Customer Reviews

A Lucky Child: A Memoir of Surviving Auschwitz as a Young Boy

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Some books are remarkable and moving; this is one of them. Buergenthal recalls his boyhood under Hitler; from Jewish ghetto to work camp to Auschwitz. His story is one that never should have been written since odds were against him being a young Jewish boy. How did a young boy of eight years survive a work camp, how did that same boy at 10 years old live through Auschwitz.... even after reading Buergenthal's memoir it's unfathomable but truth is stranger than fiction.


The memoir continues through liberation by Soviet soldiers, time spent as 'mascot' to the Polish Army, a Jewish orphanage, reuniting with his mother at 12 1/2 years old and finally emigrating to America.


Buergenthals' book is more than just a memoir; it's also a book about learning to let go of hatred. He writes "we were forced to confront these emotions in a way that helped Mutti and me gradually overcome our hatred and desire for revenge. ... I doubt that we would have been able to preserve our sanity had we remained consumed by hatred for the rest of our lives.... while it was important not to forget what happened to us in the Holocaust, it was equally important not to hold the descendants of the perpetrators responsible for what was done to us, lest the cycle of hate and violence never end."


Thomas Buergenthal survived the Holocaust and has devoted his life to international and human rights law. He is currently the American judge at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

I have been sharing my Holocaust experience with hundreds of life audiences. To one of the most frequent questions "how did you survive?" my reply is "I do not know, I have no clear cut answer; it is a combination of factors that I am, or I am not aware of." I can not attribute my survival to sole divine intervention, because God works in mysterious ways. I can not attribute my survival to mere luck. In February 1945, I decided to touch the electrified fence to be electrocuted. However, to abide by the tenets of my religious upbringing, that man should never commit suicide, I retreated at the last moment.

A clairvoyant (a palm reader) told the author's mother that her son would be lucky. Thomas was indeed lucky to survive Nazi killing centers, at the age of eleven, Very few, at the author's age could have survived Auschwitz or Sachsenhausen. He was unusually fortunate to be reunited, in December 1946 with his mother that also had survived the Holocaust. I wish I could be so lucky; I am the only survivor of my immediate family.

Throughout his ordeal, the author manifests his deep love for his parents. For a Holocaust survivor who had been incarcerated during his early school years to become an international law professor and a judge at the International Court of Justice in The Hague is indicative of the author's intelligence and erudition. A little Jewish boy, classified by the Nazis, to be inferior, proved himself to be superior. A victim of human rights violations became an ardent human rights advocate. Having all the reasons to be bitter, Thomas had chosen to be forgiving, compassionate and gracious.

A Lucky Child is a riveting narrative. The reader might be saddened reading about the author's tribulations during the Holocaust and its aftermath. The reader will be inspired by the author's tenacity and resilience exercised during the author's journey ensuing the Holocaust. I am not a jealous person, but I can not help myself not be envious of the author's accomplishments. Thomas Buergenthal is a shining example of human dignity. His book is not just a poignant memoir; it is a source of enlightenment for all ages.

Alter Wiener; author "From A Name to A Number"

A Lucky Child is a little different from other books on Holocaust because it is a memoir of a person, who as a child survived not only Auschwitz, but the ghetto that, like all Jewish ghettos, was liquidated, and two other labor camps. The miracle in it all is, only a handful of children came out of Auschwitz alive. Most of them had been murdered and burnt before they even got a chance to enter the camp, or were sent to Treblinka straight form ghettos where the same fate awaited. The author of this memoir is Thomas Buergenthal, an International Court of Justice judge, who devoted his life to making sure that what had happened in WWII, doesn't happen again. Mr. Buergenthal arrived at Auschwitz when he was ten and was abruptly and cruelly separated from his mother but thankfully was still together with his father. He went through the life in the camp and through the rest of the war trying his best to live, to survive and to finally get reconnected with his parents. He was a truly lucky child because while all the other children he managed to become friends with were killed, he always escaped that same, gruesome fate. Mr. Buergenthal, Tommy, was also miraculously reunited with his mother just when he started losing the hope that either of his parents survived Auschwitz.

