Alicia: My Story

This eye witness account of the holocaust in Poland is so horrific it would be too depressing to read, if it weren't for the author's lucid, straight forward prose. Alicia Jurman was 13 years old when she fought for survival against literally impossible odds in southeastern Poland and witnessed the destruction of her entire family, friends and neighbors. Her survival was accomplished through truly incredible pluck, strength of character, resourcefulness, and unbelievable good luck.We already know (or should know) all about the horrors of the holocaust: the depth of depravity to which the human soul can sink; and we know that to forget this worst of all possible nightmares is to face another genocide in our lifetime (we already have in Darfur, Rwanda, Bosnia, and elsewhere).What distinguishes "Alicia: My Story" despite the unspeakable horror is this horror as viewed through the eyes of a girl who simply refuses to give in and give up. She is an amazingly strong girl who used everything she had to survive. And she tells the story in a matter of fact way that propels the narrative forward and keeps the reader turning the pages to find out what happens next.If one has never been exposed to what went on during World War Two, this excellent book is the perfect place to start.

A true story during ww2. She was an amazing girl who helped many people. True story

This is the most touching and emotionally draining story about the holocaust yet. What this young girl went through during those difficult days is hard to believe. She gave every last measure of devotion to the survival of her dear mother and countless strangers. She labored many hours in the fields to earn one slice of bread and a cup of sour milk, both of which she shared with her mother.Hunted just because of being Jewish, they and others in the same predicament, spent countless days and nights hiding in the woods and caves. Alicia always put the needs of others first, often overlooking her own needs.I am awestruck by her will to live and her selfless devotion to her "neighbors" in unspeakable circumstances.Alicia is now 83 yrs. old. She is a grateful American now. Our nation is fortunate to house such a noble soul.No matter how many holocaust related-stories you have come across, none will impact you like this one. Shalom!It makes Anne Frank's story read like a bedtime story. Be prepared to have your inner soul touched as never before.

An incredible tale of survival: Alicia, my storyRaul Hilberg estimates that over a million Jews living under German occupation survived the Holocaust and were still alive at the end of WWII. (Perpetrators, Victims, Bystanders, 186). Each of their stories constitutes a minor miracle: a combination of fortitude and luck, which was relatively rare. Most of the million Jewish survivors were those living in Romania (in the Old Kingdom regions) and Bulgaria. In both of these countries, the leaders of the government, for various complex reasons, changed their minds about sending all Jews to concentration camps.A second group of survivors made it against all odds, despite the dehumanizing conditions of the concentration camps. They were either liberated by the Allies from Auschwitz and other concentration camps or escaped the grueling death marches, once the Germans evacuated the concentration camps.A third group of survivors attempted the near impossible: they hid, resisted or fled the Nazis. Many had to adopt more than one disguise or alias. They ran the risk of being shot or sent to concentration camps as soon as the Nazis and their collaborators discovered their real identities. These survivors, Hilberg observes, tended to be young, in good physical condition, and usually had a particular psychological profile that set them apart from most victims: “The contrast may be glimpsed in three important traits: realism, rapid decision making, and tenacious holding to life” (Perpetrators, Victims, Bystanders 188). Because they tended to be not only incredibly lucky but also exceptionally resourceful and resilient, their stories sound the most “fictional” and even implausible, particularly to readers today, which are far removed from the hardships of the Holocaust.If any survivor story shows that truth can be stranger than fiction, it’s Alicia Appleman-Jurman’s Alicia: My Story (New York: Bantam, 1988). In a glowing review, The Pittsburgh Press called the book “As exciting as it is inspirational. In fact, a good bit of Alicia: My Story reads as if it were written by one of our better writers of fiction”. This book reads like fiction, indeed. In an autobiographical narrative the author describes her survival against all odds in Nazi-occupied Poland. While Alicia lost one of her brothers under the Soviet occupation of Poland (when he disappeared without a trace after having been recruited for training by the Red Army), once Germany invaded Poland the situation for Jewish families became far worse. The Gestapo systematically went from house to house hunting for Jews, often aided by the Ukrainian police and the Ukrainian Nationalist guerillas (Banderovcy). The Nazis and their collaborators searched every nook and cranny of Jewish homes, even in basements and attics. Often crying babies would inadvertedly betray entire families trying to escape capture and an almost certain death. Jews were rounded up to be placed in ghettos, or shot on the spot, or sent to concentration camps. Alicia was not yet a teenager when she was compelled to leave her home and go into hiding with her mother, after the Gestapo murdered her father and brothers. Over the course of the next few years, she adopted various disguises and provided not only for herself and her mother, but also helped others. She disguised herself as a peasant, worked hard labor on several farms, and even aided some of the Soviet partisans who took refuge in nearby forests.Once the war ended, Alicia’s incredible story did not stop. She began working as a guide for the Brecha, the Zionist Underground Railroad that smuggled Jews into Palestine. She made it her life mission to share her survival story in order to inform and inspire generations to come. Talking about her painful past became a therapeutic, not only educational, experience: “As I continued talking I realized that if I were to survive at all and escape from the swamp of anguish and despair, I would have to reach out to people, to those who survived like myself, and perhaps sometime in the future, to all people. I would not be able to continue to hate, because I knew in my young heart that hate could eventually destroy me. But I would always remember what had happened to my family and to my people and would never be able to forgive those who committed the crimes” (Alicia: My Story, 272). To this day she describes her experiences during the Holocaust in schools, at conferences and on her website, [...].Claudia Moscovici,Holocaust Memory

