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Stories of Hope from Auschwitz: Inspiring True Stories of Hope, Love and Survival
An uplifting collection of real-life stories of the rebels, resistance fighters, saboteurs, escapees and survivors who held on to hope through the horrors of the Holocaust
When Auschwitz was liberated in 1945, after the horror of one of history's greatest atrocities, the world rejoiced. Although seven thousand people had survived this ordeal, the camp had also been witness to countless others who had resisted, sabotaged and even escaped from their captors. Some fought for their freedom or against injustice, and others disrupted Nazi operations. Then there were those who found ways to hold on to hope and positivity and spread it to their fellow inmates - a source of light in one of the world's darkest places.
This book celebrates those heroes of Auschwitz, telling the inspiring true stories of the ordinary prisoners who became symbols of hope and defiance. At turns touching and uplifting, these stories show the best of humankind and are testament to the incredible resilience and bravery that shines through even in the toughest times.
When Auschwitz was liberated in 1945, after the horror of one of history's greatest atrocities, the world rejoiced. Although seven thousand people had survived this ordeal, the camp had also been witness to countless others who had resisted, sabotaged and even escaped from their captors. Some fought for their freedom or against injustice, and others disrupted Nazi operations. Then there were those who found ways to hold on to hope and positivity and spread it to their fellow inmates - a source of light in one of the world's darkest places.
This book celebrates those heroes of Auschwitz, telling the inspiring true stories of the ordinary prisoners who became symbols of hope and defiance. At turns touching and uplifting, these stories show the best of humankind and are testament to the incredible resilience and bravery that shines through even in the toughest times.
247 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 26, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 27, 2026
This is really tough to rate and review. It’s a hard read that’s designed to show the strength of humanity through the appalling treatment and conditions people went through. In this it does a wonderful job. Sadly, the individual stories started to feel repetitive and a lot of the same facts were told in each chapter, making it a bit hard going towards the end.
May 17, 2026
Those who were liberated from Auschwitz and remember the atrocities, horror and evil perpetrated by the Nazis are lessening in number as the years pass - but we need to remember their stories so as we learn and ensure such barbarity doesn't take place again.
Choiceless choices are spoken of in this book: parents leaving a baby on a railway station; children told to lie about their age to avoid 'going left'; a Dr ending babies' lives as humanely as possible to spare their suffering - just some of those choiceless choices related in this collection of accounts from the Holocaust.
1.1 million deaths - each an individual with a life, family, dreams and hope - murdered by an inherently evil regime.
From those who survived, hope was a commonality in what sustained them, and these accounts relate individual tales of hope in an utterly hopeless situation.
Lest we forget.
Choiceless choices are spoken of in this book: parents leaving a baby on a railway station; children told to lie about their age to avoid 'going left'; a Dr ending babies' lives as humanely as possible to spare their suffering - just some of those choiceless choices related in this collection of accounts from the Holocaust.
1.1 million deaths - each an individual with a life, family, dreams and hope - murdered by an inherently evil regime.
From those who survived, hope was a commonality in what sustained them, and these accounts relate individual tales of hope in an utterly hopeless situation.
Lest we forget.
April 7, 2026
I could sit here all day and talk about this book. I don’t know where to start, and I don’t know where to end. It is nothing short of a miracle what happened, and how these people got out alive, let alone the fact that most of them went on to live another 60+ years.
I’m not going to sit here and pick a favourite story. They are all horrific, all full of terror, but they are also full of hope.
There were some that struck me harder than others, and I genuinely had to put the book down and walk away. This is reality. This is non-fiction. Whilst it is so hard, almost incomprehensible to imagine what they went through, the sheer fact is: it happened. These were real people. Real Jewish people. Men, women, and children.
I am a Jewish woman. A real Jewish woman. I am a Jewish mother. This would have been me. I would have had to make that decision - whether to tell my child to try to survive or to prepare for death - and do what I could for him. The fact that children were thrown out of moving carriages at even the slightest hint of survival; in other instances, parents told their children to lie about their ages to avoid death. Mothers were forced to do whatever they could to give their child a fighting chance, or to take the pain away before it began. A decision no mother, no human, should ever have to face.
It goes beyond words. It is incomprehensible to imagine.
What also strikes hard is that this was the 1930s and 1940s, and the way this community was treated, both before and during, simply because of who they were, because of the blood that runs through their veins - practicing or not, it made no difference - is an absolute reflection of what is happening today. In 2026. 80–90 years later. In this world. Our only “crime”? Being Jewish. Being who we are.
“Never again.” Two words often spoken. But in reality, has anything truly changed? That is something we have to sit with every single day.
But through it all, through this book, through the Jewish people, the resilience and strength shown goes beyond words. No matter what is thrown our way, we live in hope. And that is what this book is all about: the hope of tomorrow, the hope of getting through, the hope that carried them through unimaginable suffering.
Some of these stories are from survivors, some from resistance workers, some from non-Jews.
Otto Frank, Anne Frank, and Tola Grossman – who you may know better as Tova Friedman - the five-year-old who was told by her mother to bury herself under a pile of corpses, keeping her head positioned just enough to breathe in order to survive.
There are survivors who later branded themselves with numbers, feeling wrong or incomplete without the visible proof of what they endured – survivors’ guilt at its truest. No one can truly comprehend the mental strength required to continue living long after the horrors ended.
