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    Rena's Promise

    A Story of Sisters in Auschwitz

    Author Rena Kornreich Gelissen, Heather Dune Macadam
    Look inside
    Paperback
    $19.95 US
    Beacon Press
    On sale Mar 17, 2015 | 288 Pages | 9780807093139
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    An expanded edition of the powerful memoir about two sisters' determination to survive during the Holocaust featuring new and never before revealed information about the first transport of women to Auschwitz

    In March 1942, Rena Kornreich and 997 other young women were rounded up and forced onto the first Jewish transport of women to Auschwitz. Soon after, Rena was reunited with her sister Danka at the camp, beginning a story of love and courage that would last three years and forty-one days. From smuggling bread for their friends to narrowly escaping the ever-present threats that loomed at every turn, the compelling events in Rena’s Promise remind us that humanity and hope can survive inordinate brutality.
    CONTENTS

    Preface to the Expanded Edition xi
    Prologue xix
    Chapter One Rena 1
    Chapter Two Tylicz 8
    Chapter Three Slovakia 32
    Chapter Four Auschwitz 53
    Chapter Five Birkenau (Auschwitz II) 91
    Chapter Six Stabsgebaude (Staff quarters) 183
    Chapter Seven Neustadt Glewe 234
    Epilogue 244
    Acknowledgements 256
    Bibliography 259
    Study Guide 261
    Heather Dune Macadam (Hampton Bays, New York) is a writer and educator, and the director and president of the Rena’s Promise International Creative Writing Camp. She divides her time between New York and Herefordshire, England.
    Rena Kornreich Gelissen View titles by Rena Kornreich Gelissen
    Heather Dune Macadam View titles by Heather Dune Macadam

    Educator Guide for Rena's Promise

    Classroom-based guides appropriate for schools and colleges provide pre-reading and classroom activities, discussion questions connected to the curriculum, further reading, and resources.

    (Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

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    "Rena’s Promise is written with simplicity and grace. . . . The overwhelming feeling upon finishing is one of triumph: It is still possible to find selflessness and human connection among people living in a place of relentless horror."—Los Angeles Times Book Review

    “A poignant and important act of remembrance.” —Sir Martin Gilbert, author of The Holocaust: The Human Tragedy

    “An extraordinary book, vividly written and generously told. You will not easily forget Rena Kornreich and her sister Danka. Nor should you. Harrowing as it often is, this is less a tragedy than a love story. By turns soul-wrenching, inspiring, and heartbreaking, this is a tale that should live long beyond the wonderful woman who inspired it.” —Alexandra Fuller, author of Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight

    “Through her actions during and after the Shoah, Rena Kornreich Gelissen ensured that out of the darkest night, the light of the survivors and their memory remained. Faced with destruction, she and the Jewish people survived.” —Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

    “Rena’s Promise went with us on the Zen Peacemakers’ first pilgrimage to Auschwitz in 1996. On our first night together, one of our monks shared a simple message of love from Rena to us. Her message changed our lives.” —Peter Matthiessen, author of In Paradise
     
    “One of the most accurate accounts, and the only account of the first women’s camp in Auschwitz. This is a book historians will refer to for years to come.” —Irena Strezlecka, director, Auschwitz Museum of Women, Oswiecim, Poland

    About

    An expanded edition of the powerful memoir about two sisters' determination to survive during the Holocaust featuring new and never before revealed information about the first transport of women to Auschwitz

    In March 1942, Rena Kornreich and 997 other young women were rounded up and forced onto the first Jewish transport of women to Auschwitz. Soon after, Rena was reunited with her sister Danka at the camp, beginning a story of love and courage that would last three years and forty-one days. From smuggling bread for their friends to narrowly escaping the ever-present threats that loomed at every turn, the compelling events in Rena’s Promise remind us that humanity and hope can survive inordinate brutality.

    Table of Contents

    CONTENTS

    Preface to the Expanded Edition xi
    Prologue xix
    Chapter One Rena 1
    Chapter Two Tylicz 8
    Chapter Three Slovakia 32
    Chapter Four Auschwitz 53
    Chapter Five Birkenau (Auschwitz II) 91
    Chapter Six Stabsgebaude (Staff quarters) 183
    Chapter Seven Neustadt Glewe 234
    Epilogue 244
    Acknowledgements 256
    Bibliography 259
    Study Guide 261

    Author

    Heather Dune Macadam (Hampton Bays, New York) is a writer and educator, and the director and president of the Rena’s Promise International Creative Writing Camp. She divides her time between New York and Herefordshire, England.
    Rena Kornreich Gelissen View titles by Rena Kornreich Gelissen
    Heather Dune Macadam View titles by Heather Dune Macadam

    Guides

    Educator Guide for Rena's Promise

    Classroom-based guides appropriate for schools and colleges provide pre-reading and classroom activities, discussion questions connected to the curriculum, further reading, and resources.

    (Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

    Read More

    Praise

    "Rena’s Promise is written with simplicity and grace. . . . The overwhelming feeling upon finishing is one of triumph: It is still possible to find selflessness and human connection among people living in a place of relentless horror."—Los Angeles Times Book Review

    “A poignant and important act of remembrance.” —Sir Martin Gilbert, author of The Holocaust: The Human Tragedy

    “An extraordinary book, vividly written and generously told. You will not easily forget Rena Kornreich and her sister Danka. Nor should you. Harrowing as it often is, this is less a tragedy than a love story. By turns soul-wrenching, inspiring, and heartbreaking, this is a tale that should live long beyond the wonderful woman who inspired it.” —Alexandra Fuller, author of Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight

    “Through her actions during and after the Shoah, Rena Kornreich Gelissen ensured that out of the darkest night, the light of the survivors and their memory remained. Faced with destruction, she and the Jewish people survived.” —Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

    “Rena’s Promise went with us on the Zen Peacemakers’ first pilgrimage to Auschwitz in 1996. On our first night together, one of our monks shared a simple message of love from Rena to us. Her message changed our lives.” —Peter Matthiessen, author of In Paradise
     
    “One of the most accurate accounts, and the only account of the first women’s camp in Auschwitz. This is a book historians will refer to for years to come.” —Irena Strezlecka, director, Auschwitz Museum of Women, Oswiecim, Poland

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