Survivors

Compiling stories of survival alongside multi-generational family portraits and photos of war relics, Auerbach (Mothers on Earth) offers a personal account of the Jewish fight against annihilation during and after World War II. From France to Poland, the 29 tales cover the expanse of continental Europe. With a focus on Zionist survivors, the volume presents a constellation of international voices all striving toward a shared goal: to make aliyah into Israel. Each entry presents a survivor's story alongside their portrait in black-and-white. Most of the accounts are autobiographical, others were written by relatives. Pictures of toys, religious artifacts, and family heirlooms bring a domestic, quiet quality to the harrowing text. "It is amazing what power is concealed within an object, the multitude of memories that emerge from it and how terrible are the pictures folded up inside one small, innocent-looking little object."Auerbach uses railway lines as a motif throughout the book, heightening the reflective mood. The book is a moving snapshot of life growing over the ravages of war. As one survivor writes: "I married Leah and started a family, two sons%E2%80%A6 and six grandchildren%E2%80%A6 I felt that was my revenge against them." Photos. (Oct.)