My Survival: A Girl on Schindler's List

by Joshua M. Greene, Rena Finder

Overview

The astonishing true story of a girl who survived the Holocaust thanks to Oskar Schindler, of Schindler's List fame.

Rena Finder was only eleven when the Nazis forced her and her family -- along with all the other Jewish families -- into the ghetto in Krakow, Poland. Rena worked as a slave laborer with scarcely any food and watched as friends and family were sent away.

Then Rena and her mother ended up working for Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who employed Jewish prisoners in his factory and kept them fed and healthy. But Rena's nightmares were not over. She and her mother were deported to the concentration camp Auschwitz. With great cunning, it was Schindler who set out to help them escape.

Here in her own words is Rena's gripping story of survival, perseverance, tragedy, and hope. Including pictures from Rena's personal collection and from the time period, this unforgettable memoir introduces young readers to an astounding and necessary piece of history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338593808
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	12/26/2019
Sold by:	Scholastic, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	144
Sales rank:	544,036
File size:	17 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Rena Finder was born in Krakow, Poland, and survived the Holocaust. Following the war, Rena moved to the United States with her husband, where she raised a family. Rena has dedicated herself to teaching about "history's darkest hour" and about the need to always speak out against injustice. She has shared her story with schools, colleges, and synagogues over the years, and she is a founding survivor of Facing History and Ourselves.
Joshua M. Greene produces books and films about the Holocaust. His documentaries have been broadcast in twenty countries and his books translated into eight languages. He has taught Holocaust history for Fordham and Hofstra Universities. He lives in Old Westbury, New York.

Read an Excerpt

In October 1944, guards marched me, my mother, and the other Schindler women to a train station and shoved us into boxcars. Guards shut the big wooden doors, and the train left the station. There was no water, food, bathroom, or windows, or even much oxygen, but we believed the train was taking us to Oskar's new factory in Czechoslovakia. So we tolerated the overcrowding, hunger, and foul smells as best we could.After several hours, the train stopped. It was late at night. The doors opened, and a blinding spotlight hit our eyes. When our sight adjusted, we saw barbed-wire fences stretching in both directions. There was a terrible stench like rotting meat. German soldiers stood before us with rifles and dogs. I looked up and saw a sign that read AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU.We had heard rumors about this place. It was said to be a killing center where Jews were murdered in gas chambers, and their bodies burned in crematoria ovens. There must be a mistake, we told ourselves. We work for Oskar Schindler. Why were we in Auschwitz?"Everyone off the train!" guards yelled. "Raus! Quickly!"

Editorial Reviews

Praise for My Survival: A Girl on Schindler's List

"A straightforward and accessible Holocaust survivor's memoir shows Oskar Schindler through the eyes of a young person he saved... Rena, now 90, is a Holocaust educator, and her matter-of-fact narration reflects this. She urges readers, "when you see a bully, do something. Go get help." A vital look at one complicated man's unwillingness to be complicit." — Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

12/01/2019

Gr 5–8—Rena Finder, a 90-year-old Holocaust survivor, challenges readers to "stand up for the innocent" in her remarkable memoir. The beloved daughter of a medical supply salesman in Poland, Rena spent her early years surrounded by her close-knit extended family. In 1939, the German army invaded Poland. Conditions for Rena and her family quickly deteriorated as the Nazis placed increasing restrictions on members of the Jewish community, eventually sending them to the Krakow ghetto. Finder credits her wartime survival to Oskar Schindler, a businessman and member of the Nazi party, who was later immortalized in Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List. Despite his political affiliation, Schindler went to great lengths to protect Jewish workers at his factories. Finder openly depicts the horror of genocide: her grandparents being shot by the Nazis, the chilling murder of children at a Krakow orphanage, and the reality of the gas chambers at Auschwitz. The book is a quick read and has a significant amount of action. It will be an easy sell to reluctant readers, particularly because of the slim size. Family photographs unearthed from Finder's childhood attic at the end of the war are included in the book. VERDICT A good purchase for all libraries. An important reminder about the Holocaust, especially for reluctant readers or children with an interest in World War II literature.—Jennifer Knight, North Olympic Library System, Port Angeles, WA

School Library Journal

2019-09-15
A straightforward and accessible Holocaust survivor's memoir shows Oskar Schindler through the eyes of a young person he saved.

Before the Nazi invasion, Rena's Jewish family members are patriotic Poles; her uncle had been a decorated war hero. After the occupation, the everyday anti-Semitism 10-year-old Rena has faced all her life is replaced with something terrifyingly worse. The anti-Jewish laws start small: curfews, forbidding bank accounts, requiring hard-to-obtain work permits, deportations. The local non-Jewish Poles ignore the horrible treatment of their neighbors, looking away during mass arrests. The Nazis' crimes escalate until the Jews are locked in the Krakow ghetto, then eventually deported to concentration or death camps. Rena is nearly murdered as well—in fact, she is briefly taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau—but she manages to get herself and her mother on Oskar Schindler's list. Rena credits the quiet heroism of Emilie and Oskar Schindler with saving herself and nearly 1,200 Jews from Nazi atrocities. She recounts that Oskar's original goal in obtaining imprisoned Jewish workers for his munitions factory was saving money, but he and Emilie risked their lives and spent their fortune protecting their workers. Rena, now 90, is a Holocaust educator, and her matter-of-fact narration reflects this. She urges readers, "when you see a bully, do something. Go get help."

A vital look at one complicated man's unwillingness to be complicit. (photos) (Memoir. 11-14)

Kirkus Reviews