Sala's Gift: My Mother's Holocaust Story

I loved this book it was such a good read. It moved me to write a poem afterward. I read a lot of these kinds of books and I have never done that before.

I grew up in NY City in the 50's, and was taught about the Holocaust at a very early age - a sobering education for a child just beginning to understand the world into which I was born. A few of my neighbors had survived the concentration camps (including one beautiful sweet young lady -- my heart went out to her), but not much was said about it. Sala's Gift, with its detailed narrative opened my eyes even more than I expected, and adds so much more to the human aspect of the holocaust experience. Anne Kirschner, with her meticulous research, her stellar narrative and her deep love for her mother Sala and her mother's journey, brings us into Sala's home, her youth, lets us meet her family, mingle with her friends - we celebrate the Sabbath with the Garncarz family, we admire their sparse home filled with love, if not always with the daily necessities of life. How loving they were -- how brave they were, even in the most peaceful of times!! Although the brutality of the concentration camps was not dwelled upon, the human fortitude and camaraderie forged from suffering and deprivation certainly was. How amazing to read about Sala and her camp friends, who looked after one another and made the best of a terrible situation -- the "birthday cake" of layered pieces of bare-subsistence bread being one example. This network of friends, acquaintances and even the friendship of some of the camp commanders were harbors in the storm for Sala, and her camp friends as well. As goes the song (based on an inscription found shortly after the Holocaust) "I believe in Hope, even though I do not see it" and the oft-sung (after 9/11): "Within the darkest night, you kindle the fire that never dies away", Hope was kept alive, by letter, by word, by a friendly gesture even in the meanest of places. Ala's love, devotion and dedication to Sala's well being -- sparked by a chance meeting at the railroad station as Sala is about to take leave of her grieving mother -- is a glue that binds souls together and endures, even after separation. What perhaps might have happened had not those two souls met?? Sometimes we meet up with angels, who bless and ennoble our lives at a time when their presence is most needed, even thought these angels sometimes turn out to be all too human. The reader is made to feel so much a part of this human condition, and I, like Ann Kirschner, exclaimed loudly and sadly when I read about Ala's tragedy -- and also rejoiced when Sala showed so much spunk and initiative, not only throughout her ordeal, but after her liberation, traveling to so many cities, centering and discovering herself and making her own life, after having been through so much hell. I cannot recommend this book highly enough -- it should be required reading as should some of the references listed in the book's "source notes".

Richly detailed and meticuously researched, this moving account of the labor camps of the Holocaust is also a well-written and memorable read. I found myself engaged from the opening sentence, and as soon as I had reached the final page, I went right back to the beginning in order to "re-view" the characters from the point of their lives after the ordeal of the Holocaust. Thank you, Ann Kirschner, for this gift of a book.

This book is so outstanding. It is different than the average memoire by combining the story of a girl who sent to a Nazi labor camp(for only 6 weeks...turned into five years!)with the incredible collection of letters she was able to hide from the Nazi monsters.What will you get by reading the book? 1. A deep insight into the history of the Labor Camps.This part of the history of the holocaust has not been as highlighted as that of the concentration camps. 2. A very moving description of Sala's hard work while keeping her diginity and fighting to survive to reunite with her loved ones,and those who had written the letters. 3. A glimpse into this unbelievable collection of letters that survived against all odds.( the letters and other photos in the book are of superb quality) 4.A powerful inspiration;no need to read any other motivational books ever! 5.Daugher Mother relationship. I can only imagine how many years it took Ann to write this book.It was her gift to her mother:Ann's decision to write the book was free will. Sala's decision to go to labor camp also seemed to some extent to be free will;to spare her sister. The Nazis demanded slavery! I hope that one day there will be a sequele to this book. How did it all impact Ann? her life and her children? What if there were no letters left? what if the decision was never to go back and visit the sites of the painful memories, especially Sosnowiec? Thank you Sala and Ann for a true gift!

Highly Recommended! What is it like to be a teenager and be sent to a Nazi labor camp away from home? How is it like for the family left behind? The combination of a fluid narrative and beautiful autentic letters makes for a powerful reading experience like no other book.My heart went for sala and her family. Her grace while enduring the darkest of human experiences is truly captivating. Would you believe that the picture of beautiful Sala on the cover was taken during a three day vacation from labor camp spent with her family and friends in Sosnowiec?a slave on a three day break? All I see in her face is love light and beauty there is no hatred depression or darkness. The love of her family,truth and the hope for the future. Having your children born in a free land and bringing the story and the letters to light. Thank you Sala:you gave us a hugh gift and thank you Ann, second generation of love and light.

Sala's Gift will nourish many future generations of readers, a rare combination of an important book and a great read. I fell in love with Sala, finished this beautifully-written book in one sitting, so caught up in the riveting story of Sala and the pulse of history that beats so strongly through her life. Sala kept the secrets of her wartime experiences for nearly 50 years. Only when she feared she might not recover from surgery did she reveal to the existence of hundreds of letters that she had received during her years in Nazi slave labor camps - amazingly, mailed right into the camps. Her daughter was shocked, then obsessed, and began a long investigation that unlocked the secrets of the letters. The result is a fascinating book that is a memoir as well as a daughter's loving biography of her mother. The book includes brief selections from letters, and through the actual words of Sala's friends and family, we see the disintegration of individual lives in a dramatic and personal way. As the copious Source Notes demonstrate, there's a tremendous amount of research behind this book - new knowledge about the Nazi slave labor system -- but this is no textbook. It is history immersed in life. I was reminded sometimes of Eleni, Nicholas Gage's remarkable biography of his mother, and of Maus, Art Spiegelman's retelling of his father's wartime experiences. I was often moved to tears but ended the book with a tremendous sense of rebirth and the optimism that allowed Sala to rebuild her life in America.