What do you think?
Rate this book
I am Ella: A remarkable story of survival, from Auschwitz to Africa
Ella Blumenthal’s story of surviving the Holocaust and building a new life in South Africa is a lesson in resilience, attitude and joy. From the dying embers of the Warsaw Ghetto to the gas chambers of the Nazi concentration camps; from Poland to Paris, Palestine and eventually Cape Town; from stateless refugee to community pillar, Ella’s 100 years of life have been nothing short of herculean.
After decades, Ella is finally ready to tell her full story to bestselling author Joanne Jowell.
After decades, Ella is finally ready to tell her full story to bestselling author Joanne Jowell.
- GenresBiography
367 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 3, 2023
24 people are currently reading
87 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 1, 2023
I don’t easily give a book 5, but wow!!!
A difficult story, so sympathetically written.
Ella is not a survivor, she is an overcomer. 🙌🙌
May God bless her and her family. 🙏
A difficult story, so sympathetically written.
Ella is not a survivor, she is an overcomer. 🙌🙌
May God bless her and her family. 🙏
June 8, 2023
“I am Ella” by Joanne Jowell on Holocaust survivor Ella Blumenthal is a truly remarkable book. Now 103 years old Ella has revealed to Jowell the horrors she survived in the Holocaust, the spirit of hope that never left her, the remaking of a life that shows her extraordinary resilience, as well as sharing her thoughts and humour in an intimate and moving account. Inspirational in its message of joy and hope, here is a survivor story that, like so many others, lay unspoken for many decades. It was only some 15 years ago that Ella started speaking of what she had endured; since then she has addressed many audiences in her own feisty style, ensuring that her story lives on.
It was in 2017 that Jowell was approached by Ella’s daughter, Evelyn Kaplan, to help the family record Blumenthal’s story for her children and grandchildren and future generations. It was not until 2020 that Jowell sat down to tackle the project. After 22 interviews over some 45 hours of conversation and the cementing of a warm relationship this was the time to write. And it was clear that this was a book that needed wider publication than just family. How privileged we are to read this.
There is no doubt that it became deeply personal to Jowell, as perhaps it might become to many Jewish people. There is perhaps something in our DNA, the generations of slaughter, displacement and horror that make us identify with survivors, however far removed we might be. Jowell writes in her Author’s note of how, when gazing at an iconic Holocaust photo ‘Warsaw Ghetto Boy’, she sees to the side, a little girl looking directly at the camera, ‘a misplaced serenity in this haze of brutal commotion’. She has a moment of eerie recognition - of herself at that age in similar dress celebrating Purim. This story reminds us that it could have been any one of us ‘Perhaps in another incarnation it WAS me’ and that this history belongs to each individual.
In a recent Jewish Report interview, Jowell states that ‘My own style of non-fiction writing is to include myself as a character. I occupy the place of the reader. I can ask the hard questions, probe deeply, follow tangents, and offer multiple perspectives to create the most rounded account of a long and full life.’ In this way she sees her writing as adding dimension and depth as the reader builds their own relationship with the feisty, fearless Ella.
And relationship is apt. By the time I finished the book I had, by proxy, enjoyed tea, tasted Ella’s famous biscuits, laughed and cried with her as the stories came tumbling out, and placed a hand on my heart that the Holocaust horrors are never repeated. Add to that the story behind Ella’s name and why the simple title “I am Ella’ is in fact ‘complex and layered, a declaration of strength and a statement of identity.’ says Jowell
It is an emotional account and yet Jowell is in control all along the way. Ella’s shards of memory are sometimes haphazard and yet Jowell has carefully, scrupulously placed them in context, building the whole picture in a way that draws the reader into Ella’s life, through her own words. We hear her loud and clear. A truly courageous woman, Ella is known for her outspokenness in her community, and she tells it like it is.
Jowell allows us to enter this sacred space of memory and take the steps with the young Ella leaning to swim in the river near her home – swimming is a lifelong passion. We hear the laughter and warmth of her large family as the youngest of seven children; we are privy to enter her home and share those special Judaic moments of memory. And we are with her as the horrors start and continue – herding into Warsaw Ghetto, activist underground, losing every member of her family, except her niece Roma to whom she became a protective surrogate mother. She was meant to survive; from ‘the gas chambers of Majdanek, the depravity of Auschwitz, and the utter hopelessness of Bergen Belsen,’ to liberation and the chance to rebuild her life.
That she was able to get from Paris to Palestine, meet her husband Isaac, settle in South Africa, have a large family and create a life of love, hard work and laughter, while holding her past in the archives of her memory is extraordinary.