Thomas Buergenthal essentially wrote a book of hope, resilience and a child's spirit that could never get extinguished. I absolutely loved it. It's a work of a great mind and heart and because it was written straight from the heart it takes on a deeply moving meaning. The prose is beautifully simple and almost dainty, which spoke to me clearer than any convoluted, rich in hyperboles and metaphors pieces ever could. And in this simplicity, the true questions shine through. Who does truly survive: the one who refuses to compromise their morality, dignity and soul, or the one who gives that up to preserve or prolong their life no matter what? How insane did the people who served up such a fate to the millions of innocents had to be? These and many other deep issues are what Buergenthal thinks about and also gives a reader the freedom to answer them individually. One aspect of the book that I particularly loved were the photographs of Thomas and his family. I thought it was wonderful to look at all these people, his mother, his father and many others, and be able to put a face to them, to their great spirit and personalities. And just like my experience in Auschwitz, these photographs make it more real, make you look at them and know that this is all true, that it isn't a dry historical fact only but many personal tragedies that can never be forgotten.

I couldn't put it down. I've read other survivor stories and what's so beautiful about this one is that the parent's love for their child was so strong and true, and Thomas's respect and love for his parents remained intact; he was not engulfed by the evil that was all around him. This book is a testament to the overriding power of love. I imagine its his parents love for him that kept his spirit willing to go on even as his body wanted to give up.

I've read quite a few memoirs and stories about experiences during the Holocaust (including listening to my own Grandfather's story on a cassette tape) and overall, the information given is the same, repeated and verified over and over.

What made this book different was the message of hope throughout it. He was proclaimed "lucky" by a gypsy and his mother took that proclamation to heart. Over and over Tommy slipped through the cracks and managed to escape the fate of his fellow prisoners, and for the first time, through this story, I was able to truly understand the reason why he chose to portray his admittance to Auschwitz as "lucky".

Interesting story - a bit dry at times (which kept me from giving it four stars), but an overall good read.

I've read quite a lot of literature on the Holocaust, and I keep reading because each book teaches me something new. My recent read was "A Lucky Child: A Memoir of Surviving Auschwitz" as a Young Boy by Tom Buergenthal. Buergenthal currently serves as the American judge on the International Court of Justice, and wrote the memoir to describe his experiences in concentration camps when he was just a child.

Few children survived the concentration camps - especially Auschwitz - making Buergenthal truly lucky. As children were systematically exterminated by the Nazis, he managed to escape death time and time again. Buergenthal was raised in captivity, traveling with his parents and then alone from a ghetto in Kielche to German labor camps, to Auschwitz, and finally to Sachsenhausen. At every turn, Buergenthal survived due to a mixture of wit, determination, and sheer luck. Oddly, even getting into Auschwitz was luck, since he was not subjected to selections that most prisoners arriving there went through, and narrowly escaped being sent directly to the gas chambers. Buergenthal was finally liberated at the age, and luck struck again when he was miraculously reunited with his mother almost two years later.

Buergenthal's Holocaust memories are brief, but he makes a point of all the kind acts in the midst of misery. There was the Nazi soldier who handed over his coffee to him when he was cold, the infirmary orderly who changed Buergenthal's admittance card and hence saved him from the gas chamber, and the Norwegian prisoner Odd Nansen who bribed officials to keep Buergenthal alive. I think each Holocaust memoir has a message, and I felt that Buergenthal's message was that people can be selfless and good even when they themselves are struggling to survive.

Amazing! I have read many many books about the Holocaust and I feel this one deserves top marks!

The Lucky Child is a poignant memoir, allowing the reader to envision and feel all of the emotions and terror that Thomas (as a young boy) must have felt, while at the same time, maintaining a more detached approach (less gruesome) then many of the Holocaust books I have previously read. I was instantly drawn into this story and pulled into the absorbing narrative; this story is absolutely riveting! This smoothly flowing story has perfect momentum and keeps the reader's interest from beginning to end. Thomas' invaluable story really brought the Holocaust `home', to me. As the reader visualizes what life was like for this young boy (and many others like him) during those horrendous times, it makes his experiences even more vivid and heartbreaking. I don't want to give away any part of this book because it is Thomas' unforgettable story to tell; only he can properly share with you the misery, wretchedness and the desolation that he felt while he was imprisoned. Included in this book are 16 beautiful, black & white photographs and a black & white map (2 full pages).You simply MUST read this book!
I very highly recommend this book to everyone!!!

(10 out of 10 Diamonds) - Absolutely LOVED it!!


© 2008-2009 Bobbie Crawford-McCoy (Book Reviews By Bobbie).
All rights reserved.

