show them you are our God and kill just one of these Nazis. They fade in the distance, nearing the gas chambers. My heart screams for them to stop. Hasse (an SS) stands before us in full Aryan superiority. I know from the moment I hear her voice that religion will never be the same. Her lips pull back into a grimace, which I am sure is meant to be a smile. Her words are harsh, like machine-gun fire, they shoot us down: 'Where is your God now?'.

As heartbreaking as this account is, there is also hope in it. Rena was helped my many people's selfless acts in the prison, ranging from prisoners to prison guards. And Rena herself was the most selfless of all. Please read this. Don't ever forget.

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May 02, 2013 cagey rated it 5 of 5 stars

In general, I am obsessed with World War II and I have read a TON of Holocaust accounts. Quite frankly, I will never, ever read enough of these accounts because they all deserve to be heard.......to be honored. I read this book in the span of 3 days on my phone. Yes, my PHONE. (Kindle App? WORD). From the beginning, I was completely taken with Rena's account of her experience in the camps and that of her undying promise to her sister, Danka. I finished the book this afternoon, on a weird, record...more

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Nov 04, 2012 Remi Jones rated it 5 of 5 stars

Books on the Holocaust stir up many feelings. It will be hard to separate feelings from thoughts in this review. Please bare with me.

I started this book three days ago, reading a few pages here and there. Yesterday I picked it up and finished it. I couldn't put it down. The book is written from transcribed interviews with Rena. The author did an amazing job of piecing it together in chronological order. Rena was alive to me. I was seeing Auschwitz through her eyes. Unlike other Holocaust books...more Books on the Holocaust stir up many feelings. It will be hard to separate feelings from thoughts in this review. Please bare with me.

I started this book three days ago, reading a few pages here and there. Yesterday I picked it up and finished it. I couldn't put it down. The book is written from transcribed interviews with Rena. The author did an amazing job of piecing it together in chronological order. Rena was alive to me. I was seeing Auschwitz through her eyes. Unlike other Holocaust books that usually leave me in questioning shock, this book left me angry in certain parts. I threw my Kindle down hard on the sofa I was sitting on when an old friend of hers was carted off after a selection. This woman was only mentioned on that page, her selection was only one paragraph. I've never tossed a book/kindle down in anger before. This book hit me hard.

Another brief bit of the book focused on the time that the crematorium was down for repairs. The camp became overrun with prisoners. For the first time there were middle aged women living with the very young girls of Auschwitz. I have always known factually that the old, middle aged and very young were immediately selected for death, but before this book i had never really considered the ramifications of this upon the girl/women of Birkenau. These girls still needed their mother's. It broke my heart to read of their affection for the older women knowing that the crematoriums would be fixed and the girls would lose these surrogate mothers. It was hard to read.

Rena and her sister Danka were survivors. They had the keen sense of how to survive at any cost. They never lost their humanity. It's hard not to imagine you would do in that circumstance, Would the fear and drive to survive keep out our pesky desire to complain, talk back, or rebel? Would we steal food from our friends to survive? After watching years of senseless death would we even want to survive? These are thankfully unanswerable questions.

I read these books looking for answers. How could this have happened? Could there be that figurative silver lining somewhere? It's just the brain trying to make sense of chaos. There is no pattern there. As they say, it's the Devil's Arithmetic.

This book moved me tremendously.
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May 16, 2011 Leighanne rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-books

It took me a little while to get into this book. I felt disconnected by the author's style of jumping back and forth between her telling what Rena told her and Rena's own memories. I now see why she did it, though. She was letting us get to know Rena before being thrust into the horror of her life in WWII.
INCREDIBLE book. I am so sorry to hear that Rena passed away a few years ago. I would love to have met her. I am definitely going to look up the youtube videos there are of her. Beautiful, bea...more

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Jul 06, 2012 Amy rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is another testament to the human spirit and what one's capable of in desparate situations.

Sent to Auschwitz on the first Jewish transport, Rena Kornreich survived the Nazi death camps for over three years. While there she was reunited with her sister Danka. Each day became a struggle to fulfill the promise Rena made to her mother when the family was forced to split apart--a promise to take care of her sister.

