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Rena's Promise

Rena Kornreich Gelissen,

Heather Dune Macadam (Goodreads Author)

4.33 · Rating details · 8,744 ratings · 575 reviews

"I do not hate. To hate is to let Hitler win." Rena Kornreich Gelissen

"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 ...more

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Kindle Edition, 288 pages

Published 2011 by Beacon Press (first published October 30th 1995)

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Mar 07, 2009 Heather Dune rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I wrote this book with Rena and though Rena died a few years ago, am busy continuing her message of love to all people. If you are a fan of Rena's Promise, you can now find her on YOUTUBE. I have digitized her first public appearance and if you have never heard her speak or seen her, it is an experience you won't want to miss. She was such a bundle of energy, so animated and sweet and funny and REAL. People forget that Holocaust survivors are real people, who laugh and cry like we all do. Thank ...more

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Dec 26, 2011 Crystal rated it really liked it · review of another edition

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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Aug 28, 2019 Gary rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Rena Kornreich was 19 years old when the Nazis swept into Poland. She recounts her experiences under the brutal Nazi occupation of Poland, and her deportation, along with her younger sister Danka, in March 1942. to Auschwitz, where in harrowing detail she tells of the horrifying conditions there, and the perverse cruelty of the Nazis.
She tells of her promise to stand by her sister to the end, and describes the gas chambers and the cruel experiments on Jewish girls and women by Mengele.
She recoun ...more

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Oct 28, 2007 Jean Li rated it it was ok · review of another edition

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. 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. ...more

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May 07, 2019 Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019

Extremely harrowing but also inspiring account by one of the first Jews sent to Auschwitz, who, initially inspired by a mental pledge to her mother that she would save her baby sister (having once prayed for her when she appeared to have died from croup as a baby), and then by a spoken pledge to that sister that she will not leave her, manages to survive to the war’s end, including a spell in Birkenau extermination camp and the death march to Germany.

Amidst the almost incomprehensible cruelty, ...more

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May 10, 2007 Kelly Wondracek rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: memoirs, history

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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May 02, 2013 Kelli Oliver George rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

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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Dec 27, 2011 Tuesday rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I picked this book up for my Kindle when it was free several weeks ago, and as I look back through some of my recent reads, I realize I've been been on a Holocaust/WW II themed binge - three books in less than two months. I can't seem to devour enough. I've read true accounts, translations, and even a fictional story have graced my hands, heart, and mind recently.

Rena's Promise is a book that I want need must go back and read again, but I am afraid that I still won't be able to grasp the full i
I picked this book up for my Kindle when it was free several weeks ago, and as I look back through some of my recent reads, I realize I've been been on a Holocaust/WW II themed binge - three books in less than two months. I can't seem to devour enough. I've read true accounts, translations, and even a fictional story have graced my hands, heart, and mind recently.

Rena's Promise is a book that I want need must go back and read again, but I am afraid that I still won't be able to grasp the full impact of the message and story. But then again, can anyone?

While dark, terrifying, chilling and disturbing in more ways than one is supposed to understand, Rena's Promise is a beautiful story - one that must be told. It is the story of Rena and her sister Danka and it centers on their time spent as prisoners in Auschwitz. Wait, wait, wait! Did I just write beautiful and then follow that up in the very next sentence with the word Auschwitz? I know, I know, there is no way that anything associated with Auschwitz could be considered beautiful.

Rena was.

Rena was a child full of life and happiness. She loved her family more than anything, and during World War II when the Jews were being sent away and punished, she thought that giving herself up to the Nazi's and spending time in a work camp would be enough to save her parents and family from horrible fates. Rena was willing to sacrifice her freedom so that her family would not suffer a similar destiny. What Rena did not know was that she was walking into a seemingly never-ending nightmare of epic proportions, and that she would need to be her sister's guiding light, strength, and protector, and even then getting out alive was a distant hope that faded faster than a bomb falling from the Polish sky.

Rena' Promise takes the reader through Rena and Danka's time leading up to, during and after Auschwitz. The descriptions and accounts of what took place in Auschwitz were difficult to comprehend at times, but the one feeling that I felt while reading her story was the feeling of cold. I could not seem to get warm enough while reading Rena's Promise. I put on socks and piled under blankets, but the cold crept through my body and stayed there until the one night that Rena and her friends made homemade soup. The author helped me feel warmth in a story that was always cold through the most evocative descriptions of things that so many of us take for granted. I am so aware that the cold I was feeling was nowhere near the frigidness that Rena and Danka felt every every day or that the warmth I felt from that little sliver of happiness could never equal a tiny fraction the powerful happiness and warmth they felt that day.

