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I Light A Candle
Out of the ashes of the Nazi concentration camps came an extraordinary love story which caught the public's imagination at the end of World War II. This autobiography tells how the author survived the camps and met her husband, a sergeant working for British intelligence, when he arrived to round up the SS guards for interrogation. Norman Turgel, then a young man, was amongst the first to enter the camp on 15 April 1945, and like so many battle-hardened soldiers, was deeply shocked and angered by the human suffering and degradation he witnessed. Yet it was here, in the midst of the living evidence of the most terrible suffering that man has ever inflicted on his fellow human beings, that he fell in love at first sight. Gena, a young Polish Jewish inmate of the camp, who had experienced indescribable loss, hardship and deprivation, was to survive and find happiness against all odds. This is Gena's story: the autobiography of a woman whose strength of spirit enabled her to keep her mother alive and thereby save herself.
When Gena married Norman in Germany in October 1945 in a wedding dress made of British parachute silk, the British Army Rabbi proclaimed their love a symbol of hope after so much death. But Gena still lights a candle in memory of her three brothers and two sisters who died in the Holocaust. And whilst her own story has a happy ending, she can never forget.
When Gena married Norman in Germany in October 1945 in a wedding dress made of British parachute silk, the British Army Rabbi proclaimed their love a symbol of hope after so much death. But Gena still lights a candle in memory of her three brothers and two sisters who died in the Holocaust. And whilst her own story has a happy ending, she can never forget.
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
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About the author
Gena Turgel
1 book3 followersGena Turgel was a Polish author, educator and Holocaust survivor. She survived the bombing of Poland and Bergen-Belsen concentration camp where she nursed a dying Anne Frank.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 25, 2021
This book is a little different than most holocaust memoirs. Although Turgel lived through the same hell as the other authors of Auschwitz/Belsen accounts, I found that the ordeal did not come through with the same intensity as it does in most of the other books I have read. I think that this is because Turgel has diffused a lot of the horror with personal and family history: for instance, her marriage to one of her British liberators and her celebrity as the Bride of Belsen on her arrival in England. In my opinion she gives a little too much print to her very needy mother who also survived the camps and lived with Turgel and her husband for 27 years after liberation.
Interestingly, a couple of chapters are provided by her husband Norman in which he recounts the circumstances of their meeting.
This is a worthwhile read with a more or less happy outcome, or at least not as heartbreaking as most holocaust memoirs.
Interestingly, a couple of chapters are provided by her husband Norman in which he recounts the circumstances of their meeting.
This is a worthwhile read with a more or less happy outcome, or at least not as heartbreaking as most holocaust memoirs.
January 2, 2010
At first I find the book boring, thanks to my mom who really keep on insisting that i have to read it so i said OK I'm going to give it a try.. It doesn't just entertain me but most especially it taught me an important lesson, we should treasure what we have for a moment because we never know, how fast the world change. My heart still aches whenever i remember the story especially in the gas chamber chapter but I'm also amaze how love find its way in that kind of situation, i have recomend and will still recommend this book because I believe we need it as an eye opener to respect every individual because we are all created equal. we don't want another event such as this to happen. aren't we?
July 25, 2012
I read this book about 15years ago. I was a teenager then and I remember how much this book moved me. Would recommend it and I'm going to read it again soon. So many books so little time :-)
March 20, 2018
I LOVED this book.
April 10, 2021
I Light a Candle is by Gena Turgel. Gena is a Holocaust survivor who now lived in England. After her liberation, she met and married Norman Turgel who was in the liberating force. Her story is one of horror, bravery, love, friendship, and fate. Writing her book has been difficult for her as has her speaking about her struggles in the camps. However, she feels that it is her duty to continue to speak so that those who were born after this tragedy would know that it did happen and that it could happen again. Her memories are a part of her that she cannot forget and cannot ignore. Her book is so compelling that I could not put it down. She and her husband are an inspiration to people who live through tragedies to emulate.
Gena was born February 1, 1923 to Samuel and Estera Goldfinger in Cracow (now Kracow), Poland. She was the youngest of nine children, five boys and four girls. They were an affluent middle-class family who ran a small textile business. She wasn’t close to her older siblings because they were so much older. The eldest, Herman was 20 years older than she was. She and her older sister Miriam (a year older) were extremely close and were often mistaken for twins. Her oldest sister Sala, her sister Hela, and their brother Willek were still living at home while the older ones were working and some married when the war broke out.
Her parents were very charitable and social. They were both religious and kept a traditional Jewish home; but they were also assimilated to some extent. They had both Jewish and non-Jewish friends and incorporated some Christian holidays into their Jewish ones so as to include those friends. Her father died when she was eight and Mother ran the business and brought up the children. The children’s education was paramount to their mother and they all attended a Protestant “evangelical” grammar school where they learned German and French. Mother also had them speaking German at home since she was of Austrian descent. The older children had a tutor in English when Gena was about 12 and she learned two sentences in English by listening to them. They were “The sky is blue.” And “The sun is shining.” Their paternal grandfather lived in Cracow and ran a bakery. Her maternal grandfather lived in a small town outside Cracow was well-educated and well-thought of in town. He died at the age of 104. She points out that her maternal great-grandfather lived to be 114 and her Mother lived to the age of 99. (She herself was 98 on February 1, 2021).
