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Lusia's Long Journey Home: A Young Girl's Memoir of Surviving the Holocaust
The summer of 1939 was the last summer in Lucy Lipiner’s childhood. On September 1, when she was just six years old, she was roused from her bed by her parents. Together with them, her older sisters, and her other relatives, they left their hometown of Sucha. They were among the town’s population of 780 Jews. Their decision to leave saved their lives.
Lusia’s Long Journey Home tells the story of their journey of survival from the eyes of a little girl. It is an odyssey of escape and rescue full of hardships and tribulations that takes Lipiner from her idyllic small town life at the foothills of the Tatra Mountains to the frozen wastes of Siberia, and the vast wilderness of Tajikistan. Along the harsh way, she experiences hunger and poverty, desperation and fear, but she survives and perseveres through the adversities. Finally, she arrives in America, and with her memoir she shares the emotional and physical struggles of a ten-year flight to freedom.
In her work, Lipiner gives a detailed and historical account of a little-known and rarely discussed group of Holocaust survivors. Lusia’s Long Journey Home is their story of resilience.
Lusia’s Long Journey Home tells the story of their journey of survival from the eyes of a little girl. It is an odyssey of escape and rescue full of hardships and tribulations that takes Lipiner from her idyllic small town life at the foothills of the Tatra Mountains to the frozen wastes of Siberia, and the vast wilderness of Tajikistan. Along the harsh way, she experiences hunger and poverty, desperation and fear, but she survives and perseveres through the adversities. Finally, she arrives in America, and with her memoir she shares the emotional and physical struggles of a ten-year flight to freedom.
In her work, Lipiner gives a detailed and historical account of a little-known and rarely discussed group of Holocaust survivors. Lusia’s Long Journey Home is their story of resilience.
211 pages, Paperback
First published February 6, 2013
291 people are currently reading
1831 people want to read
About the author
Lucy Lipiner
3 books12 followersLucy Lipiner was born in Poland and fled with her family at the outbreak of World War II. She earned a bachelor of arts degree from City University of New York and a master's degree from New York University. Lucy and Edward made their home in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 133 reviews
February 1, 2018
Author Lucy Lipiner's story will leave you an emotional wreck. No matter how many times we hear the story of people who survived the horror of the Holocaust, it is still shocking when the details are in print in front of your face. What people can do to one another is astonishing and horrifying.
The year is 1939 and little Lucy is 6. She's a happy child but this may be the last day she feels like a happy child. Lucy and her older sister, along with some relatives are awoken by her father and, in an act of bravery, they are all saved by him. Leaving their little village of 780 Jewish people, Lucy luckily has no clue what hardships will follow.
The little group suffers immensely. There's hunger, heartbreak, fear, resolve, and determination in the face of overwhelming odds. From Siberia to Tajikistan and finally safely in the U.S. a decade after fleeing her home town, Lucy grows up the hard way.
This is her story. This is her life. This is a must read.
The year is 1939 and little Lucy is 6. She's a happy child but this may be the last day she feels like a happy child. Lucy and her older sister, along with some relatives are awoken by her father and, in an act of bravery, they are all saved by him. Leaving their little village of 780 Jewish people, Lucy luckily has no clue what hardships will follow.
The little group suffers immensely. There's hunger, heartbreak, fear, resolve, and determination in the face of overwhelming odds. From Siberia to Tajikistan and finally safely in the U.S. a decade after fleeing her home town, Lucy grows up the hard way.
This is her story. This is her life. This is a must read.
October 30, 2013
This is a beautifully written memoir, one not to be missed.
Yes, it is about rapacious Anti-Semitism, about the Holocaust in Poland, and elsewhere, about mass murder. But it is also about courage, character, and determination called up from somewhere so deep inside a family that it is astonishing.
Children go to school, play, skate, eat well; are secure in the love of family, nuclear and extended; and secure in community. And then, then new laws are written and they and their families, communities, are branded "different": religiously dangerous; humanly inferior; politically anathemas; right to life denied. Yellow stars, paperwork, dragged from homes, herded on trains to labor camps, to death camps. There are still those who deny any of this ever happened; either they are simply misguided, or have their own agendas.
It happened.
But the father in this family said no. NO, we will not be here for the knock on the door.
He took his family on foot, east out of Poland; met other displaced persons on the way; found temporary refuge in the Ukraine. Many in that country thought the Nazis would be liberators - they quickly found out differently. The father, despite his wife's pleas to return home to what they knew, kept them moving, eventually ending up in Siberia. How to make the wife understand that what they knew no longer was remained a constant source of upset, but the father was steadfastly determined and kept his family alive through the war through choices made. Rerouting, post-war, they made their way, separated for awhile, back through Europe - across the ocean, to that mighty lady holding the candle of freedom in New York harbor and a life never imagined through those wretchedly cold Siberian nights.