5 stars & 5/10 hearts. This is my favourite Holocaust biography. It is well-written and very clear, and shows Alicia very well. Honestly, the tragedies she lived through hurt me extra because I have a dear friend called Alicia & I kept thinking of her when I read Alicia’s name. This book is honest & open, but it didn’t creep me out (except when they tore her earlobe... but little things like that horrify me way more than torture). It was a side of the Holocaust that I hadn’t heard of before—simply hiding. You were sort of prepared for the horrors because she started off by telling you everyone who died. And after that, you admired Alicia so much, you only focused on her. There were so many great characters. And it was so real, I could see everything. I was so grateful when 1944 rolled around because I knew it was nearly over. Obviously not a book for children and probably not for sensitive readers, but it isn’t as shocking as say, The Hiding Place, since it was more survival than being mistreated. There was some swearing, mentions of kissing, two or three mentions that Alicia’s body was changing, a scene where she sleeps close to a guy & ties their feet together & he gets mad, mentions of rape; and a speech about God not being able to stop the Holocaust & humans having to prove to Him that there were still good people. Other than that, it was excellent. Really, an amazing biography.A Favourite Quote: “But we, the orphans in Biala, sat in silence while the world celebrated. We were thinking of our murdered families, and we wept. For us the end of the war had come too late.”A Favourite Beautiful Quote: “My brother’s voice would reach into the depth of my soul and carry me off into the beauty of its words and melody.”A Favourite Humorous Quote: “The Russian-language teacher was always quoting things that Stalin had said. He, the teacher said, was the father of all children, and he commanded us to learn, and learn, and learn. I did not believe such stories. I had a father at home; besides, I did not like this man hanging in the place of the Madonna.”

Greatly written biography. This book shows us what a person can do in times of war,hardships,degradation and death . She was very flexible, inventive and smart always using her talents to survive. But still retaining her compassion and love for others. A truly great book to read!

very beautifull and inspiring caractere

This is probably the most remarkable memoir I have ever read. Alicia Jurman was a young Jewish girl living in eastern Poland and was nine years old when the Second World War broke out and her part of Poland was invaded first by the Soviet Union then, less than two years later, by Germany when it in turn invaded the Soviet Union. Her immediate family members were killed one by one, her father and all four of her brothers. She and her weakened mother spent time moving around the Polish countryside, trying to find food and shelter, Alicia seeking work on Polish and Ukrainian farms using various false identities (she spoke both languages fluently). She narrowly escaped being sent to the camps or shot a number of times through a combination of amazing resourcefulness, bravery and a considerable measure of good luck. Her home town of Buczacz was liberated by the Russians in March 1943 and for a short time, Alicia and her mother and other surviving Jews started to try to rebuild a reasonably normal life. However, after a couple of months the Nazis recaptured the town, they were betrayed and the SS shot Alicia's mother. Alicia and other surviving Jews were taken to a meadow outside the town for a mass shooting, from which Alicia was one of the few who managed to escape. Despite the horrible betrayals, there were also incidents of kindness from some local farmers and a lovely, generous old man who kept bees and sheltered not only Alicia and her mother, but six other Jews in his small cottage. After the second and final liberation and the end of the war, Alicia tried to help Jewish orphan children wandering the streets by setting up an informal orphanage, though only aged 15 herself. Shockingly, the few surviving Jews were still targetted and abused by many individual Poles and the Polish authorities, who did not want to be reminded how they had helped the Nazis to oppress them. Finally, the huge sense of alienation from Polish society led Alicia to make the decision to go to what would slightly later be the state of Israel, as well as helping to run an escape route for other Polish Jews who wanted to leave. One of the most shameful new things I learned from this account was how the British authorities, in trying to limit immigration to Palestine, even attacked and boarded the ship Alicia was on, killing some of the Jewish orphan children in the process. I could say a lot more about this remarkable 400 plus page book, which the author was driven to write in the 1980s to tell her story before it was too late; as she says of her fellow European Jews, "they cannot forget, and they cannot bear the thought that the world will not remember. As they grow older, it becomes more and more important to them that no one be permitted to forget."

There is so much to learn from this gripping account of the suffering & struggles of children & their relatives at the end of & immediately after the 2nd World War. Alicia's story is enlightening, uplifting as well as enjoyable.Jackie