In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer (Hardcover)

~ Irene Opdyke (Author), (Contributor) "Kozienice is a small village in eastern Poland..." (more)
Key Phrases: coal chute, Major Rügemer, Herr Major, Herr Schulz (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

When World War II began, Irene Gutowna was a 17-year-old Polish nursing student. Six years later, she writes in this inspiring memoir, "I felt a million years old." In the intervening time she was separated from her family, raped by Russian soldiers, and forced to work in a hotel serving German officers. Sickened by the suffering inflicted on the local Jews, Irene began leaving food under the walls of the ghetto. Soon she was scheming to protect the Jewish workers she supervised at the hotel, and then hiding them in the lavish villa where she served as housekeeper to a German major. When he discovered them in the house, Gutowna became his mistress to protect her friends--later escaping him to join the Polish partisans during the Germans' retreat. The author presents her extraordinary heroism as the inevitable result of small steps taken over time, but her readers will not agree as they consume this thrilling adventure story, which also happens to be a drama of moral choice and courage. Although adults will find Irene's tale moving, it is appropriately published as a young adult book. Her experiences while still in her teens remind adolescents everywhere that their actions count, that the power to make a difference is in their hands. --Wendy Smith

From Publishers Weekly

Even among WWII memoirsAa genre studded with extraordinary storiesAthis autobiography looms large, a work of exceptional substance and style. Opdyke, born in 1922 to a Polish Catholic family, was a 17-year-old nursing student when Germany invaded her country in 1939. She spent a year tending to the ragtag remnants of a Polish military unit, hiding out in the forest with them; was captured and raped by Russians; was forced to work in a Russian military hospital; escaped and lived under a false identity in a village near Kiev; and was recaptured by the Russians. But her most remarkable adventures were still to come. Back in her homeland, she, like so many Poles, was made to serve the German army, and she eventually became a waitress in an officers' dining hall. She made good use of her positionArisking her life, she helped Jews in the ghetto by passing along vital information, smuggling in food and helping them escape to the forest. When she was made the housekeeper of a German major, she used his villa to hide 12 JewsAand, at enormous personal cost, kept them safe throughout the war. In translating Opdyke's experiences to memoir (see Children's Books, June 14), Armstrong and Opdyke demonstrate an almost uncanny power to place readers in the young Irene's shoes. Even as the authors handily distill the complexities of the military and political conditions of wartime Poland, they present Irene as simultaneously strong and vulnerableAa likable flesh-and-blood woman rather than a saint. Telling details, eloquent in their understatement, render Irene's shock at German atrocities and the gradually built foundation of her heroic resistance. Metaphors weave in and out, simultaneously providing a narrative structure and offering insight into Irene's experiences. Readers will be rivetedAand no one can fail to be inspired by Opdyke's courage. Ages 10-up. (Aug.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers; 1st edition (August 17, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679891811
• ISBN-13: 978-0679891819
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (93 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #510,529 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hope for a Cynical World, April 23, 2001

By	The Rev. Dr. Daniel J. G. G. Block (Medford, Wisconsin United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer (Paperback)

Engrossing! I read this book in one sitting, because I could not bear to put it down. I'm not easily moved, but Ms. Opdyke's story of life as a young woman in Nazi occupied Poland moved me. I don't easily cry, but I shamelessly cried several times while reading this book.

This is an inspiring tale of courage and resistence in the face of unambiguous evil. It is also the hope-filled story of grace found among the most surprising of individuals: two Soviet physicians consipring to help a young prisoner of war to escape; a Wehrmacht Officer's Club manager blithely feeding slave laborers with luxuries intended for the "master race;" a simple Ukranian priest openly preaching resistence; a Nazi officer sheltering Jews in the basement of his villa!

Above all, this is a story of choices: a story of ordinary people immersed in a living hell, who chose to keep faith with each other, their ideals, their country, and their God.

In a time when too many among us seek to avoid responsibility, here we find the story of a young woman who willingly took responsibility for herself and dozens of others. In a time when politicians conveniently twist "values education" to their own advantage, here we find the story of a woman whose religious and ethical heritage repeatedly demanded the best of her, even under the most dangerous of circumstances. Here we find a heroine on the order of Oscar Schindler or Raul Wallenburg. This life-affirming tale demonstrates that even under the most extreme circumstances, one righteous person can still change the world for the better. For that reason alone, this book is worth reading.

If you have been wounded too often, and have become just a little too cynical about the world, read this book. If you enjoy a thrilling adventure story, laced with romance, read this book. If you want to inspire a child (especially a girl) to greater moral courage, read this book with her. If you wish to remember that glimmers of light shone through the darkness that engulfed the world from 1939 to 1945, read this book.

Read this book.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A True "Profile of Courage", May 27, 2000

By	Stefanie Pawelczyk (Baltimore, MD, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am so grateful for having read this book. It was deeply moving. I am a seventeen year old girl, as Irene was when the war began, and I cannot even imagine having to experience all of things she did....being raped, a mistress, etc. I admire this woman so much, her courage and determination are one in a billion. It's incomprehensible to know what she went through during those dreadful years, yet through it all her faith is what helped her to survive. I will never forget this book for as long as live...I've read so many books, and I have to admit that I think this one has truly moved me the most. I've read many Holocaust stories as well, but this had a profound effect on me. Please read this book--you'll gain not only a better insight of World War II and the Holocaust, but also how to appreciate life more and realize how much you take for granted.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An unforgetable story, February 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer (Library Binding)

I have to say that I came upon this book by accident. I am an avid reader of WWII. I was completely impressed by the life of Irene. I could not put this book down and when I was done it made me yearn for more. The reason for the 4 star review, is that I felt that the book rushed to an ending and could have elaborated more on her partisan days. I could have read another 300 pages. This story had to be told and should be used as a teaching tool in all highschools. I would love to have a sequel to this compelling book. To the author, please bring us more of this lady's fascinating life. These stories must never be forgotten.