This is a journey you should take with the author. It is a journey through the nightmare world of the Third Reich; through the viciousness of Anti-Semitism. But, it is a multi-layered tale of so much more.
One of those layers is the role of this father in this family for strength, guidance, protection - as a role model. He simply refused to allow his family to be annihilated by this sick 'final' solution. He is a father to be emulated by other men in these difficult times around the world.
Another important part of this story is what is between the lines: how any group, in any place, in any time can become the group that needs a "solution" to be dealt with as scapegoats for prejudice, avarice, an appetite for "power over" that is both temporal and a sign of personal weakness no matter how much money is, or how many troops are, mustered. It is a story of how the Big Lie, the propaganda, can become the way of life because it is oh so much easier to be brutal to others than honest with self.
It is the story of how a belief, an attitude such as Anti-Semitism can keep rearing its ugly, multi-tentacled head through the ages. It is the story of how the quest for power by businessmen can put a monster they think they can control in place as a head of state.
It is the story of how people seem to think that if they see that all have life, freedom and abundance, somehow their own will be diminished, so they seek to take all for themselves.
True stories like this one have run through history with different peoples, different places, different times, different propaganda, sometimes recurring: slavery, the White Man's Burden, genocide toward Native Americans, Armenians, Cambodians, Vietnamese, African tribes.
The stories show their heads and teeth in witch hunts which resulted in the deaths of millions, in misogyny, in abuse, physical and verbal; they record the horrors of sex trafficking, of intolerant religious dogmas and practices; of governments that keep and profit from shipped hunger aid and let children and families die of starvation with flies swarming on their bodies. They are the stories of mistreatment of immigrants. They are the stories that record munitions dealers who traffic in illegal weapons resulting in mass murder.
The Holocaust of World War II was on a massive scale and included murder of Jews, of Gypsies, of intellectuals, of mentally challenged, of political opposition. Thousands of Russian soldiers sent to fight it never got to go home, but were sent, post-war, to Siberia for political reasons by another vicious, totalitarian state.
This story happened to a Jewish family in Poland in WWII. Her father's and her mother's strength carried them through it on foot, with cold, with hunger, with hope, with loss and with fear no one should ever know. But they held together, they endured, and now have given you their story of outrage, of courage, of victory.
Look around you, take this story to heart, and ask yourself what is happening around you that needs a strong figure to step in and say: No, I will not let horror enter - I will help, I will lead, I will share love to say NO to a knock on the door in the sunshine, in the dark of a night, to a life, to a soul, to a people - indeed, to a nation.
Yes, it is about rapacious Anti-Semitism, about the Holocaust in Poland, and elsewhere, about mass murder. But it is also about courage, character, and determination called up from somewhere so deep inside a family that it is astonishing.
Children go to school, play, skate, eat well; are secure in the love of family, nuclear and extended; and secure in community. And then, then new laws are written and they and their families, communities, are branded "different": religiously dangerous; humanly inferior; politically anathemas; right to life denied. Yellow stars, paperwork, dragged from homes, herded on trains to labor camps, to death camps. There are still those who deny any of this ever happened; either they are simply misguided, or have their own agendas.
It happened.
But the father in this family said no. NO, we will not be here for the knock on the door.
He took his family on foot, east out of Poland; met other displaced persons on the way; found temporary refuge in the Ukraine. Many in that country thought the Nazis would be liberators - they quickly found out differently. The father, despite his wife's pleas to return home to what they knew, kept them moving, eventually ending up in Siberia. How to make the wife understand that what they knew no longer was remained a constant source of upset, but the father was steadfastly determined and kept his family alive through the war through choices made. Rerouting, post-war, they made their way, separated for awhile, back through Europe - across the ocean, to that mighty lady holding the candle of freedom in New York harbor and a life never imagined through those wretchedly cold Siberian nights.
This is a journey you should take with the author. It is a journey through the nightmare world of the Third Reich; through the viciousness of Anti-Semitism. But, it is a multi-layered tale of so much more.
One of those layers is the role of this father in this family for strength, guidance, protection - as a role model. He simply refused to allow his family to be annihilated by this sick 'final' solution. He is a father to be emulated by other men in these difficult times around the world.
