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I held the sun in my hands: A Memoir
'I Held the Sun in MyHands' is the story of a young girl raised in a traditional Jewish familyin Hungary prior to and during WWII. When Germany occupied Hungary on March19th, 1944, Erika Jacoby was deported to Auschwitz, together with her mother.She was among the youngest that escaped the selection of Dr .Mengele and together with her mother, who was among the oldest, she endured and outlasted the atrocities anddeprivations of the Nazi persecutors. In her book she describes how theteachings and values that she absorbed and incorporated into her life in herhome helped her survive Auschwitz and the other concentration camps. She writesmovingly about her painful disappointments in the behavior of her fellow humanbeings, while never losing her faith in God. This unshakable trust in thedivine personal protection inspired others as well not to give up hope. In hermemoir we witness how this young girl took upon herself the enormousresponsibility for her mother's survival, and the impact of that on their relationshipafter the war and, indeed, throughout their lives. The author, a clinicalsocial worker, examines this relationship with much insight and compassion. This book is a remarkable accountof one person's resiliency, ability to cope with adversity and survive not onlyphysically but also spiritually.
236 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 23, 2010
Erika Jacoby quotes the Talmud in her introduction: "It is not my duty to finish the work, but it doesn't excuse me from starting it."
The power of this attempt to bear witness to her experience of the Holocaust comes from the direct unembellished simplicity of the narrative. She tells her story, and once again we are left to wonder at human cruelty. As she says, "The world has not learned much since then"; yet one must not give up or give in.
The book did make me more aware of the fact that liberation from the camps did not necessarily make things any easier for those who survived them. Anti-Jewish sentiment and Communist rule of Eastern Europe made life continue to be precarious. Leaving was difficult, and most countries were not willing to accept many refugees, a situation that continues for oppressed peoples today.
The fact that an easy answer to human intolerence and malice does not exist does not mean it's all right to pretend that this behavior doesn't demean us all. If we do not speak up, we are complicit.
Erika Jacoby has spoken in a strong and clear voice.
The power of this attempt to bear witness to her experience of the Holocaust comes from the direct unembellished simplicity of the narrative. She tells her story, and once again we are left to wonder at human cruelty. As she says, "The world has not learned much since then"; yet one must not give up or give in.
The book did make me more aware of the fact that liberation from the camps did not necessarily make things any easier for those who survived them. Anti-Jewish sentiment and Communist rule of Eastern Europe made life continue to be precarious. Leaving was difficult, and most countries were not willing to accept many refugees, a situation that continues for oppressed peoples today.
The fact that an easy answer to human intolerence and malice does not exist does not mean it's all right to pretend that this behavior doesn't demean us all. If we do not speak up, we are complicit.
Erika Jacoby has spoken in a strong and clear voice.
May 19, 2010
Seems to be a self published book-not available in any of my libraries-
i found erika jacoby in the dvd Swimming in Auschwitz and tracked down this excellent memoir online
i found erika jacoby in the dvd Swimming in Auschwitz and tracked down this excellent memoir online
March 11, 2021
She focuses on details that one might not expect. Instead of writing continuously about how hungry she was, she wrote about how she obtained food. Instead of continuously expressing her homesickness, she wrote about how she made her barracks as homelike as possible, etc. Her personality, her resilience, shines not only in her greatest feats of survival, but also just in the subtleties of her narrative choices. I'm so glad I read it.
April 12, 2021
Very resilient lady! I really appreciated how she described all the lessons she's learned from her experiences and how she got to where she is. Very good read.
July 10, 2023
Mrs. Jacoby's story of surviving being a prisoner at Auschwitz is both amazing and terrible.
Every personal story of surviving the Holocaust are all so different and unique to that person. I did learn something new. I did not realize that in the 1970's they were not even acknowledging that Jews were killed at Auschwitz!! They listed Poles, Hungarians, Russians, etc.. stating they listed the number of people killed by their nationality, not their relegion. I like Mrs. Jacoby's reply, "But my father, brothers, and grandparents were not murdered because they were Hungarians - they were killed because they were Jews!" I did not realize they initially were doing that!
At the end, it was difficult to get through all the details of them trying to out their lives back together but it was very good!
Every personal story of surviving the Holocaust are all so different and unique to that person. I did learn something new. I did not realize that in the 1970's they were not even acknowledging that Jews were killed at Auschwitz!! They listed Poles, Hungarians, Russians, etc.. stating they listed the number of people killed by their nationality, not their relegion. I like Mrs. Jacoby's reply, "But my father, brothers, and grandparents were not murdered because they were Hungarians - they were killed because they were Jews!" I did not realize they initially were doing that!
At the end, it was difficult to get through all the details of them trying to out their lives back together but it was very good!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 10, 2021
A Hungarian Jew survives Auschwitz.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews