Survival

by Magda Herzberger

The Autobiography of a Young Woman Who Survived the Horrors of the Nazi Death Camps. Survival is an autobiography in which the author relates her experiences and her struggle to survive during her captivity as a young, 18-year-old girl in the three German concentration camps: Auschwitz, Bremen, and Bergen Belsen. Being of Jewish descent she had been deported with her family and in the camps encountered the danger and the probability of being killed one way or another on a daily basis. She also depicts the senseless deaths of her fellow prisoners. The book gives an insight into the author's childhood and adolescent years, where the concept of anything like this happening was beyond belief. The reader finds out about her family background and the historical events that took place in her native city in Romania during that time. The political changes which occurred during World War II played a crucial role in her destiny and the fate of the Jewish people. Magda also conveys how she coped with the grief and pain of losing so many members of her family, including her father, in the Holocaust. Then she speaks about her gradual recovery from the wounds of the Holocaust and her ultimate reunion with her mother. Magda's poetry is included in the book.

Genres: Holocaust, Biography Memoir, History

392 pages, Paperback

First published April 12, 2005

Reviews

[Mo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Magda Herzberger survived the horrors of the Holocaust as an eighteen year old student. She describes her life as a child and young woman in Romania, a bright student beloved by her parents. Life was happy and full of promise. She tells of her first encounters with discrimination and of the restrictions and rules which quickly followed. Between her ultimate imprisonment and the liberation of Bergen Belsen where she was being starved, she had survived three different death camps and untold horrors. She also recounts the small miracles that she believed helped her to survive and how she adjusted to life after the war. When survivors tell their stories, we have to pay attention.

[Carisa N. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book immensely! It was a very emotional ,yet inspiring read. I could not put it down. This book deeply touched my soul! I would highly recommend this book!

inspiring read. I could not put it down. This book deeply touched my soul! I would highly recommend this book!

[Anne Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a exceptional autobiography about the author's experiences in three different concentration camps for almost the last year of WWII. She drew from her inner resolve to keep going when things got really tough and yet she never gave up even when death seemed a certainty.

[Dee Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book

It is so sad to me what Magda went through. I cannot even imagine what it was like to live through this. I really enjoyed this book and the story that she told.

[Susann Skinner]

I had heard Ms. Herzberger speak at Viterbo College in La Crosse and had to read some of her books. This was a better read than a book I had read earlier which was actually the publication of an interview Ms. Herzberger had done. No matter how many books I read about the Holocaust, despite the fact that I KNOW it occurred, it is still hard to believe human beings can treat other human beings in such a manner. Ms. Herzberger has definitely exceeded her goal of educating others about this horrific event. Magda Herzberger has an amazing capacity to love and forgive.

380 pages