Another important part of this story is what is between the lines: how any group, in any place, in any time can become the group that needs a "solution" to be dealt with as scapegoats for prejudice, avarice, an appetite for "power over" that is both temporal and a sign of personal weakness no matter how much money is, or how many troops are, mustered. It is a story of how the Big Lie, the propaganda, can become the way of life because it is oh so much easier to be brutal to others than honest with self.
It is the story of how a belief, an attitude such as Anti-Semitism can keep rearing its ugly, multi-tentacled head through the ages. It is the story of how the quest for power by businessmen can put a monster they think they can control in place as a head of state.
It is the story of how people seem to think that if they see that all have life, freedom and abundance, somehow their own will be diminished, so they seek to take all for themselves.
True stories like this one have run through history with different peoples, different places, different times, different propaganda, sometimes recurring: slavery, the White Man's Burden, genocide toward Native Americans, Armenians, Cambodians, Vietnamese, African tribes.
The stories show their heads and teeth in witch hunts which resulted in the deaths of millions, in misogyny, in abuse, physical and verbal; they record the horrors of sex trafficking, of intolerant religious dogmas and practices; of governments that keep and profit from shipped hunger aid and let children and families die of starvation with flies swarming on their bodies. They are the stories of mistreatment of immigrants. They are the stories that record munitions dealers who traffic in illegal weapons resulting in mass murder.
The Holocaust of World War II was on a massive scale and included murder of Jews, of Gypsies, of intellectuals, of mentally challenged, of political opposition. Thousands of Russian soldiers sent to fight it never got to go home, but were sent, post-war, to Siberia for political reasons by another vicious, totalitarian state.
This story happened to a Jewish family in Poland in WWII. Her father's and her mother's strength carried them through it on foot, with cold, with hunger, with hope, with loss and with fear no one should ever know. But they held together, they endured, and now have given you their story of outrage, of courage, of victory.
Look around you, take this story to heart, and ask yourself what is happening around you that needs a strong figure to step in and say: No, I will not let horror enter - I will help, I will lead, I will share love to say NO to a knock on the door in the sunshine, in the dark of a night, to a life, to a soul, to a people - indeed, to a nation.
August 11, 2016
A Young Girl’s mémoir of Surviving the Holocaust
This is a detailed historical account that personally and intimately captures the daily life of a young Jewish girl’s struggles to survive with her family as they flee east from Poland to escape extermination. From the perspective of a young girl, Lucy (Lusia) narrates her family’s journey of survival.
This book is inevitably filled with sadness. Lucy (Lusia) was only six when her parent roused her and her sister and fled the invasion by Nazi Germany. The memoir shares emotional details and physical struggles to stay alive. The journey from the foothill of Tatra Mountains to Siberia and Tajikistan was an extraordinary story of resilience, a long journey that brought her and her family 10 years later to America.
This book is written through the eyes of a young child with great care leaving out horrific graphic details and focusing rather on the context. The language is fluent, simple and tender. No drama just a gripping powerful story. Holocaust memoirs are interesting, captivating from start to finish, this one is no exception.
This elegantly written memoir is an excellent addition to my library.
This is a detailed historical account that personally and intimately captures the daily life of a young Jewish girl’s struggles to survive with her family as they flee east from Poland to escape extermination. From the perspective of a young girl, Lucy (Lusia) narrates her family’s journey of survival.
This book is inevitably filled with sadness. Lucy (Lusia) was only six when her parent roused her and her sister and fled the invasion by Nazi Germany. The memoir shares emotional details and physical struggles to stay alive. The journey from the foothill of Tatra Mountains to Siberia and Tajikistan was an extraordinary story of resilience, a long journey that brought her and her family 10 years later to America.
This book is written through the eyes of a young child with great care leaving out horrific graphic details and focusing rather on the context. The language is fluent, simple and tender. No drama just a gripping powerful story. Holocaust memoirs are interesting, captivating from start to finish, this one is no exception.
This elegantly written memoir is an excellent addition to my library.
January 25, 2014
A haunting Holocaust story that documents the experience of Jewish people living in Poland who fled into Russia and became forced labor. Lucy (Lucia) was just six years old when her family trudged across two countries. Her winter in Siberia with just a frosted window to play with is an incredible image. These stories need to be told (so the world never forgets). I am a book editor, and I evaluated this manuscript early on and have later met this wonderful 80-year-old woman. She is an inspiration.
January 28, 2018
Excellent story. Many of the books I’ve dabbled in on the subject of Jews trying escaping the clutches of Hitler’s Germany usually center on hiding in Germany while at the same time attempting to secure passage to a neutral country or escape to Palestine or the US. This is the first story I’ve read where a family flees to the Russian occupied zone and then is deported to Siberia. When, if ever, is being deported to Siberia a good thing? For Lucia and her family, it would be a God send they wouldn’t realize for five long, harrowing years.
