Triumph of Hope: From Theresienstadt and Auschwitz to Israel

by Ruth Elias, Margot Bettauer Dembo (Translator)

Triumph of Hope From Theresienstadt and Auschwitz to Israel Now available in English, here is the award-winning and internationally acclaimed testament of a Jewish woman who was taken to Auschwitz while several months pregnant, where she was forced to confront perhaps the most agonizing choice ever imposed upon any woman, upon any human being . so that both she and her newborn infant should not die in a Nazi "medical" experiment personally conducted by the infamous Dr. Josef Mengele. And just as vividly, Ruth Elias recounts the aftermath of her imprisonment, and the difficult path to a new life in a new Israel, where new challenges, new obstacles awaited. "One of the most powerful memoirs provided to us by a survivor." --Indiana Jewish Post and Opinion "Well-written . not only provides a remarkably honest picture of the unspeakable reality of living in ghettos and slave-labor and death camps, but also what it meant to be Jewish in Europe. in the 1920s and 1930s.. This is one of the best Holocaust memoirs I have read." --Washington Jewish Week "The understated tone of this memoir adds to the author's powerful re-creation of her life as a young Czechoslovak Jewish woman during the Holocaust." --Publishers Weekly

Genres: Holocaust, History, Nonfiction, Memoir, Jewish, World War II, Biography

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[Meaghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A better-than-average Holocaust memoir. Ruth Elias spent some time in Theresienstadt, married there, and arrived in Auschwitz pregnant. Most pregnant women are gassed immediately, but they missed her condition, and she became adept at hiding it. When they did find out, she was very close to giving birth. The infamous Mengele decided to keep Ruth around to experiment how long a newborn baby will live without being fed. So he bound Ruth's breasts up so she couldn't nurse the child, and left them together for seven terrible days and nights. Seven days, seven nights that she watched her firstborn disintegrate and die. Wailing loudly the first few days, then its cries became weaker, like those of a kitten, then it became too weak even to cry. On the seventh day, a compassionate Jewish doctor risked her life to steal some morphine. She gave it to Ruth, who injected it into the baby and killed it painlessly. I defy any reader to get through those few pages without getting tears in their eyes.

That Ruth survived all that, and more, is a testimony to just how resilient and adaptable we humans are. It was a good book, very detailed, telling everything matter-of-fact and without self-pity. Ruth was the only survivor in her immediate family. Her husband survived, but she split with him and married another survivor who lost his wife and little daughter in Auschwitz.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

What makes a person able to endure such horror and hardship and come out the other side with their humanity intact. When I read books about the holocaust, or any other horrid situation, I am always amazed and inspired by the people who not only endure, but put their own lives on the line to help others. These kind of stories are so important as they demonstrate the power of kindness, caring and empathy.

[Jackie McClellan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very moving actual account from a survivor of the Holocaust. Her triumph over evil and horrible circumstances is a lesson to all.

[Eva-Marie Nevarez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like to read the blurbs on books. I like to see if I agree with the blurbs. Publishers Weekly says "The understated tone of this memoir adds to the author's powerful recreation of her life as a young Czechoslovak Jewish woman during the Holocaust." They forgot to add "pregnant".
Any victim of the Holocaust has seen and experienced things a person should never experience and never see. All Holocaust memoirs that pass through my hands are powerful in their own right. Even when a book doesn't coincide with how I like my books to read I can still appreciate the power inside.
The level of emotion inside this book is absolutely staggering. And I think, out of all the memoirs written by Holocaust survivors, I think I've never read one about a pregnant woman in a camp. Definitely not in this detail. I don't know how Mrs. Elias found the strength to write about that part of her life. Mrs. Elias' Holocaust experiences as a whole are horrifying but when she gave birth to her baby girl in appalling conditions and had to make an even more appalling choice for her and her baby - I cried. And I really cried. No woman, no man, no human should ever have to face this type of decision.
I don't believe there are many other books occupying our earth that can run through such a range of.... everything. I laughed out loud - loudly - at one part here and I cried at more than one part. I was maybe just a little in shock at a lot of parts.
There will always be so many important - and unanswered - questions. They'll never be answered so we're left to try to find the answers ourselves. Mrs. Elias should be applauded for writing this memoir and leaving it for future generations.
Her writing is very simple, very eloquent, and very, very powerful.
Sidenote: is it common knowledge that Ronald Reagan, in 1985, went to Bitburg to pay his respects..... to the graves of SS members? Is this shocking to only me? How utterly sad.

[Candise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a powerful book, but if you are pregnant I would put off reading it until later. It is one of the few stories i have ever read of pregnancy in the camps.
One of the most forceful points for me was that abortion was punishable by death (so no one dared perform one) yet everyone knew the baby would not be allowed to live after it was born. It is heartrending, but it is an important example of the idiocy of the thinking of the Nazis.
Cruelty and stupidity allowed free reign.

[Barbara Kinsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fantastic account of what the author suffered, especially in the concentration camps. It is so heart wrenching and at times, I thought it was unbelievable how any human being could treat these people so badly! What amazed me about the editing was that this book was translated to English in 1998 and one would expect then to have very poor editing but there were no mistakes! Well done to the Editor. I strongly recommend anybody who is interested in the Holocaust to read this book.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holocaust survivors’ memoirs are gifts. Absolutely invaluable.

