Probably the best narrative of the Holocaust I've read yet. It was equally horrifying and heartbreaking. It has lots of gruesome details that other books tend to leave out, many made me cringe or tear up, but it's important to know the horrors that went on in these camps. ( )

Estrujante relato de una sobreviviente de los campos de concentración de Auschwitz y de Birkenau. Dantesca visión de cinco chimeneas arrojando el humo de la carne quemada de centenares de miles de seres humanos, entre ellos los padres y los dos hijos de la escritora.

What can one ever say about such a book? That anyone had the tenacity and spirit to survive the holocaust is amazing. That you would not go completely insane under such circumstances unimaginable. Reading this book was not easy. Even though we know all the atrocities, having someone set them down in a first person narrative and knowing that these are not just tales but experiences for her was heartbreaking.

I cry over images of mistreated dogs on Pit Bulls and Parolees. Trying to imagine watching people undergo such cruelty and being unable to do anything more than struggle to survive, is more than I find bearable. I did not want to read this, but I think all of us need to. We need to for the memory of those who endured it, like Olga Lengyel, and we need to because cruelty and horror still occurs, on a lesser scale, but just as devastating to those who witness it or are subjected to it.

In the words of Olga Lengyel:

In setting down this personal record I have tried to carry out the mandate given to me by the many fellow internees at Auschwitz who perished so horribly. This is my memorial to them. God rest their poor souls! No hell anyone could conceive could equal what they endured. Frankly, I want my work to mean more than that. I want the world to read and to resolve that this must never be permitted to happen again. That after perusing this account any will still doubt, I cannot believe.

Lest we forget. ( )

I've read Shoah memoirs before. They're always hard to read, and I don't go back to reread them. This one was no exception. It was, however, short, which is unusual. That led to a choppy writing style. I'm glad things were addressed in here that were. ( )

Harrowing and interesting. This is a first-hand account of being a prisoner in Birkenau-Auschwitz and surviving. Helpful thoughts on this and a well structured book. ( )