Her life changed drastically when she was 12. The Germans invaded Poland and began their curtailment of Jewish freedoms and their persecution began. They had planned to go to Chicago where their Mother’s cousin, Dr. Thorek, an eminent doctor, lived. However, they waited too long and were caught in the Nazi web. Her brother Janek had been called into the Polish army and eventually was taken as POW. However, he escaped and returned home to his wife and young son. They were all transported to Auschwitz and were killed. Herman and Soul, who lived in another town were not heard of for a long town. Herman and his wife and three children were shot and Soul headed for the Soviet Union where he was sent to a camp where he worked as an accountant. He and his wife were well-treated and allowed to return to Poland after the war. Once there, they emigrated to Israel. Marcus was captured and spent time in a concentration camp; but eventually was reunited with her in England. Her sister Sala tried to run but was captured and sent to a concentration camp where she died. Willek, Hela, Miriam, Gena, and their Mother were placed in the Cracow Ghetto. Willek was killed while helping a friend get something down from the top of a wardrobe. A Nazi fired on him through the window. Miriam’s husband was taken on a roundup and Miriam was granted permission to say goodbye to him. They clung together and were shot. Hela, Gena, and their Mother were eventually sent to Plaszov (her spelling) concentration camp where her true horrors began.
Her time in Plaszov, Auschwitz, and Bergen-Belsen are all noted and talked about in her book. It is for this reason that the book is so difficult to read. Although I am sure she doesn’t begin to touch on the horrors that happened to her and around her, she tells enough to make the reader need to take a break from reading. I felt guilty about this because she never got a break from any of it. My admiration for her rose as I read each page.
The book is well worth reading. Although it isn’t a large book, only 160 pages, it is powerful. Her husband adds a chapter and the epilogue which are insightful as well.
It deserves at least 10 stars!
Gena was born February 1, 1923 to Samuel and Estera Goldfinger in Cracow (now Kracow), Poland. She was the youngest of nine children, five boys and four girls. They were an affluent middle-class family who ran a small textile business. She wasn’t close to her older siblings because they were so much older. The eldest, Herman was 20 years older than she was. She and her older sister Miriam (a year older) were extremely close and were often mistaken for twins. Her oldest sister Sala, her sister Hela, and their brother Willek were still living at home while the older ones were working and some married when the war broke out.
Her parents were very charitable and social. They were both religious and kept a traditional Jewish home; but they were also assimilated to some extent. They had both Jewish and non-Jewish friends and incorporated some Christian holidays into their Jewish ones so as to include those friends. Her father died when she was eight and Mother ran the business and brought up the children. The children’s education was paramount to their mother and they all attended a Protestant “evangelical” grammar school where they learned German and French. Mother also had them speaking German at home since she was of Austrian descent. The older children had a tutor in English when Gena was about 12 and she learned two sentences in English by listening to them. They were “The sky is blue.” And “The sun is shining.” Their paternal grandfather lived in Cracow and ran a bakery. Her maternal grandfather lived in a small town outside Cracow was well-educated and well-thought of in town. He died at the age of 104. She points out that her maternal great-grandfather lived to be 114 and her Mother lived to the age of 99. (She herself was 98 on February 1, 2021).
Her life changed drastically when she was 12. The Germans invaded Poland and began their curtailment of Jewish freedoms and their persecution began. They had planned to go to Chicago where their Mother’s cousin, Dr. Thorek, an eminent doctor, lived. However, they waited too long and were caught in the Nazi web. Her brother Janek had been called into the Polish army and eventually was taken as POW. However, he escaped and returned home to his wife and young son. They were all transported to Auschwitz and were killed. Herman and Soul, who lived in another town were not heard of for a long town. Herman and his wife and three children were shot and Soul headed for the Soviet Union where he was sent to a camp where he worked as an accountant. He and his wife were well-treated and allowed to return to Poland after the war. Once there, they emigrated to Israel. Marcus was captured and spent time in a concentration camp; but eventually was reunited with her in England. Her sister Sala tried to run but was captured and sent to a concentration camp where she died. Willek, Hela, Miriam, Gena, and their Mother were placed in the Cracow Ghetto. Willek was killed while helping a friend get something down from the top of a wardrobe. A Nazi fired on him through the window. Miriam’s husband was taken on a roundup and Miriam was granted permission to say goodbye to him. They clung together and were shot. Hela, Gena, and their Mother were eventually sent to Plaszov (her spelling) concentration camp where her true horrors began.
Her time in Plaszov, Auschwitz, and Bergen-Belsen are all noted and talked about in her book. It is for this reason that the book is so difficult to read. Although I am sure she doesn’t begin to touch on the horrors that happened to her and around her, she tells enough to make the reader need to take a break from reading. I felt guilty about this because she never got a break from any of it. My admiration for her rose as I read each page.
The book is well worth reading. Although it isn’t a large book, only 160 pages, it is powerful. Her husband adds a chapter and the epilogue which are insightful as well.
It deserves at least 10 stars!
July 26, 2020
I would have given 5 stars for the story which deserves even higher than 5. But I can only give 3 stars because the writing was really bad.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews