What do you think?
Rate this book
The Strength of Hope: A Holocaust Survivor's Guide to Love and Life
One of the most uplifting stories you will ever read. Abram Goldberg is a beacon of joy and optimism, and a master of keeping perspective.
The day Abram and his mother arrived at Auschwitz death camp they both knew it would be her last. In their final moment together, Abram’s mum urged her nineteen-year-old son to ‘do everything humanly possible to survive, and tell people what happened here’. Then she was taken to a gas chamber and murdered. Abram had already endured and survived so much until that moment, but with his strength of hope, sometimes reduced to a flicker, he survived.
After liberation, Abram eventually found his way to Belgium, where he met the love of his life, fellow Auschwitz survivor Cesia. The young couple came to Australia, where that flicker of hope grew as bright as the sun, illuminating everything they touched and everyone who came into their sphere. Without bitterness and always with perspective, Abram has never forgotten his mother’s last words to him. And in their seventy-five years of marriage, Abram and Cesia have remained dedicated to educating people about the Holocaust and to living their lives to the fullest in tribute to its victims.
The Strength of Hope is full of wisdom, insight and daring, but at its heart it is a love story: for Cesia, for Australia and for life itself.
All royalties to the Melbourne Holocaust Museum, where Abram has volunteered since it was founded in 1984.
The day Abram and his mother arrived at Auschwitz death camp they both knew it would be her last. In their final moment together, Abram’s mum urged her nineteen-year-old son to ‘do everything humanly possible to survive, and tell people what happened here’. Then she was taken to a gas chamber and murdered. Abram had already endured and survived so much until that moment, but with his strength of hope, sometimes reduced to a flicker, he survived.
After liberation, Abram eventually found his way to Belgium, where he met the love of his life, fellow Auschwitz survivor Cesia. The young couple came to Australia, where that flicker of hope grew as bright as the sun, illuminating everything they touched and everyone who came into their sphere. Without bitterness and always with perspective, Abram has never forgotten his mother’s last words to him. And in their seventy-five years of marriage, Abram and Cesia have remained dedicated to educating people about the Holocaust and to living their lives to the fullest in tribute to its victims.
The Strength of Hope is full of wisdom, insight and daring, but at its heart it is a love story: for Cesia, for Australia and for life itself.
All royalties to the Melbourne Holocaust Museum, where Abram has volunteered since it was founded in 1984.
- GenresWorld War IIHistory
324 pages, Paperback
Published August 30, 2022
13 people are currently reading
162 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 3, 2023
A story of survival. A truly inspirational man. Amazing willpower to learn to deal with what he went through and live a rewarding life. He made a promise to his mother all those years ago and he stayed true to his word.
October 10, 2022
What a man! What a life! What a story! Truly inspirational
September 28, 2022
Tissues will be needed
Beautiful, Sad, happy a true love story and the worst horror you could ever know. I wish I could have met Abram to hear his story. The world is a better place with him in it. C’haim
Beautiful, Sad, happy a true love story and the worst horror you could ever know. I wish I could have met Abram to hear his story. The world is a better place with him in it. C’haim
January 8, 2023
Such an incredible book!
I have read a number of different accounts from those who have survived trauma and the similarity of these is the resilience, strength of character and positive attitude that have assisted these people to move forward with their lives and build a future.
The main theme is not to live with hate as it is so destructive. They do not forgive those who perpetrated the violence and the trauma, but they do not hate them - this is a strong statement and one that facilitates a better physical and mental health outcome for survivors.
There is so much in this book about determination and how to find the positive in the bleakest of circumstances. But this does not mean that there are no bad days, it's how you come out at the other end - as Abram says - the sun will always rise tomorrow.
Hope provides strength but towards the end of the book I found a passage that showed Abram's frustration and anger at how humans do not learn from previous actions:
"When we were liberated, I expected humanity would learn. I was sure we were going to have a better world for ourselves, for our children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren. But it's the fourth generation and look at what is happening over in Ukraine, even now in 2022. I am so angry to see this kind of thing happening in the 21st century. I have spent my whole life talking about the damage tyranny and dictatorship can do to humanity, and now I see it again. This is the power of propaganda. People are brainwashed into murdering people. They say "If you don't believe what I believe and you don't convert to what we are, your life is worthless." In this regard, much hasn't changed. It's devastating, but I'm used to devastation. I'm also very angry because it has been seventy-five years since the end of the war and what have we learned? I don't think anybody can explain why it's happening. We should know better, and we should value every human being's life. I had hoped the world would be a much kinder and tolerant place by the time I was ninety-seven years old".
Yes Abram - you would think that globally all humans could act together towards the greater good but no matter how many times we say "no more" it happens again.
If any lessons are learned from this book, it should be that the paradigm needs to change - the world needs to work collectively to a better, kinder, tolerant and accepting future. But can we?
I have read a number of different accounts from those who have survived trauma and the similarity of these is the resilience, strength of character and positive attitude that have assisted these people to move forward with their lives and build a future.
The main theme is not to live with hate as it is so destructive. They do not forgive those who perpetrated the violence and the trauma, but they do not hate them - this is a strong statement and one that facilitates a better physical and mental health outcome for survivors.
There is so much in this book about determination and how to find the positive in the bleakest of circumstances. But this does not mean that there are no bad days, it's how you come out at the other end - as Abram says - the sun will always rise tomorrow.