While to some readers the descriptions may seem redundant, but the way in which they are represented can only give us as readers the tiniest kernel of understanding and comprehension as to the gruesome tragedy that so many had to suffer at the hand of Nazi Germany.

Rena's Promise is a memoir of survival. It tells of hope and never giving up, no matter the magnitude of the conditions in which one is faced with. It gave me, as a reader, joy knowing that Rena survived to tell this horrific account, and that she was able to live a fulfilling and beautiful life. Rena's Promise gave me hope that there can be even the smallest amount of happiness and the echo of laughter can be felt and remembered in the darkest of days.

Rena was a beautiful woman. ...more

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Dec 04, 2020 Maria Carmo rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: biography, death-nde-s-shared-nde-s, dystopia, novel-romance-revealing-historica, living-theend-times, life-changing-self-discovery-self, therapy

The story of Rena and Danka, as told by Rena with Heather's help, is a reminder that onr nrvrt knows whether the apparent security in which we live is something stable and enduring in our lives. Their example, since they managed to survive the longest in Auschwitz, Birkenau and Ravensbruck, is the ine of people whose resilience was profoundly tied to their love of each other. I dare say that, had they not had each other, it is much more probable that their survival would not happen.
It reminds my ...more

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May 08, 2016 Holly rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorite-book, non-fiction, 2016-read

This is an absolutely astonishing story of survival, love for family, and integrity even when surrounded by oppression. I finished reading this book the day before I paid my respects at Auschwitz, so it held a special place in my heart and mind while I was there. I'm sure it will continue to do so forever more. But you don't have to go to Auschwitz to appreciate this wonderful memoir of a truly horrifying period in recent history. It shines a light not only on the brutality of the Nazis, but als ...more

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Mar 06, 2011 Heather Macadam rated it it was amazing · (Review from the author) · review of another edition

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

A poignant and important act of remembrance.” —Sir Martin Gilbert, author of The Holocaust: A Human Tragedy, and Churchill.

“An extraordinary book, vividly written and generously told. You will not easily forget Rena Kornreich and her sister Danka. Nor should you. Harrowing as it often is Rena’s Promise is less a tragedy than a love story. By turns soul-wrneching, inspiring and heartbreaking, this is a tale that should live ...more

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May 25, 2012 Dyuti rated it really liked it

Recommended to Dyuti by: Arunima Coomar

Shelves: holocast-or-ww2, ebook

"A promise is beauty kept secure
The exquisiteness of knowing what is to come..."

The book Rena's Promise is one such story of a promise made, and a promise kept, by a young girl to her mother, to always, and at any cost, to protect her younger sister. Unfortunately, fate had a cruel way of testing her: for the sisters were Jewish, living in the Polish country-side during the height of antisemitism in Europe -- the 1940's.

Written decades after her experiences at the labour camp along with her sist ...more

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Aug 25, 2012 Suzanne Leopold (Suzy Approved Book Reviews) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

i rarely get emotional when finishing a book- this one got me.. the story is about a tough place - not sure i would have survived it...

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Apr 25, 2013 Quinn Barrett rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

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, 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. ...more

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Mar 06, 2011 Heather Macadam rated it it was amazing · (Review from the author) · review of another edition

This is a new edition that addresses some of the issues in the print edition by rewriting the beginning of the book, where I meet Rena. I was never happy with that section and was not a professional writer when I wrote it. So my voice has been upgraded - I hope! Nothing of Rena's voice has been changed, though several stories that we cut have been added for the digital edition, which give the reader more insight to Rena and Danka. The epilogue has also been expanded to include my favorite scene- ...more

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Apr 12, 2012 Kolleen rated it really liked it

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 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.

...more

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Jan 06, 2012 Lyla rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: holocaust, non-fiction-memoir

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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Mar 10, 2015 Shari Larsen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2015-challenge-books, nonfiction-2015, new-to-you-authors-2015

This is the true story of Rena Kornreich. She was among the first 998 women transported to Auschwitz in March 1942. Soon after she got there, she was reunited with her younger sister Danka, and made a promise that she would take care of Danka and someday, bring her back home.

They spent 3 years and 41 days in the camps, struggling to survive, and narrowly escaping death several times. Throughout it all, Rena maintained a spirit of love, for her in her words, "To hate is to let Hitler win."