Her father, Abraham is constantly chastised by his family for tearing them away from their homes in Sucha, Poland. They could have stayed and been happy. They would have friends and relatives who would tend to them. They would be safe, secure and happy. He ignored their complaining and pressed on. In the end, when they are finally allowed to leave The USSR and return home, they learned the unvarnished truth of what their fate would have been. Do they thank him? No. They are too overwhelmed with the destruction and grief that ravaged their war-torn country while they eked out an existence.
The book doesn’t go into great details as other do. This is the story of young six-year old girl, who wakes up on September 2nd, 1939 to find out the world she knew is going to change forever. It will be ten years before she starts living a normal life.
The most intriguing part is how attached she remains to her family. The fear of being separated is a strong theme. It is still unfathomable to truly understand what all these people went through during and after the war. Yes, we in America have had or struggles, Depression, Dust Bowl, Cholera, Small Pox, but nothing compares to the suffering and fortitude of those who lived and survived the Holocaust. Hoe do you empathize with those who lost not only possessions and family members, but your country and your way of life?
Highly recommend this story!
Her father, Abraham is constantly chastised by his family for tearing them away from their homes in Sucha, Poland. They could have stayed and been happy. They would have friends and relatives who would tend to them. They would be safe, secure and happy. He ignored their complaining and pressed on. In the end, when they are finally allowed to leave The USSR and return home, they learned the unvarnished truth of what their fate would have been. Do they thank him? No. They are too overwhelmed with the destruction and grief that ravaged their war-torn country while they eked out an existence.
The book doesn’t go into great details as other do. This is the story of young six-year old girl, who wakes up on September 2nd, 1939 to find out the world she knew is going to change forever. It will be ten years before she starts living a normal life.
The most intriguing part is how attached she remains to her family. The fear of being separated is a strong theme. It is still unfathomable to truly understand what all these people went through during and after the war. Yes, we in America have had or struggles, Depression, Dust Bowl, Cholera, Small Pox, but nothing compares to the suffering and fortitude of those who lived and survived the Holocaust. Hoe do you empathize with those who lost not only possessions and family members, but your country and your way of life?
Highly recommend this story!
July 29, 2014
I very much recommend this book. I would like people to know how very scary World War 2 was for children. I am two years younger than the author and was 6 to 10 during the war years. I remember them very well and even though I was far away in North Georgia at the time, I and everyone else was
perpetually unnerved by the nightly radio broadcasts of the war news by H.V. Kaltenborn. How much worse it was for a little Jewish girl in Poland. This is a wonderful story about how Lucy's wise father saved his wife and children though opposed by a large and deluded extended family. He took them into Russia which makes for a very different story from the usual escape routes into Switzerland.
perpetually unnerved by the nightly radio broadcasts of the war news by H.V. Kaltenborn. How much worse it was for a little Jewish girl in Poland. This is a wonderful story about how Lucy's wise father saved his wife and children though opposed by a large and deluded extended family. He took them into Russia which makes for a very different story from the usual escape routes into Switzerland.
December 11, 2017
1939, WWII. Lucy Lipiner (nee Mandelbaum, BA, MA) narrates her memoir of the horrors of surviving the Holocaust.
6/25/1949, Welcome to America.
Warning: This book contains extremely graphic adult content, violence, or expletive language &/or uncensored sexually explicit material which is only suitable for mature readers. It may be offensive or have potential adverse psychological effects on the reader.
I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review. Only an honest one.
A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A very well written book. It was very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great movie, PP presentation, or better yet a mini TV series or even a documentary (A & E, History channel). It was just OK for me but I will still rate it at 5 stars.
Thank you for the free author; InstaFreebie; Usher Publishing; Amazon Digital Services LLC.; book
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)
6/25/1949, Welcome to America.
Warning: This book contains extremely graphic adult content, violence, or expletive language &/or uncensored sexually explicit material which is only suitable for mature readers. It may be offensive or have potential adverse psychological effects on the reader.
I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review. Only an honest one.
A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A very well written book. It was very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great movie, PP presentation, or better yet a mini TV series or even a documentary (A & E, History channel). It was just OK for me but I will still rate it at 5 stars.
Thank you for the free author; InstaFreebie; Usher Publishing; Amazon Digital Services LLC.; book
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)
December 23, 2017
Inspiring
Inspiring story of heartbreak and survival before during and after the Holocaust,l told from a young girl's point of view.
Inspiring story of heartbreak and survival before during and after the Holocaust,l told from a young girl's point of view.