One of the few Holocaust memoirs about the lives of women in the camps, Rena...more

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Feb 11, 2012 Jennifer Nelson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-books, world-war-ii-history

Although extremely painful to read at times, this book is so beautifully written that it will touch you to the core. Rena and her sister faced suffering you cannot even imagine in Auschwitz and this book chronicles the ways that they strove to rise above the humiliation, the torture, the filth, the utter depravity and complete darkness of concentration camp life. Their commitment to decency and kindness to others and their complete and fierce loyalty to each other was utterly amazing to read abo...more

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Sep 25, 2012 Alecia rated it 5 of 5 stars

Great book. I've read a lot of wwII books and sometimes when I finish I think well, you got to tell your story. They are amazing in the fact that the writer survived a horrific ordeal but do not impact my life directly. Others when I finish reading make me want to be a better person. To endure hardship with more grace or more faith. To insist on doing the right thing even in very wrong circumstances. This is one of those. While I have yet to love one more than 'The Hiding Place' this one is ver...more

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Dec 24, 2012 Natalie rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is an absolutely remarkable story. I have read a lot of stories from this time period and am always horrified seeing what human beings are capable of doing to other human beings. This is the first story I have read that goes into great detail about Auschwitz and Rena and Danka's story is a powerful one of love, strength and determination in the face of unfathomable cruelty. I found it difficult to step away from, but also felt that the author left some larger historical holes. Though I cons...more

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Dec 17, 2012 Shelley rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was an amazing book. It shows how even in the darkest and most horrible times of life, love and determination can sometimes pull you through. I was not sure I was going to read it because it is dark and sad. But after I started I could not put it down. I had to know what happened next. It makes my heart hurt to know that these things happened to real people and that the things she tells of were real, not made up. I wanted so badly for her to find a way to escape and several times she could...more

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Aug 06, 2012 Cami rated it 3 of 5 stars

I got really distracted by some typos at the beginning and end of this book, which is stopping me from rating this higher. I'm not sure if it's because of the e-book version I read, or if it's how the book actually is written. The parts written from Rena's perspective and her time in Auschwitz were good, but I didn't like the part with the journalist/author (and these were the parts with typos). It kept switching between 1st and 3rd person narration. I maybe would've like it better if the author...more

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Aug 27, 2012 bkjunkie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: kindle-shelf

I have read a few books from holocaust survivors and this one is very detailed yet not as emotionally difficult to complete as I initially thought it would be. I have a friend who travels to Bratislava (which I had never heard of before her). The city is mentioned three times in this book. Everyone should read stories like this to become more aware of true human suffering. We are so spoiled in this age. We throw food away, possess piles of clothes & electronics we can't live without, own hug...more

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Apr 25, 2012 Jackie rated it 4 of 5 stars

What an extraordinary book! This was such a horrific time in the world's history. I am incredulous that not only were there survivors of those atrocities, but that they did so with their hope intact, their humanity preserved and their love for others retained. That they managed to watch out for others, even strangers and freely give of their little life-sustaining food is nearly beyond our contemporary understanding.

Even though this was a completely riveting and engrossing book, it was too hard...more

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Nov 19, 2012 Colby rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Nazis kept her and her little sister in Auschwitz-Birkenau for 3 years, but they ultimately couldn't break their will to live and faith in one another. Rena Kornreich turned herself in to the SS in spring of 1942. She was on one of the first cattle car transports to Auschwitz. A few days later, her younger sister, Danka arrived. Together, they fought to live in utterly terrible conditions & then through the 40 mile Death March in '45, where they were ultimately freed by Allied Forces. Re...more

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Jan 27, 2012 Elizabeth rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: holocaust-memoirs

I have read this book at least 3 times. I've been fascinated with the events of the Holocaust since before Middle School and stumbled upon this book years ago.

At times, you want to put it down. The life Rena and her sister endured during these years is just too horrifying to comprehend. So much thought and great detail is put into their story. You can really envision the disgusting meals, the backbreaking work, the diseases, and cold weather.
But what I like most about this book, is the beautiful...more

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May 02, 2012 Kirei rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: teens-and-adults

Rena was one of the first people to be sent to Auschwitz. A Polish Jewish young woman, she volunteered to go because she thought it was a harmless work camp. Later, her young sister shows up and Rena struggles to both survive and to protect her sister.

This is really an inside look at Auschwitz and Birkenau. Absolutely horrible. This book is a must-read for everybody. It is the true Hunger Games. At one point, Rena says she can not risk making friends with other prisoners since they could die at...more

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Feb 19, 2013 Lisa Ann (Ketsy) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, holocaust-survivors, historical, world-war-ii, judaism

An absolutely astonishing true first-person story of the bond between two sisters, both among the first arrivals at Auschwitz-Birkenau, the notorious Nazi extermination camp in Poland during WWII. It is riveting and shocking in it's raw detail, and gives the reader the real sense of the horrors of daily survival, something that was never more fragile or more uncertain. Truly, one is left wondering if the "life" in the camps could truly be called life at all. This book broke my heart, but also ga...more

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Sep 02, 2012 Rachel Nielsen rated it 5 of 5 stars

This true story pulled me right in. Except for high school history class, I knew next to nothing about the Holocaust. It was hard to read emotionally. To think that people were treated as if they weren't even human beings. How people could treat another person so cruelly and think that it was somehow ok is beyond me. It's amazing that Rena lived through it. In the middle of the book there were some pictures of Rena and her sister soon after they were freed. Their eyes were haunting. I can't even...more

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