Included in the narrative are interviews with her Cape Town family which reveal their closeness, the love and protectiveness of their matriarch and a very special relationship with granddaughter Jade. It is a frank, unsentimental and open account, skilfully woven together by Jowell. We are privileged to read this and remember. What struck me particularly was the fact that through Ella there are now 23 members of family – the same number as she lost in the Holocaust. Her mantra is to keep on telling her story, that all survival stories should be told to future generations so that we never forget. What the Nazis could not take away was her ‘ faith, hope and belief in Hashem…that is what saved us. That is what saved me. That is something I never lost’.
It was in 2017 that Jowell was approached by Ella’s daughter, Evelyn Kaplan, to help the family record Blumenthal’s story for her children and grandchildren and future generations. It was not until 2020 that Jowell sat down to tackle the project. After 22 interviews over some 45 hours of conversation and the cementing of a warm relationship this was the time to write. And it was clear that this was a book that needed wider publication than just family. How privileged we are to read this.
There is no doubt that it became deeply personal to Jowell, as perhaps it might become to many Jewish people. There is perhaps something in our DNA, the generations of slaughter, displacement and horror that make us identify with survivors, however far removed we might be. Jowell writes in her Author’s note of how, when gazing at an iconic Holocaust photo ‘Warsaw Ghetto Boy’, she sees to the side, a little girl looking directly at the camera, ‘a misplaced serenity in this haze of brutal commotion’. She has a moment of eerie recognition - of herself at that age in similar dress celebrating Purim. This story reminds us that it could have been any one of us ‘Perhaps in another incarnation it WAS me’ and that this history belongs to each individual.
In a recent Jewish Report interview, Jowell states that ‘My own style of non-fiction writing is to include myself as a character. I occupy the place of the reader. I can ask the hard questions, probe deeply, follow tangents, and offer multiple perspectives to create the most rounded account of a long and full life.’ In this way she sees her writing as adding dimension and depth as the reader builds their own relationship with the feisty, fearless Ella.
And relationship is apt. By the time I finished the book I had, by proxy, enjoyed tea, tasted Ella’s famous biscuits, laughed and cried with her as the stories came tumbling out, and placed a hand on my heart that the Holocaust horrors are never repeated. Add to that the story behind Ella’s name and why the simple title “I am Ella’ is in fact ‘complex and layered, a declaration of strength and a statement of identity.’ says Jowell
It is an emotional account and yet Jowell is in control all along the way. Ella’s shards of memory are sometimes haphazard and yet Jowell has carefully, scrupulously placed them in context, building the whole picture in a way that draws the reader into Ella’s life, through her own words. We hear her loud and clear. A truly courageous woman, Ella is known for her outspokenness in her community, and she tells it like it is.
Jowell allows us to enter this sacred space of memory and take the steps with the young Ella leaning to swim in the river near her home – swimming is a lifelong passion. We hear the laughter and warmth of her large family as the youngest of seven children; we are privy to enter her home and share those special Judaic moments of memory. And we are with her as the horrors start and continue – herding into Warsaw Ghetto, activist underground, losing every member of her family, except her niece Roma to whom she became a protective surrogate mother. She was meant to survive; from ‘the gas chambers of Majdanek, the depravity of Auschwitz, and the utter hopelessness of Bergen Belsen,’ to liberation and the chance to rebuild her life.
That she was able to get from Paris to Palestine, meet her husband Isaac, settle in South Africa, have a large family and create a life of love, hard work and laughter, while holding her past in the archives of her memory is extraordinary.
Included in the narrative are interviews with her Cape Town family which reveal their closeness, the love and protectiveness of their matriarch and a very special relationship with granddaughter Jade. It is a frank, unsentimental and open account, skilfully woven together by Jowell. We are privileged to read this and remember. What struck me particularly was the fact that through Ella there are now 23 members of family – the same number as she lost in the Holocaust. Her mantra is to keep on telling her story, that all survival stories should be told to future generations so that we never forget. What the Nazis could not take away was her ‘ faith, hope and belief in Hashem…that is what saved us. That is what saved me. That is something I never lost’.
May 10, 2023
What a poignant book! Absolutely beautiful. Jowell writes beautifully, easily transferring between her view and Ella's story. The story is amazing, and what was so special is that there is more to Ella's story beyond the concentration camps and horrible experience. I loved the ending where the three generation of Blumenthal woman shared their stories of living today and their view on Ella. I am grateful that the family agreed to have this published as it is a story that needed to be told. Excellent read!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 19, 2023
Joanne Jowell took on the task of capturing the powerhouse that is Ella Blumenthal between the pages of "I am Ella" and she did it so beautifully, that Ella appeared to be seated right next to me, sharing her story in her own words.
