In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer by Irene Gut Opdyke

In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer

Irene Gut Opdyke

Random House Children's Books · Print & ebook · March 8, 2016

A Nonfiction pick for readers exploring In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer.

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Who it’s for
A firsthand memoir brings the choices and costs of resistance into intimate focus.
Themes
Holocaust resistance, Individual courage, Rescuing and sheltering Jews
Genres
Holocaust History for Teens, Lives in History, Wars & Military History for Teens

About this book

"No matter how many Holocaust stories one has read, this one is a must, for its impact is so powerful."--School Library Journal, starred I did not ask myself, "Should I do this?" but "How will I do this?" Through this intimate and compelling memoir, we are witness to the growth of a hero. Much like The Diary of Anne Frank, In My Hands has become a profound testament to individual courage.

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You must understand that I did not become a resistance fighter, a smuggler of Jews, a defierof the SS and the Nazis, all at once. When the war began, Irene Gut was just seventeen: a student nurse, a Polish patriot, a good Catholic girl. Forced to work in a German officiers' dining hall, she learns how to fight back. One's first steps are always small: I had begun by hiding food under a fence. Irene eavesdropped on the German's plans. She smuggled people out of the work camp. And she hid twelve Jews in the basement of a Nazi major's home. To deliver her friends from evil, this young woman did whatever it took--even the impossible.

Courage, Close Up

A firsthand memoir brings the choices and costs of resistance into intimate focus.

Come here for

  • A young rescuer’s perspective on courage under Nazi rule
  • A personal lens on Holocaust history

Expect

  • An intimate memoir, not a distant overview
  • A sober account of danger and difficult choices

Where it sits

Holocaust History for Teens93%
Wars & Military History for Teens80%
Lives in History76%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Lives in History
  • Holocaust History for Teens
  • Violence for Teens
Authors
Irene Gut Opdyke
Publisher
Random House Children's Books
Published
March 8, 2016
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
Holocaust resistance · Individual courage · Rescuing and sheltering Jews
Reading lane
Lives in History