This wa ...more

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May 16, 2011 LeighAnne rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

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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Dec 27, 2015 JaVone Bentley rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

A captivating and heartwrenching story of courage, selflessness, hope, and survival. This book was eye opening and humbling as Rena shared her tale of survival in Auschwitz while trying to remain humane and trying to keep her promise to her sister. Although it takes place during the Holocaust, this memoir does not put a lot of focus on the evils during the time. Rena's will to survive, her selflessness, and her strength during such a tumultuous time were admirable. The story telling was great an ...more

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Mar 18, 2017 Donna rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: my-all-time-favorites

How one woman, Rena, survived as well as encouraged others, especially her sister Danka, to never give up hope! A TRUE HERO AND ANGEL! I wept with rage and laughed with joy on her unbearable and relentless first person account of the atrocities she endured! To believe that the whole world didn't know about what was happening is to say there is no humanity! History will only tell if and when it could or won't happen once again! I will never forget Rena Kornreich. ...more

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Nov 12, 2014 Lizvette rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

One of the best Holocaust's stories I have read. Well written. Impressive! All the situations these sisters experienced and the courage they showed to avoid separation. Very happy they survived. I would love to read a second book on how they adjusted to a "normal" life. ...more

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Mar 10, 2017 Judy Perry rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

An unbelievable story of resilience and survival. Every time I read a book about the Holocaust, it reminds me of how precious life is and how hatred can rule a nation. It's important to read accounts such as these so we never forget and do what we can to never let it happen again. ...more

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Jan 06, 2018 Noelle rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Wow. I got chills when I finished this book and really thought about what I just read. It's truly unbelievable how brave Rena was and how beautiful the love her and her sister shared. Her and Danka got through hell together because they had each other. ...more

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Jun 18, 2015 Eva Seyler rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: europe, wwii, nonfiction, history

I read this years ago, but I'm adding it now so I remember to try to find it again. ...more

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Feb 25, 2017 julianne rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fact, history, killer, this-really-happened, true-crime

A story of survival rather than a misery memoir.

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Apr 07, 2019 Ellie Midwood rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: research-stuff, memoir, non-fiction, wwii-non-fiction, nazi-germany, holocaust

“Rena’s Promise” ranks among the best Holocaust memoirs I’ve ever read for several reasons. First of all, it’s incredibly touching without being overly emotional and over-dramatized and I thought that the writer, Heather Dune, whom Rena asked to narrate her story, did a fabulous job in bringing Rena’s own voice and memories to life. In her candid, honest manner Rena recounts her childhood, teenage years, first love, the beginning of the war, and the horror it brought in its wake - the dreaded de “Rena’s Promise” ranks among the best Holocaust memoirs I’ve ever read for several reasons. First of all, it’s incredibly touching without being overly emotional and over-dramatized and I thought that the writer, Heather Dune, whom Rena asked to narrate her story, did a fabulous job in bringing Rena’s own voice and memories to life. In her candid, honest manner Rena recounts her childhood, teenage years, first love, the beginning of the war, and the horror it brought in its wake - the dreaded deportations. I couldn’t believe that, after being put on a very first transport to Auschwitz which contained only women at that time, Rena would make it alive from that hell. But her resilience and her promise to her mother to keep her sister Danka safe overcame all odds and allowed both to finally breathe free again, even though after a few dreadfully long years.
The historical value of this memoir as a research source is invaluable as Rena’s memory kept every detail in such perfect order that ninety-nine percent of them were proven by factual evidence marked by the narrator at the end of each chapter. The first shock of the Auschwitz, the inhumane conditions of its second sub camp Birkenau, back-breaking work, filth and lice, humiliation and abuse - Rena brought it all to light and I could only marvel at her will to survive it all. However, the horrors were balanced with the goodness in people, and here Rena mentioned a few male prisoners who shared their own food with her and her sister and helped her get the needed medicine even at the risk of their own lives; German capos and even a warden who, if didn’t show open kindness, allowed small favors to the prisoners and thus made their lives a bit easier. The episode with the “brownshirts” and the loaf of bread they left for the girls touched me to the core, just like many other small instances which demonstrated that even in such inhumane conditions human kindness still lived despite all.
“Rena’s Promise” is truly a remarkable memoir and should be read by everyone, not just people who are interested in the history of WW2 and the Holocaust. Highly recommended! ...more

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Apr 02, 2020 madeline ♡ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2020

i first read this incredible book six years ago, and no matter how many times i reread it, it never fails to move me.

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Feb 23, 2017 Becky Durstenfeld rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I actually read the Expanded Edition. This is a very well written book. It is hard to read because of all the evil done in the concentration camps - it is hard to comprehend that people did such evil things to other human beings - this is a true story, not fiction. But this story is also full of the kindnesses shown by Rena and by many people towards Rena and Danka. This is a story of love, between the sisters, but also a sacrificial love shown for prisoners in the camp. Rena was a very special ...more

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Feb 24, 2017 Gwen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Heartbreaking

Wonderfully written. A story of survival in unimaginable conditions and the bond between sisters. Absolutely heartwrenching at times, and almost unbearable to read. Despite the horrors, there are moments that made me laugh and moments that made me smile.

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