I spent a great deal of time feeling Ella's loss so deeply that it moved me to tears but I found her drive to push past every struggle empowering too.
Ella is a force and her story has left an imprint on my mind, and a thought that if Ella could overcome the greatest adversity, so can I!
She is an inspirational human and one I look forward to reading about time, and time again.
I spent a great deal of time feeling Ella's loss so deeply that it moved me to tears but I found her drive to push past every struggle empowering too.
Ella is a force and her story has left an imprint on my mind, and a thought that if Ella could overcome the greatest adversity, so can I!
She is an inspirational human and one I look forward to reading about time, and time again.
September 12, 2023
I Am Ella journeys through Ella’s early childhood to the horror she faced during World War 2 and beyond to the present day. I learned so much about what life after the war looked like for the survivors, which I feel is not often explored.
Ella’s story is incredible and I would encourage everyone to read her story!
Ella’s story is incredible and I would encourage everyone to read her story!
August 27, 2023
What an inspiring story! Jowell does an excellent job of sharing Ella’s story and I loved how she intertwined her own opinions on Ella’s words (and commentary) throughout the memoir. It made this memoir unique in that way.
November 4, 2023
Thank you Joanna for capturing this incredible woman’s tale and to her for generously and bravely sharing it with us. I learnt a lot (more) about the WW2 camps and the Jewish traditions and faith - thank you.
August 1, 2023
I am Ella by Joanne Jowell is the remarkable true story of Ella Blumenthal. She survived the Warsaw Ghetto, narrowly escaped with her life at the gas chambers of Majdanek, grabbed life by the horns and vouched to survive Auschwitz, and finally found herself at Bergen-Belsen.
Talk about resilience! She lost 23 of her family members in the Holocaust and went on to create a happy, fulfilled life for herself once she left Bergen-Belsen behind.
We meet Ella as Nechana (Hela), born on 15 August 1921 in Warsaw Poland. Since a child she was the one making plans on how to get to a wedding, showing her independence and zest for life, and never backing down from a challenge.
Prior to reading this book, I read “The Tattooist of Auschwitz” and found references in “I am Ella” which reminded me of “The Tattooist”. For one – Joseph Mengele – every time I read his name it would send shivers down my spine. The second reference – The Gypsy camp – and again I shed a tear at what happened to them.
I walked away from this book thinking about how much Hitler hated the Jewish nation, trying to wrap my head around what he and his fellow soldiers did! The atrocities are simply mind-boggling.
But, I am also left with a feeling of “you can’t break the Jewish nation”, and a renewed respect for them.
Through Ella’s resilience, she has built a life filled with joy and family! Her story takes us from Warsaw to Auschwitz to Africa, where she lives surrounded by people who love her.
My congratulations to the author Joanne Jowell.
Talk about resilience! She lost 23 of her family members in the Holocaust and went on to create a happy, fulfilled life for herself once she left Bergen-Belsen behind.
We meet Ella as Nechana (Hela), born on 15 August 1921 in Warsaw Poland. Since a child she was the one making plans on how to get to a wedding, showing her independence and zest for life, and never backing down from a challenge.
Prior to reading this book, I read “The Tattooist of Auschwitz” and found references in “I am Ella” which reminded me of “The Tattooist”. For one – Joseph Mengele – every time I read his name it would send shivers down my spine. The second reference – The Gypsy camp – and again I shed a tear at what happened to them.
I walked away from this book thinking about how much Hitler hated the Jewish nation, trying to wrap my head around what he and his fellow soldiers did! The atrocities are simply mind-boggling.
But, I am also left with a feeling of “you can’t break the Jewish nation”, and a renewed respect for them.
Through Ella’s resilience, she has built a life filled with joy and family! Her story takes us from Warsaw to Auschwitz to Africa, where she lives surrounded by people who love her.
My congratulations to the author Joanne Jowell.
December 2, 2023
Beautifully written. Deeply moving.
January 12, 2024
I really enjoyed learning about Ella, the terror she experienced and her amazingly positive attitude.
January 30, 2024
Ella's remarkable story of survival and Joanne Jowell's sensitive of retelling it turns Ella's life story into a history well worth reading.
November 29, 2024
A truly remarkable story. Ella is a legend. Wow!
January 23, 2024
That one woman could be through so much and still be positive is indeed remarkable
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews