Only a Bad Dream?: Childhood Memories of the Holocaust

by Sahbra Anna Markus

"One of the youngest survivors of the Warsaw ghetto, author Sahbra Anna Markus lived a life only those who have survived Hitler’s hell can imagine. In Only a Bad Dream? she narrates the drama of her early years through her most vivid memories. Sahbra courageously recounts those childhood experiences in her compelling voice, now freed from the repeated “Don’t tell anyone you’re a Jew.” “Don’t forget you’re a Jew.” “It was only a dream.” “Hang on tight, or you’ll get lost and die.”

She tells of traipsing through forests at night, fleeing certain death, of her parents hiding her in a church, desperate to save her life. A frantic searchfor surviving family found the Markuses traveling throughout Europe on foot, by rowboat, military train, farm wagon, trucks, and finally the ship Caserta that delivered them to the land of hope, freedom, and new beginnings—the only Jewish homeland, Israel.

Only a Bad Dream ? shares how, in the midst of hunger and deprivation, Sahbra still found joy in simple things like cats, the moon, wolves, and fireflies. A story of the triumph of the human spirit, this memoir provides strong insight into the courage, strength, and dignity possessed by those who endured the Holocaust.

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395 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 27, 2014

Reviews

[Nin Szot · Rating 1 out of 5]

Some of the worst writing I've attempted to force my self to endure. I bought the book because these stories are important but the writing is just.so.bad. that it wound up in the trash. Not something I'd pass on to the thrift store or the free little library because nobody should be subjected to this. There are some excellent memoirs from holocaust survivors out there that are engaging and well written. This is not one of them.

[Richard E. McClaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Allow childhood memories to surface

I chose a high rating because of the horrors this child witnessed a and her mother beat her when she tried to talk about it. The trauma of survival .rape.caring .for younger siblings.constant
hunger and thirst as well as fear.lice.&a
cold uncaring mother.Who only used this preschool.child to help her to care for her siblings and not to speak to or. not to trust anyone for the sake of saving
the family . Though mother.s intentions were noble .it was causing the little girl to suffer even worse after the war ended and the mother beat her if she talked about what happened to her.even to her brothers. She beat her so badly that she almost died. But the child knew nothing else to talk about since she was only age 3 to I'd while trying to grow up. A very profound page Turner.a true story.

[Glenda Light · Rating 3 out of 5]

The non concentration camp experiences of a less than perfect Polish Jewish family in a less than perfect world. The book includes their ongoing postwar struggles as they wait in a displaced Person camp, settle in Israel, and later emigrate to the US. The disfunction in there family, the internal conflict and opposing views of the parents, the corruption and injustice in the new nation of Israel, the mistreatment by fellow Jews, the disappointment in family members - none of it is glossed over or ignored.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captivating

An emotional roller coaster, but well worth reading. I just finished writing a memoir of my own mother and think the author is very courageous to share her stories of her traumatic childhood. Writing about memories can be painful but can enlighten and inspire others. No, we will never forget. Thank you for sharing your important story.