April 1, 2014
Long Journey Home: A Young Girl's Memoir of Surviving the Holocaust is the story of Lucy, a 7-year old girl whose life is uprooted by the Nazi plough. Unfortunately, this is where the survival story pretty much ends.
I really did not like the book---a memoir written long after, with many inaccuracies and hearsay sprinkled throughout, and overall a flawed memoir about situations way less dramatic than the title implies. The only informative part was for me the trip to and life in Siberia---the former scary, the latter normal for the times and relative conditions.
The story: thanks to the smartness of her father, Lucy's family escapes to Russia just as Nazi Germany invades Poland (September 1939). They have already suffered abuse from the anti-semitic Polish neighbors. They do not experience the Holocaust as their perishing family; they even learn about the horrors long after the war is over. They (according to Lucy) are relatively well received by the Russians and are sent East, far from the front. They spend several years in (admittedly terrifying) Siberia, but under relatively normal circumstances (no Gulag, no forced labor), then move to Kazahstan and eventually to Tajikistan, where they remain until the end of the war. These could have been spoilers, but Lucy is rather vague (and relatively positive) about all things and the story could have been the same regardless of the actual places---I do not want to be insensitive, but this family seems to go through the regular hardships of the fleeing Russian families during wartime.
The most annoying part was that, by her own admittance, Lucy is the protected kid in the family. Coupled with her young age, this allows her to go relatively unaware of the things around her, which shows in many ways. Her survival story is probably shared by tens of millions across Russia and Europe, and has few Jewish- and Holocaust-related aspects past the original departure of Poland.
I would recommend reading instead a Holocaust memoir from someone closer to the Nazi death camps, for example Primo Levi or Elie Wiesel; in comparison, with all the dreadfulness of the awful pun, this is child stuff.
I really did not like the book---a memoir written long after, with many inaccuracies and hearsay sprinkled throughout, and overall a flawed memoir about situations way less dramatic than the title implies. The only informative part was for me the trip to and life in Siberia---the former scary, the latter normal for the times and relative conditions.
The story: thanks to the smartness of her father, Lucy's family escapes to Russia just as Nazi Germany invades Poland (September 1939). They have already suffered abuse from the anti-semitic Polish neighbors. They do not experience the Holocaust as their perishing family; they even learn about the horrors long after the war is over. They (according to Lucy) are relatively well received by the Russians and are sent East, far from the front. They spend several years in (admittedly terrifying) Siberia, but under relatively normal circumstances (no Gulag, no forced labor), then move to Kazahstan and eventually to Tajikistan, where they remain until the end of the war. These could have been spoilers, but Lucy is rather vague (and relatively positive) about all things and the story could have been the same regardless of the actual places---I do not want to be insensitive, but this family seems to go through the regular hardships of the fleeing Russian families during wartime.
The most annoying part was that, by her own admittance, Lucy is the protected kid in the family. Coupled with her young age, this allows her to go relatively unaware of the things around her, which shows in many ways. Her survival story is probably shared by tens of millions across Russia and Europe, and has few Jewish- and Holocaust-related aspects past the original departure of Poland.
I would recommend reading instead a Holocaust memoir from someone closer to the Nazi death camps, for example Primo Levi or Elie Wiesel; in comparison, with all the dreadfulness of the awful pun, this is child stuff.
February 8, 2015
**** May Contain Spoilers ****
The story of a family who flee the Nazi invasion of Poland, heading towards the Russian front, and then finding themselves in a Siberian Prisoner of War camp. Their struggles have just begun. Told by the youngest member of the family, a child at the time of the escape, it details the struggles of one family to survive, take chances, and try to stay together during the most bleak moments of life. Hunger, culture shock, and language barriers follow them on their journey, and their day to day suffering is acute.
I found this to be an eye-opening read, as so few who escaped the horrors of the Shoah by escaping through Siberia and beyond tell their stories, which can be just as horrifying as any survivors recollections. When finally headed home after the war, they face the same horrors, yet have been cut off from the 'in your face' realities of Anti-Semitism and the decimation of the European Jews. It makes the reality all the more difficult to come to terms with, and therefore more stark.
The story of a family who flee the Nazi invasion of Poland, heading towards the Russian front, and then finding themselves in a Siberian Prisoner of War camp. Their struggles have just begun. Told by the youngest member of the family, a child at the time of the escape, it details the struggles of one family to survive, take chances, and try to stay together during the most bleak moments of life. Hunger, culture shock, and language barriers follow them on their journey, and their day to day suffering is acute.
