Four Letters to the Witnesses of My Childhood (Religion, Theology and the Holocaust) - Hardcover

Ganor, Helena

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0815608691 ISBN 13: 9780815608691

Publisher: Syracuse University Press, 2008

Synopsis

The evocation of memory is wrought with emotional and historical significance in this distinctive Holocaust memoir. With lyrical prose and remarkable candor, Helena Ganor narrates her story through a series of recently penned letters to the significant people in her life during her wartime girlhood: her sister, mother, father, and stepmother. Both Ganor's mother and sister perished during the Holocaust. The author's letters reveal much about living in pre-war Lvov, Poland, and its surrounding area. Her descriptions of relationships between local Jews, Poles, Ukrainians, and Gypsies in southeastern Poland lend a broad historical context to the Holocaust. Ganor combines deeply personal reminiscences of struggling as a Jewish child cast out alone to survive under Nazi occupation with reflections on the varied ways that humans respond to impending catastrophe. Punctuating her letters with poems, Ganor's story is an inspiring contribution to Holocaust literature.

About this title

Review:

[An] unforgettable odyssey through the hell of the Holocaust, a felicitous blend of personal recollection and keen observation.--Booklist

A historical account of a tragedy. . . . A David and Goliath story of a young girl's determination to escape the clutches of a seemingly unbeatable evil force. . . . Clever, unself-conscious and meaningful.--Jewish Observer

A true work of literature.--Multicultural Review

Ganor's book, a collection of four letters, is her legacy to those years, a legacy which needs to be read and remembered.--Story Circle Book Reviews

About the Author:

Helena Ganor was born in Lvov, in southeastern Poland. After earning an M.D. in 1957, she practiced internal medicine in Warsaw. In 1969 she emigrated to the United States with her husband and two daughters, settling in southern California. She was awarded second prize for poetry by the International Society of Poetry.

About this edition

• Publisher: Syracuse University Press
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0815608691
• ISBN 13: 9780815608691
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 174