Overview

They tried to erase her. Instead, she became a legend. At just seven years old, Edna Szurek risked everything to smuggle food through holes in the Warsaw Ghetto wall, knowing each step could be her last. By the age of 10, she was the youngest decorated member of the Polish resistance. And by the end of the war, she had defied every Nazi plan for her destruction. Though she fought armed with a pistol, Edna's true weapons were wit, bravery, and an unshakable love for her sister. Disguised as a Catholic girl, she even earned a medal from Pope Pius XII, who never knew he was honoring a Jewish child who had outsmarted the Reich. Drawn from over five hours of her firsthand testimony recorded by the USC Shoah Foundation, this powerful memoir traces Edna's impossible journey: from the ashes of a shattered birthday celebration to the brutal reality of a POW camp, escaping the deadly confines of the Warsaw Ghetto to find the hidden safety of a convent sanctuary. Edna Szurek should not have survived the Holocaust. But she did. And her story will stay with you forever.

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9789493418646

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Reviews

""A haunting and beautifully rendered memoir that ensures the voices of survivors will never fade into silence."" - Dr. Michael Berenbaum, Holocaust scholar and Director Sigi Ziering Institute, American Jewish University

Author Information

Janet Bond Brill was born and raised in New York City, the daughter of a prominent stage and screen actor and a psychoanalyst. After graduating from Walden School at 16 and earning her B.S. in Biology from the University of Miami, she spent seven years as a flight attendant for Pan American World Airways before returning to academia.Dr. Brill holds a PhD in Exercise Science from the University of Miami, along with two master's degrees, one in Exercise Science from the University of Miami and another in Nutrition Science from Florida International University. She is the author of four nationally recognized health books, including Cholesterol Down and Blood Pressure Down, published by Random House, as well as numerous scientific papers and articles for lay publications. Her scientific training taught her to meticulously research and document evidence, skills she applied to preserving Edna's testimony with historical accuracy.For 37 years, Dr. Brill knew and loved her mother-in-law, Holocaust survivor and WWII child hero, Edna Stefania Brill. Their profound bond and Edna's trust in sharing her story inspired Dr. Brill to move from health writing to historical memoir, determined to record Edna's experiences for future generations: her first memoir and her most important work.Dr. Brill has twice presented Edna's story at the Pacific Lutheran University Powell-Heller Conference for Holocaust Education, honoring her promise to ensure that Edna's experiences will never be forgotten. She believes that preserving survivor testimony is essential not only to honor those who perished and those who survived, but also to illuminate the catastrophic consequences of unchecked hatred and to awaken humanity's obligation to stand against it.Dr. Brill lives in Pennsylvania with her husband Sam, Edna's son. Together they have three children, Rachel, Mia, and Jason, with Mia named for Edna's sister Miriam. They also have two grandchildren who carry forward their great-grandmother's legacy into the next generation.

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