I found this to be an eye-opening read, as so few who escaped the horrors of the Shoah by escaping through Siberia and beyond tell their stories, which can be just as horrifying as any survivors recollections. When finally headed home after the war, they face the same horrors, yet have been cut off from the 'in your face' realities of Anti-Semitism and the decimation of the European Jews. It makes the reality all the more difficult to come to terms with, and therefore more stark.
June 21, 2019
Rated: 3.5 Stars | Review: http://goo.gl/Ve2Bgy
As with any memoir, there is sadness. It makes me feel sad, feel sorry for those families that had to run from one country to another to survive. Some things bring a smile, even though the moment that follows is a sad one. It has photos that tell a tale in itself; that was good.
The writing here, perhaps because the book is a flashback, doesn’t manage to bring out that emotion strongly. You know it’s a troubling tale, and you feel glad that Lucy and her family survived, but the narration feels very plain to me.
I don’t think I can read it again. It’s not because of that plainness, but because of the setting of the tale. But it’s worth reading at least the once, because it is a tale of survival, and that’s an inspiration in a way.
As with any memoir, there is sadness. It makes me feel sad, feel sorry for those families that had to run from one country to another to survive. Some things bring a smile, even though the moment that follows is a sad one. It has photos that tell a tale in itself; that was good.
The writing here, perhaps because the book is a flashback, doesn’t manage to bring out that emotion strongly. You know it’s a troubling tale, and you feel glad that Lucy and her family survived, but the narration feels very plain to me.
I don’t think I can read it again. It’s not because of that plainness, but because of the setting of the tale. But it’s worth reading at least the once, because it is a tale of survival, and that’s an inspiration in a way.
June 1, 2017
Long Journey Home
A very wonderful book. Very well written and informative. We went with this family through there suffering, in to the joys of America. I would like to have known more about the parents at the ending of this book. How did they adjust to America, are they still alive? Even though I have these questions, I give the book five stars. Very much enjoyed.
A very wonderful book. Very well written and informative. We went with this family through there suffering, in to the joys of America. I would like to have known more about the parents at the ending of this book. How did they adjust to America, are they still alive? Even though I have these questions, I give the book five stars. Very much enjoyed.
August 15, 2017
This book tells the true story of a young Jewish family trying to stay one step ahead of the Nazis, and their ultimate survival. I loved this book, it was good story telling of leaving one's homeland as a child during WWII. The book had pictures, which you can see the people that the author was talking about. Overall a stand alone book on surviving the Holocaust by running East to Russia.
January 16, 2015
Lovely story told through the eyes of a young girl.
I enjoyed reading this book and often found it difficult to put down. A story of survival and perseverance during WWII.
I enjoyed reading this book and often found it difficult to put down. A story of survival and perseverance during WWII.
September 27, 2017
Lusia’s Long Journey Home is a story of the human spirit and of the emotional and physical struggles the author and her family endured in their 10-year effort to obtain freedom and safety.
All of the memories are filtered through the eyes of the author who grew up during WWII. She and her family watched the world, as they knew it, crumble before their eyes. This is their journey, one I believe, you should take with the author. It is a story of escape, hardships, sorrow, fear, and rescue. It is her unique perspective of being a Polish Jew living in Poland and her family’s story of resilience.
It is a walk through the nightmare world of the Third Reich. It wades deep through the viciousness of Anti-Semitism. Lusia’s mother and most especially her father's strength carried them through the cold, being hungry, and with loss and with fear that no human being should ever know let alone live through. There is always a strong undercurrent of hope. Her father's foresight and intelligence keeps the family together and one step ahead of death. He is a father to be emulated by other men in these difficult times. They held together as a family and because of that they endured, and now she has given you her family’s story of outrage, of courage and victory
While it may not be the most compelling memoir of its time, I believe that it is a memoir of a young girl and the life she endured simply by being born a Polish Jew. The author brings you with her during these ten years. You can see the world through her eyes. You feel her fears and worry along side of her. Of course as in any memoir of the Holocaust, there is always the story between the lines. The propaganda, lies, prejudice, avarice and power are the other main characters in this memoir.
I would like to thank the author, Usher Publishing and Net Gallery for the ARC.
March 16, 2021
Lusia's Long Journey Home is by Lucy Lipiner. This memoir of surviving the Holocaust takes the Lucy and her family from Poland to various towns in the Soviet Union in an effort to keep out of the hands of the Nazis. Despite their being out of the hands of the Nazis, they were still in the hands of the Soviet Union. Their time in the Soviet Union was very difficult for her parents as they tried desperately to save their two daughters and the rest of their family. Lucy describes their flight from their home to places where they didn't know the language. the customs, nor the people. By sticking together, the family survived; but their extended family did not. Lucy and her sister were sheltered as much as possible by their parents, especially their Mother. Her story is different from other memoirs in that she was not in the concentration camps nor under the control of the Nazis. The book is very interesting and definitely one to be read by serious Holocaust scholars.
