One thing you guys should know: these are not true diaries, in the sense that they're not written with dated entries, in real time, as events were happening. The books are the editor's father and mother's Holocaust memoirs, written at some indeterminate period after the events occurred. The memoirs are about the parents' Holocaust experiences in the Vilna, Bialystok and Warsaw Ghettos. The mother's memoir, which comes first, is much longer than the father's. The son was a small child during the war.

I really liked these memoirs, and aside from a few typos, thought they were very well-written. However, the book could have really used some further annotation by the son. Mom's memoir describes her experience in the Vilna Ghetto with her husband and son, the husband's escape to Warsaw, her and her son's escape to Bialystok and their experiences there. It ends abruptly after a description of the liquidation of the Bialystok Ghetto. At the time, her husband was still in Warsaw, and his memoir describes the liquidation of the ghetto there. I'm not sure where their son was during this period; the mom had written about placing him in hiding but I'm not sure if he was with her, or in a hiding place being cared for by others.

I finished the book feeling frustrated because I had no idea where, how and when the family reunited and how they all survived the war. It would have been really nice if the son had written a postscript or something to the book that would have explained those details. ( )

Stein begins his remembrances with stories from Warsaw, Vilius (Vilna) and Bialystok. He talked about beatings, narrow escapes from death, and the desperation he and others felt from deportations to death camps. The author also uses his parent’s diaries to show how their viewpoint differed from that of young child. His memories really illustrate how the Nazis controlled people and methodically decimated the Jewish population in Europe.

LibraryThing Member Giveaway randomly chose me to receive this book. Although encouraged, I was under no obligation to write a review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. ( )

Kindle Unlimited but actually won it through librarything and he let me know free day so would be easier to load {cloud reader vs kindle for pc}, but would have gotten it at some point anyway, because as can see from my name, I have German heritage...and every time I see what they, as politicians etcetera, were capable of, it is beyond sad or regrettable, more in line with atrocious as in atrocities. To know, however, that there are those who survive, physically and mentally, to carry on, to carry the story forward, so that it is much more than just a story but a heartbeat of words is sometimes almost enough to make one forget what actions brought the spirit out was so despicable. ( )

Fascinating and heartwrenching insight into the jewish problem during the war. The telling of the story is easy to follow and understand. The story reveals itself bit by bit. The horrors mentioned can only be imagined by those of us who did not live through it. Well worth the read. ( )

Kindle Unlimited but actually won it through librarything and he let me know free day so would be easier to load {cloud reader vs kindle for pc}, but would have gotten it at some point anyway, because as can see from my name, I have German heritage...and every time I see what they, as politicians etcetera, were capable of, it is beyond sad or regrettable, more in line with atrocious as in atrocities. To know, however, that there are those who survive, physically and mentally, to carry on, to carry the story forward, so that it is much more than just a story but a heartbeat of words is sometimes almost enough to make one forget what actions brought the spirit out was so despicable. ( )