Ester and Ruzya: How My Grandmothers Survived Hitler's War and Stalin's Peace

This is a great story of how two women survive the unimaginable horrors of WWII. Both are Jews. Ester is from Bialystok, in Poland, a city which would be turned into a ghetto, and whose Jewish residents were rounded up and deported by the Nazis. Ruzya is Russian, and she endures the terror of Stalin's regime, where she is regarded with suspicion. Both women are separated from their parents, sibilings, and husbands at one point or another, and end up meeting in Moscow at the war's end. Masha Gessen weaves both of their stories into a single stirring memoir. It is not free of bias, these are Gessen's grandmothers, and she obviously views them in certain ways, but she is an exceptional storyteller, and takes what they have told her, and merges it with her own research. It is certainly not the only memoir about WWII, but it does offer some fresh insight, particularly in the way it describes the Soviet Union during the war, with vivid imagery that conveys a stunning sense of panic and confusion, words that aptly describe the Soviet reaction to the German invasion. It also conveys pain, loss, and desperation. Overall, a good, easily readable text recommended for any student of history.

A friend lent me her copy of Ester and Ruzya and I liked it so much I bought copies for family members. This book is informative, well written, and deeply honest. Many of us have some knowledge about the Holocaust and what happened to European Jews, but this narrative about the author's family in Russia during WWII and after gives the reader insight about a different Jewish experience. I recommend it highly.