September 17, 2021
A fascinating story
A Jewish family from Poland fled the advance of the Nazi's under the wise guidance of a young girl's dad. The story told is her story, and her family's story of being transported by cattle train to Siberia, of being indoctrinated in the Ukraine to idolize Stalin, but surviving the holocaust, despite starvation, being lice infested and no medical treatment. Being crammed into one room, with a broken window pane in freezing Siberia, yet taking great delight in the beautiful lacey snowflakes on the window each morning. Such incredible resiliance! One marvels at their tenacity, but they didn't have much choice, really. I loved Lucy Lipner's account and wish her and her loved ones, as well as all others who have suffered such agonising situation nothing but great happiness now and always.
A Jewish family from Poland fled the advance of the Nazi's under the wise guidance of a young girl's dad. The story told is her story, and her family's story of being transported by cattle train to Siberia, of being indoctrinated in the Ukraine to idolize Stalin, but surviving the holocaust, despite starvation, being lice infested and no medical treatment. Being crammed into one room, with a broken window pane in freezing Siberia, yet taking great delight in the beautiful lacey snowflakes on the window each morning. Such incredible resiliance! One marvels at their tenacity, but they didn't have much choice, really. I loved Lucy Lipner's account and wish her and her loved ones, as well as all others who have suffered such agonising situation nothing but great happiness now and always.
January 16, 2025
What a terrible time for European Jews. If her father had not correctly judged things, I have no doubt that they too would have perished in a concentration camp.
Russian aid consisted of a camp in the wilds of Siberia where it was bitterly cold for nine months of the year. If you got sick, you either recovered or you died as there was no medicine.
Even after the war ended their lives consisted of one Displaced Person's Camp after the other until they were finally granted entrance to America. Ten long years of deprivation had finally come to an end. I think a lot would have suffered "survivors guilt", especially the adults, but Jews are stoic. No time for self pity. It was time to roll up their sleeves and make a new life for themselves in their new home.
Russian aid consisted of a camp in the wilds of Siberia where it was bitterly cold for nine months of the year. If you got sick, you either recovered or you died as there was no medicine.
Even after the war ended their lives consisted of one Displaced Person's Camp after the other until they were finally granted entrance to America. Ten long years of deprivation had finally come to an end. I think a lot would have suffered "survivors guilt", especially the adults, but Jews are stoic. No time for self pity. It was time to roll up their sleeves and make a new life for themselves in their new home.
May 31, 2020
A different perspectives.
I have read many books about the holocaust, usually from the perspective of someone who was in the camps and the horror that occurred there. This was also a story of extreme hardship but outside the camps. Always trying to outrun the enemy. When I think of the depression of the parents trying to preserve their children's lives and being raised by people who had lost their faith. It is heartbreaking. I understand how the mother said no to taking her niece on, yet I can feel her sorrow in learning of her death. A book like this makes me wish we would open our country up to more immigrants.
I have read many books about the holocaust, usually from the perspective of someone who was in the camps and the horror that occurred there. This was also a story of extreme hardship but outside the camps. Always trying to outrun the enemy. When I think of the depression of the parents trying to preserve their children's lives and being raised by people who had lost their faith. It is heartbreaking. I understand how the mother said no to taking her niece on, yet I can feel her sorrow in learning of her death. A book like this makes me wish we would open our country up to more immigrants.
October 14, 2017
I thought this book was refreshing and that seems in stark contrast to it's content but it was well written and flowed throughout. Written through the eyes of a young child, this Jewish family had a different experience in WW2 and that made it easier for me to identify with. The experience is still not a pleasant one but a child's view takes away some of the fear and horror. I would recommend this book and I really congratulate the author for making such a difficult subject possible to read so well.
May 29, 2020
Immigration
This is the memoir of a young Jewish girl from the age of six to nineteen. Her family had to flee from Poland to escape the Nazi society. This story tells her journey through Poland to Siberia to Tajikistan and eventually to America. I have read many memoirs of women during the war but this is the first time I’ve read of the deprivations, hardships, fear, and hunger experiences of escaping through Russia. This is also a story of family, courage, love and determination. It is a memoir not to be missed.