As I have read and studied the Holocaust in great detail throughout my life... the first thought that came to my mind... before I even opened the cover of this book was... why would someone wait over sixty-years to write of his experiences? And then on the absolute first page... in the very first sentences... was my answer... stated eloquently... and sparsely... yet with great strength. And this was a harbinger of the powerful yet "delicate" style that this entire masterpiece would be presented in. The forward written my NOBEL PEACE PRICE WINNER and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel states: "ARE THERE RULES TO HELP A SURVIVOR DECIDE THE BEST TIME TO BEAR WITNESS TO HISTORY? WHICH IS BETTER: TO DARE TO LOOK DIRECTLY INTO THE BLINDING PRESENT, NO MATTER HOW PAINFUL, OR TO AWAIT THE DETACHMENT OF HINDSIGHT-WHICH, BEING LESS PAINFUL, IS MORE OBJECTIVE?"

Before detailing the entire horrific journey of a boy who when he wasn't even six-years-old yet... was forced with his family from their home into a Jewish ghetto in Poland and saw all his childhood friends massacred by the Nazi's... before he even arrived at the reincarnation of hell itself... the actual concentration camps. By the time this young Jewish German child was ten-years-old he found himself in the infamous Auschwitz... one of the Nazi concentration camps. He was separated from his parents... his Father was murdered and his Mother he didn't see again... until a miraculous reunion years after the war. The question is how did this child survive? A combination of "luck"... protective parents in the beginning... and the guile of an abandoned animal with no alternative but to grow up quicker than nature had ever intended. But let's jump ahead to the present... and the knowledge of what type of man this "LUCKY-CHILD" became... and it is this knowledge that adds such an additional unrelenting luster to this incredible story.

Thomas Buergenthal received law degrees from NYU and Harvard Law School and is currently the American judge at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. This former child Holocaust survivor... who actually spent years in a living hell... has risen from the literal ashes of the worst atrocities known to mankind... and become a shining beacon of light for all humanity to see.

The author's writing uses a restraint that is almost hard to believe... yet he still pulls no punches. At his weakest times during his ordeal... when other prisoners collapsed... and laid down and died... or were mowed down with heartless Nazi bullets... he refused to quit and stated: "IF I GIVE UP, THEY WILL HAVE WON, I KEPT MUTTERING TO MYSELF. STAYING ALIVE HAD BECOME A GAME I PLAYED AGAINST HITLER, THE SS, AND THE NAZI KILLING MACHINE." The reader must remember that this story is being written sixty-years after the fact... and must acknowledge the lofty judicial position the author has attained... and so one time the reader is surprised... and speaking for myself... I don't how he controlled even his internal emotions... then or now... when after the war and his liberation... a long and complicated road led him back to Germany in December 1946 at the age of twelve-and-a-half-years old... and he was living in the midst of town folk who most assuredly had been part of the Nazi war machine. "... ON SUNDAYS, WHEN ENTIRE GERMAN FAMILIES WOULD PASS OUR HOUSE ON THEIR WAY TO AND FROM THEIR WALKS. I WOULD OBSERVE THEM FROM OUR BALCONY WITH ENVY AND HATRED. HERE WERE FATHERS AND MOTHERS, GRANDFATHERS AND GRANDMOTHERS, WALKING WITH THEIR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN - PEOPLE WHO, FOR ALL I KNEW, HAD KILLED MY FATHER AND GRANDPARENTS! AS I CONTEMPLATED THESE SCENES OF HAPPY GERMANS ENJOYING THEIR LIVES AS IF NOTHING HAD HAPPENED IN THE RECENT PAST, I LONGED TO HAVE A MACHINE GUN MOUNTED ON THE BALCONY SO I COULD DO TO THEM WHAT THEY HAD DONE TO MY FAMILY. IT TOOK ME A LONG TIME TO GET OVER THESE SENTIMENTS AND TO RECOGNIZE THAT SUCH INDISCRIMINATE ACTS OF VENGEANCE WOULD NOT BRING MY FATHER OR GRANDPARENTS BACK TO LIFE. IT TOOK ME MUCH LONGER TO REALIZE THAT ONE CANNOT HOPE TO PROTECT MANKIND FROM CRIMES SUCH AS THOSE THAT WERE VISITED UPON US UNLESS ONE STRUGGLES TO BREAK THE CYCLE OF HATRED AND VIOLENCE THAT INVARIABLY LEADS TO EVER MORE SUFFERING BY INNOCENT HUMAN BEINGS."

A remarkable story... and a remarkable man!

Thank you for sharing your story Thomas Buergenthal. I have learned much and hope to share it with others.