My Will to Live - My Story of Surviving the Holocaust

by Henry Ramek, Eve Gordon-Ramek (With), Anne Grenn Saldinger (With)

A boy is caught up in the German invasion of Poland in 1939. His life is rapidly changed. His family is destroyed. An unbelievable story about escape, intrigue, survival and the miraculous ability of one young man to outwit and outlive his gestapo torturers.

120 pages, Hardcover

First published March 11, 2014

Reviews

[Ruby Tuesday]

This is a relatively short book at 120 pages however I really enjoyed it. It is written in the style of an elderly relative describing their past, no fancy writing more conversational. I really enjoyed the first part that describes Jewish life in pre war Poland as I find it tragic especially bearing in mind the fate that was in store for these people. Another reader commented that they felt that Henry portrayed himself in a perfect light. I disagree with this. I just felt he was conveying how important the teachings of his religion were and how they played such a significant part in his and his families lives. Henry describes his Father as a very Orthodox Jew who would not even shakes hands with a Gentile. I think this shows how segregated Jews were from normal Polish life. The time in the camps was described quite briefly but as I've read so much about the condition of the camps in other books this was fine with me. I enjoyed reading about how he managed to put his life together after the war.

[Marsmannix · Rating 3 out of 5]

the thing i loved about this small memoir was the author's voice. it read like you were sitting in the parlor listening to him talk.