Ruth’s is so aptly named. I especially like how much detail she shares in the first chapter about her pre-war life and family. She faced horrific experiences during her imprisonments that linger with you long after you read her story. But between the painful moments, she also recounts glimpses of light where she and her fellow prisoners were reminded of their dignity and humanity. She was resolved to live, to see a new world after the war and the Holocaust. Writing and sharing her story was a huge part of that future; now our present, and beyond.

I sought out Ruth’s memoir after seeing a clip from her oral history interview conducted by Claude Lanzmann for his film, “Shoah.” I recommend watching that full testimony as well.

[Yoursexylibrarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have enjoyed this book more had it stopped at the end of chapter 6. The last chapter and the epilogue detracted from the power of the rest of the book. Aside from this bit, this is a very well-written and detailed book on Ruth's Holocaust experiences.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brutally honest. Shocking, horrible. And even more so, afterwards...still being persecuted by the Czechs...and even in Israel, not welcomed, blamed, somehow for their existence. It was refreshing though to hear of her eventual happiness there and other children.

[Erin Woodall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was wonderfully written. She tells not only about being in the camps, but about life after and all the hardships to start living again. That is something most of the memoirs I have read did not discuss - trying to begin again.

[Susu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vom Leben der Familie in der Tschechoslowakei, eine kurze Zeit versteckt, dann Theresienstadt, Auschwitz, Arbeitslager - Befreiung und Rückkehr und Auswandern nach Israel. Ein minutiöser Tatsachenbericht einer Überlebenden.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heart breaking

[Kgparkhurst Parkhurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

An in depth amazing true story.

[Cynthia B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

a courageous well written book

This book was incredibly moving but also deeply disturbing account of the events as told by the author. The book moved me to tears several times but helped me to become even more intensely aware of the horrors of the concentration camps. The author was a true survivor and I am so sorry she had to endure what she did. Very sad time period and disgusting how systemic and brutal the treatment of those persecuted and killed was.

[Lori Bond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any book that can keep me up all night reading gets a 5 star review from me. This was a really well written book. You could feel how even 50 years later she still can not understand why this was done to people of her faith, or any faith for that matter. You can feel the anguish and eventual anger that even after it was all over and she was liberated it still would not go away. She had such a hard time fighting off the hate she felt for the German people afterwards. Hate is a strong word but I really feel it is an appropriate way to describe how this woman felt. She said even 50 years later she still could not look at Germans from that Era and not wonder what they were doing as so many of her people were prisoners and eventually sent to their deaths. She said that those of her faith who managed to escape and never were in the camps could not understand or really sympathize in a true way what she and those who were in concentration camps went through. It put a wall between them that I don't think she was ever able to tear down. Her family became those she survived with who lived through what she did. Such a sad sad book. The one thing I noticed from this and other novels was that there was a lot of luck involved in these women surviving. It is amazing to me they did. Definitely one of the best novels of this subject I have read. I hope her children and grandchildren read this and appreciate the heartache and pain it took to write it. God bless this woman and Israel.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Above average Holocaust memior that had me hooked from the first page. As typical of these memiors you cant help but admire the author's strength and determination during her nightmare in Auschwitz. Her telling of having a baby and her dealing with Josef Mengele was absolutely heartbreaking. Watching her family leave for the gas chamber and never seeing them again. How badly I wanted Edith to have survived. A new subject for me was her experiences when she finally made it to Isreal and how the Jews there didn't care to hear of what had happened or the ones who felt they'd given up and should have fought the Nazis. Wow. Ignorance! Speaking of which I don't like to bring politics into my reviews but in 1985 then President Reagan visited Germany and paid his respects at the graves of SS soldiers??!! No words.

[Netty Vanity · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrible, in a good way of course..This book must touch everyone's heart, even less sensitive people. "Triumph Of Hope" gave me strongest experience ever. I was really moved. I find it much better than famous "Diary of Anne Frank". Ruth was so strong and so inventive, it's really admirable. Reading about her hiding from Nazis or experiences from Terezin,Taucha or Auschwitz is just breath taking. It's really difficult to understand how this could happen and how survivors could maintain their sanity. Although Ruth had to kill her own baby, work hard meanwhile, watch her loved ones go to death factories or leave god knows where, which was pretty the same, she still believed in rescue. Totally "amazing" and indescribable book.

[Kathy Oldham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ruth Elias' memoir aches with emotion, which is to be exptected. Her story is special because it tells about what life was like for her after liberation, where other stories tend to end. She illustrates the shocking behavior of former friends, and a family member who visits, in her hometown after being freed. Especially revealing was how emigrants to Israel were treated and her early years settling in her new home. This chronicle of the indomitable human spirit shines a light into the blackest doom of our collective history.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best Holocaust memoirs I've read. She faced so many trials and challenges in her life, but she tells her story with a voice of hope.
It's important to know what happened during that dark time in history, and this book is a great read for the novice and the historian alike.
Highly recommended.

[r. markham · Rating 5 out of 5]

GREAT READ!!!

I have read several books about the holocaust. As a gentile Christian I was never informed about the tragedy of WWII and the plight of the Jewish people. I have an insatiable appetite for the holocaust. This was an excellent book on this subject!!!

[Jennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want my children to read this when they grow up. As a mother, it made me weep to think of those poor women and children who were "experimented on" during the Holocaust.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

by far the best holocaust story I've ever read

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good read -

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read many books about the Holocaust. However, this first hand account was remarkable. The detail she writes with is unbelievable. You hurt along with her and understand when she is able to feel joy. You get a glimpse into the mentality of survivors.