- Book Topics
- Holocaust studies
- Warsaw
- WWII
- Catholics
The Lost Childhood
As a Jewish boy in Poland at the outbreak of World War II, Yehuda Nir was nine years old when he witnessed his father being herded into a truck – never to be seen again – the first of countless relatives, friends, and neighbors murdered by Nazis during the Holocaust. Forced to flee to Warsaw and live in disguise as Catholics for the next five years literally under the noses of the Nazi SS and the suspicious Polish neighbors, he, along with this mother and his indomitable sister Lala lived each moment in fear of discover, surviving by will, ingenuity, wit, and often sheer luck. Nir describes these at times hair-raising, at times bitterly ironic events of his “lost childhood” with humor and lucid prose, entirely devoid of self-pity or rancor. This unforgettable memoir, now with complete original text restored from its original edition, is certain to takes its place among the timeless narratives of war, persecution, survival, and resistance.
- Book Topics
- Holocaust studies
- Warsaw
- WWII
- Catholics
Reviews and Comments
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For readers who have gone stale on the Holocaust, Nir’s record of a child pursued will reawaken fresh awareness, shock, understanding, and conscience.
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An extraordinary memoir.
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Puts one in mind of great understated writers like Hemingway and I.B. Singer.
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Marvelous tells the story so matter of factly. Its very lack of hype makes it so frightening and compelling.
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An engaging fast-paced Holocaust memoir.
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An unforgettable memoir of a resilient family