The Holocaust Survivor Memoirs Program was established by the Azrieli Foundation in 2005 to collect, preserve, and share the memoirs and diaries written by survivors of the Holocaust. These resources are available physically in the University Archives and Special Collections. To view these books, book an appointment today.
As the Lilacs Bloomed by
"The pen is shaking in my paralyzed hand as I write: I AM ALIVE! I am alive and it is May again. The lilacs are in bloom and I smell their sweet fragrance again. There was springtime last year as well, but we had no eyes for beauty. Our lips forgot how to smile, our hearts were shattered! And now I'm alive again!" It is June 1, 1945, as Anna Hegedüs writes her memoir from her hometown of Szatmár, Hungary. She has survived the ghetto--the prologue to her Greek tragedy; survived Auschwitz--the first act; the horrific Schlesiersee camp--the second act; and a death march--the brutal third and final act. It is there, however, that Anna was separated from her daughter, Agnes, and now, as she writes with her memories so raw, she waits desperately for Agnes's return.
If Only It Were Fiction by
Elsa Thon's family tradition of storytelling illuminates and enriches her striking coming- of-age story, If Only It Were Fiction. She was a 16-year-old photographer's apprentice when the Nazis occupied her town of Pruszków, Poland. After her family was sent to the Warsaw ghetto, Elsa joined a community farm, where she was recruited by the Underground and sent to Krakow with false papers. "Passing" as a gentile, she worked in a photographic studio until she was betrayed and transported from the Krakow ghetto to forced labour camps. Despite her deep belief in destiny, Elsa refuses to bow to her fate as a Jew in war-torn Poland.
Vanished Boyhood by
One month before George Stern's thirteenth birthday, Germany invades his native Hungary. Anti-Jewish edicts are passed and a ghetto is established. A rebel even then, George refuses to wear the Jewish star. "Passing" as a Christian boy, he survives the siege of Budapest as the Soviet Red Army presses closer, strafing the city while the fascist Arrow Cross continues to hunt for Jews. After the war, George leaves Europe for Israel and fights in the War of Independence. Over the next 20 years his family's journeys take them from Israel to São Paulo, Brazil and finally to Toronto. Filled with determination and bravery, this is the poignant account of George Stern's Vanished Boyhood.
Suddenly the Shadow Fell by
"That night, a fierce air battle developed around and above our train. Guns were blazing, bombs were falling . . . In the morning, instead of the enemy, US soldiers found us and heard our cries: 'Oh God, we are free!'" When 17-year-old Leslie Meisels insisted that his mother and two brothers join a transport going who knows where, all he knew was that they had to get out of the terrible holding facility in Debrecen, Hungary. Luckily, that decision put them among the roughly 20,000 "exchange Jews" whose lives had been bartered for gold, diamonds and cash in a secret deal between Rudolf Kastner and Adolf Eichmann. Added to Leslie Meisels' memoir is a short account by his wife, Eva, who survived the Nazi occupation of Budapest as a five-year-old with the assistance of Raoul Wallenberg.
In Hiding by
"I'm ready, but I'm overcome with sadness. Mama hugs us and kisses us: 'Goodbye, children! Go, and don't look back . . . '" With these last words from their mother, two little girls, Marguerite and her older sister, Henriette, start on a long and wandering journey that will last three years. Given new identities, they must forget everything about their former, familiar lives. Taken from farms to convents, they learn how to remain silent, to pretend, to lie in order to survive, to adapt repeatedly to new environments. Through it all, they manage to keep their hopes alive. This story, beautifully illustrated by Marguerite Élias Quddus, tugs at our hearts and allows us a remarkable insight into history through the eyes of a very young child.
If, by Miracle by
Nearly buried alive, 10-year-old Michael Kutz narrowly escapes the Nazi death squad that has killed 4,000 Jews, including his own family, in his hometown of Nieswiez. Guided by his mother's last words and determined to survive, he becomes the youngest member of a partisan resistance group in the dense Belorussian forest, taking part in daring operations against the Nazis and their collaborators. After the war, Michael embarks on an odyssey through Czechoslovakia, Austria, Italy, and, finally, Canada, as he tries to find a home where he can leave the horrors of his past behind. Translated from the original Yiddish, If, By Miracleis the gripping and compelling story of a courageous and resilient young boy searching for freedom.
Survival Kit by
"For the second time, I found myself about to be interrogated . . . I wouldn't confess to being Jewish this time, knowing it would mean certain death. How could I die now, after all we had managed to get through? I would not allow myself to die by their bloody hands. These thoughts pumped courage into my veins." An only child, fifteen-year-old Zuzana Sermer does what she can to protect her father and ailing mother when the Nazis set up a fascist regime in her native Slovakia in 1939. Four years later, fleeing to the supposed safety of Budapest, Zuzana and her fiancé, Arthur, must instead navigate one treacherous situation after another when Germany occupies Hungary in March 1944. Survival Kit is both Sermer's thoughtful reflections on the miracles of her survival and a testament to the power of courage, love and determination.