Hope provides strength but towards the end of the book I found a passage that showed Abram's frustration and anger at how humans do not learn from previous actions:
"When we were liberated, I expected humanity would learn. I was sure we were going to have a better world for ourselves, for our children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren. But it's the fourth generation and look at what is happening over in Ukraine, even now in 2022. I am so angry to see this kind of thing happening in the 21st century. I have spent my whole life talking about the damage tyranny and dictatorship can do to humanity, and now I see it again. This is the power of propaganda. People are brainwashed into murdering people. They say "If you don't believe what I believe and you don't convert to what we are, your life is worthless." In this regard, much hasn't changed. It's devastating, but I'm used to devastation. I'm also very angry because it has been seventy-five years since the end of the war and what have we learned? I don't think anybody can explain why it's happening. We should know better, and we should value every human being's life. I had hoped the world would be a much kinder and tolerant place by the time I was ninety-seven years old".
Yes Abram - you would think that globally all humans could act together towards the greater good but no matter how many times we say "no more" it happens again.
If any lessons are learned from this book, it should be that the paradigm needs to change - the world needs to work collectively to a better, kinder, tolerant and accepting future. But can we?
December 7, 2024
With all due respect to the author and his family, and all victims of the WW2. This book did not deserve the high ratings other readers have given it.
The story itself is five stars, simply for Mr Goldberg’s reiteration of his life, especially the holocausts and the post-war period. I have learned quite a lot from the book, from the horrors of the ghetto, trauma of parting with families whom you know will die, that the mayor of the town near the camp ended up killing himself out of guilt upon finding out what happens right next door to his house.
However, I did not buy this book for a biography of a holocaust victim. The book as advertised, was ‘The Strength of Hope’ ‘A Holocaust Survivor’s Guide to Love and Life’. Thus, with reasonable expectation that the author was ready to impart upon us readers wisdom on regaining or maintaining hope in life. Instead, I was forced to read through the author and his family’s lives. Of course, some parts were incredible and well worth the time to read, but other parts were irrelevant (to the expectation advertised). The wisdom the author wished to part on was ‘be positive’ and there is just think of the good side; akin to telling a depressed person to just be happy.
This is the cause of the two stars review. If the holocaust and post-war stories were not so intriguing, impactful and meaningful to read, I would have given the book one star.
If the book was advertised as a biography, I would not have bought it as I have no interest in that genre. But if I was, this would be a 3-4 stars biography, for what it’s worth.
The story itself is five stars, simply for Mr Goldberg’s reiteration of his life, especially the holocausts and the post-war period. I have learned quite a lot from the book, from the horrors of the ghetto, trauma of parting with families whom you know will die, that the mayor of the town near the camp ended up killing himself out of guilt upon finding out what happens right next door to his house.
However, I did not buy this book for a biography of a holocaust victim. The book as advertised, was ‘The Strength of Hope’ ‘A Holocaust Survivor’s Guide to Love and Life’. Thus, with reasonable expectation that the author was ready to impart upon us readers wisdom on regaining or maintaining hope in life. Instead, I was forced to read through the author and his family’s lives. Of course, some parts were incredible and well worth the time to read, but other parts were irrelevant (to the expectation advertised). The wisdom the author wished to part on was ‘be positive’ and there is just think of the good side; akin to telling a depressed person to just be happy.
This is the cause of the two stars review. If the holocaust and post-war stories were not so intriguing, impactful and meaningful to read, I would have given the book one star.
If the book was advertised as a biography, I would not have bought it as I have no interest in that genre. But if I was, this would be a 3-4 stars biography, for what it’s worth.
October 23, 2022
An excellent book - one that was hard not to put down. Holocaust and Auschwitz survivor Abram Goldberg recounts his life story. However, unlike most Holocaust survival stories, readers learn about Abram’s post-war life. Arriving as a displaced person to Australia with his wife in the early 50s, they went on to have children, and a successful and happy life. This is an inspirational story about the triumph of the human spirit.
July 30, 2024
Something about stories from Holocaust survivors always touches my heart. Abe’s story was no different - the brutal life he had to endure at a young age. His fight for survival and losing so many of his loved ones so early in his life.
Everyone can learn something from Abe and his kind compassionate nature. After everything he went through he still chose not to hate. “There’s only one race and that’s the human race”.
Everyone can learn something from Abe and his kind compassionate nature. After everything he went through he still chose not to hate. “There’s only one race and that’s the human race”.
March 31, 2023
Amazing storytelling and I didn’t know anything about the Melbourne museum prior to purchasing the book. I hope to visit it one day and see the amazing work Abram and his community have done in preserving their memories.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 4, 2024
I cannot begin to understand what this man went through in his young life. And he stayed a good person who believed that there is still good in all humans. I loved the lessons he learned after each chapter
A lesson to us all about life and how to live it well even if there are challenges
A lesson to us all about life and how to live it well even if there are challenges
April 10, 2023
Compelling reading. An amazing story of courage, resilience and most of all never-ending hope. This is a book that everyone should read.
May 19, 2023
A great read which puts our modern day lives in perspective. If you haven't read many stories about WWII, this is a book which will make you want to learn more.
August 23, 2023
Amazing read. Thankyou Abram for sharing your incredible life with us.
October 4, 2023
an remarkable story of a man whom against all odds never surrender to hate or hopeless , but found the strength to continue to believe in hope of a better future.
zhelf
December 8, 2023Rec: LETB
April 7, 2024
Verkligen värd att läsa!!
October 2, 2025
What an incredible man, filled with love and hope and compassion after all his life has held.
A painful and often breath taking memoir. An incredible read.
A painful and often breath taking memoir. An incredible read.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews