Rena's Promise

Title of the Book: Rena's Promise

Author: Rena Kornreich Gelissen

Number of Pages: 255

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆ 

Review:

Lice biting at your head. Rats scurrying at your feet. Scarred and bloodied hands from throwing bricks and shoveling dirt. Little food, no showers. Could you imagine living like this? Well, Rena Kornreich Gelissen didn't have to imagine. For three years and forty-one days, Rena and her sister Danka were imprisoned in Auschwitz- Birkenau: the most notorious concentration camp during the Holocaust. 

Rena's Promise tells a tale of two sisters who fought all odds to survive the horrors of the concentration camps. This is a unique Holocaust story because Rena was among the first transport to Auschwitz; most people on the first transport did not live to tell the tale. Danka, Rena's sister, soon followed. As Rena recounts her three years in captivity, her detailed descriptions of the starvation and treacherous work she faced will chill you to the bone. Readers of Rena's Promise can relate to her serious tone throughout the memoir, and it makes the audience feel as if they had lived through the terrors of the Holocaust as well.  

When Rena first arrived at Auschwitz, she was portrayed as a doe-eyed girl who thought she would do a few months of simple work and return to her family. Oh, how wrong she was. However, Rena found the strength to survive through her crafty organization and the promise that soon she could whisk her sister away from the horrendous camp and finally provide a good life for her. From trading bread for medicine when Danka had scabies to bravely passing notes for war information, Rena strove to protect her sister and survive in the camps. When Rena was put in Dr. Mengle's detail, she thought it was finally a break and got Danka to join her. But it soon came to Rena's attention that Dr. Mengle's detail was not all fun and games. Dr. Mengle was the one who found new methods of torture, and he used the girls to do it. Rena bravely snuck out of the detail with Danka in hand despite the danger of doing so. Both Danka and Rena would have died, but Rena's bravery and devotion to her sister saved their lives. 

If you are a history buff or just like reading a fantastic survivor story, Rena's Promise is the memoir for you. This must-read book does describe some gruesome events, so be prepared. If anything, you should read Rena's Promise to recognize the struggles of people during the Second Great War, but be warned: the sad truth will move you to tears.