This is the memoir of a young Jewish girl from the age of six to nineteen. Her family had to flee from Poland to escape the Nazi society. This story tells her journey through Poland to Siberia to Tajikistan and eventually to America. I have read many memoirs of women during the war but this is the first time I’ve read of the deprivations, hardships, fear, and hunger experiences of escaping through Russia. This is also a story of family, courage, love and determination. It is a memoir not to be missed.
June 11, 2020
This is another "story" of human endurance leading up to, during and after WWII. Those of us in America suffered, but nothing like our European "families" during this horrid war. Bless you for sharing your story Lucy. Every time I read a historical story, I am grateful for the life we have here. We have never had to dodge bombs and bullets on a daily basis. Never been forced to steal food. However as a foot soldier during WWII, my step-father and his battalion were forced to do so. They were out of rations on the front lines!
January 24, 2018
Anything is possible if you work hard for it
Told through the eyes of a child from fleeing Poland ahead of the Nazi's, living on the run, to a soviet camp in Siberia, Asia, to several Displacement camps and finally to America.Starting at the age of 6 and ending at the age of 17 she tells the story of their life in these war time years of a Jewish family surviving hunger, disease, and the Nazi's.
Thttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gecko
Told through the eyes of a child from fleeing Poland ahead of the Nazi's, living on the run, to a soviet camp in Siberia, Asia, to several Displacement camps and finally to America.Starting at the age of 6 and ending at the age of 17 she tells the story of their life in these war time years of a Jewish family surviving hunger, disease, and the Nazi's.
Thttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gecko
August 13, 2019
I actually listened to this book 📚 on a road-trip. Wow. I’ve read many survivor stories. This is my first time learning about Jews escaping to Russia and also into other more middle eastern countries. What a horrific life they lead. Trying to survive all those years. So proud of their fight though. I plan to teach anyone who will listen about the holocaust. Thanks to Lusia for writing her story. She did a great job.
February 1, 2020
Very good holocaust book. Easy flowing interesting read. I came away with a new insight in a life of a family struggling to survive in the most difficult of situations. Their strength and determination was the only thing that helped them survive.
This would be a good book for young people to read and discuss. It provides good opportunities or comparing and contrasting of two young people growing up.
This would be a good book for young people to read and discuss. It provides good opportunities or comparing and contrasting of two young people growing up.
September 15, 2020
Not about a concentration camp
I read some of the reviews before starting this book and it seems that some thought this memoir would go another direction. This is, instead, about a family that fled ahead of the nazi occupation and struggled, step by step, to survive. This is all from a child's point of view and I found it compelling.
(One thing I did was map their destinations...woah...they traveled!!)
I read some of the reviews before starting this book and it seems that some thought this memoir would go another direction. This is, instead, about a family that fled ahead of the nazi occupation and struggled, step by step, to survive. This is all from a child's point of view and I found it compelling.
(One thing I did was map their destinations...woah...they traveled!!)
October 1, 2020
A moving memoir of surviving the Holocaust. When the Nazis invaded Poland, her family fled east to Russia. While they avoided annihilation, their lives were marked by fear, insecurity and privation. Young Lusia's childhood innocence was prematurely ended by the horrors she saw and lived through. Miraculously, she, her sister and parents managed to stay together and alive, eventually emigrating to the United States. A fascinating memoir.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 23, 2019
Beautiful memoire
This story is well written. The story flows smoothly,
Unlike most memories it narrates the experience of a Jewish family who was sent to Siberia. A horrible experience but a life-saving event. It follows their journey back to the middle east and the end of the war.
This story is well written. The story flows smoothly,
Unlike most memories it narrates the experience of a Jewish family who was sent to Siberia. A horrible experience but a life-saving event. It follows their journey back to the middle east and the end of the war.
October 10, 2020
Memories
Long Journey Home is a very different story of a Jewish families survival in WWII. The family flees Poland and travels to the east....the horrors of war and the Nazi regime are avoided but the family’s struggle to survive is horrifying. So many different personal stories emerge from Europe during WWII. Definitely worth the read!
Long Journey Home is a very different story of a Jewish families survival in WWII. The family flees Poland and travels to the east....the horrors of war and the Nazi regime are avoided but the family’s struggle to survive is horrifying. So many different personal stories emerge from Europe during WWII. Definitely worth the read!
April 14, 2022
A very moving recollection of the author's experiences...full of pain, joy, hope, despair and new beginnings.
The resilience of the Jewish people who lives through the Holocaust is amazing....and the more we understand of the trauma of survival perhaps the more we can do to stop such horrific events from happening again.
The resilience of the Jewish people who lives through the Holocaust is amazing....and the more we understand of the trauma of survival perhaps the more we can do to stop such horrific events from happening again.
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