They are often called “stories,” but that word feels wrong. They are not stories. They are real life. They lost their identities and were reduced to numbers.
But each number, every single one, was a unique human being. Each ‘number’ was a son, a daughter, a mother, a father, a brother, a sister, a friend, a lover.
This is a collection of life experiences that shows the world that despite the horror and trauma so many endured - including the nightmares that followed them long after - Jewish people will always hold on to hope.
Take Elie Wiesel, one of the survivors, who wrote a trilogy of memoirs - Night, Dawn, and Day – his explanation for these titles - to represent a movement from darkness into light, reflecting the idea in Jewish tradition that a new day begins in the evening.
Reading this is harrowing. It isn’t easy. There are fleeting moments of hope, but hundreds more of despair. Auschwitz, alongside all the other camps, will always be a place of death, silence, and of pure evil. But the Jewish people are a beacon of light - of hope, courage, and the enduring strength of humanity.
You tried to dehumanise and eliminate an entire community. You failed.
Each story I read was a story of hope. Each experience I imagined - and, quite frankly, continue to hear of experiences in today’s world, from friends, family, and in reality, my own life, reminds me: we are living proof. Hope prevails.
He who saves one life saves the world entire.
Thank you to Anne from Random Things Tours for gifting me a copy.
I’m not going to sit here and pick a favourite story. They are all horrific, all full of terror, but they are also full of hope.
There were some that struck me harder than others, and I genuinely had to put the book down and walk away. This is reality. This is non-fiction. Whilst it is so hard, almost incomprehensible to imagine what they went through, the sheer fact is: it happened. These were real people. Real Jewish people. Men, women, and children.
I am a Jewish woman. A real Jewish woman. I am a Jewish mother. This would have been me. I would have had to make that decision - whether to tell my child to try to survive or to prepare for death - and do what I could for him. The fact that children were thrown out of moving carriages at even the slightest hint of survival; in other instances, parents told their children to lie about their ages to avoid death. Mothers were forced to do whatever they could to give their child a fighting chance, or to take the pain away before it began. A decision no mother, no human, should ever have to face.
It goes beyond words. It is incomprehensible to imagine.
What also strikes hard is that this was the 1930s and 1940s, and the way this community was treated, both before and during, simply because of who they were, because of the blood that runs through their veins - practicing or not, it made no difference - is an absolute reflection of what is happening today. In 2026. 80–90 years later. In this world. Our only “crime”? Being Jewish. Being who we are.
“Never again.” Two words often spoken. But in reality, has anything truly changed? That is something we have to sit with every single day.
But through it all, through this book, through the Jewish people, the resilience and strength shown goes beyond words. No matter what is thrown our way, we live in hope. And that is what this book is all about: the hope of tomorrow, the hope of getting through, the hope that carried them through unimaginable suffering.
Some of these stories are from survivors, some from resistance workers, some from non-Jews.
Otto Frank, Anne Frank, and Tola Grossman – who you may know better as Tova Friedman - the five-year-old who was told by her mother to bury herself under a pile of corpses, keeping her head positioned just enough to breathe in order to survive.
There are survivors who later branded themselves with numbers, feeling wrong or incomplete without the visible proof of what they endured – survivors’ guilt at its truest. No one can truly comprehend the mental strength required to continue living long after the horrors ended.
They are often called “stories,” but that word feels wrong. They are not stories. They are real life. They lost their identities and were reduced to numbers.
But each number, every single one, was a unique human being. Each ‘number’ was a son, a daughter, a mother, a father, a brother, a sister, a friend, a lover.
This is a collection of life experiences that shows the world that despite the horror and trauma so many endured - including the nightmares that followed them long after - Jewish people will always hold on to hope.
Take Elie Wiesel, one of the survivors, who wrote a trilogy of memoirs - Night, Dawn, and Day – his explanation for these titles - to represent a movement from darkness into light, reflecting the idea in Jewish tradition that a new day begins in the evening.
Reading this is harrowing. It isn’t easy. There are fleeting moments of hope, but hundreds more of despair. Auschwitz, alongside all the other camps, will always be a place of death, silence, and of pure evil. But the Jewish people are a beacon of light - of hope, courage, and the enduring strength of humanity.
You tried to dehumanise and eliminate an entire community. You failed.
Each story I read was a story of hope. Each experience I imagined - and, quite frankly, continue to hear of experiences in today’s world, from friends, family, and in reality, my own life, reminds me: we are living proof. Hope prevails.
He who saves one life saves the world entire.
Thank you to Anne from Random Things Tours for gifting me a copy.
March 27, 2026
I don’t think I’ve ever struggled to “review” a book quite like this one.
Stories of Hope from Auschwitz by Petra Stevenson isn’t something you read and rate-it’s something you sit with. These aren’t stories in the way we’re used to. They’re real accounts. Traumatic, devastating, and deeply moving yet somehow still carrying fragments of hope.
What stayed with me most wasn’t just the scale of suffering, but the details. There are moments in this book that feel almost unbearable to read - like mothers being forced into unimaginable choices to spare their children further suffering. It’s impossible to fully process. The phrase “choiceless choices” feels painfully real here.
One story that really stuck was John Chillag… liberated weighing under four stone, yet going on to live a full life, becoming a lecturer, and holding onto the belief that no matter what is done to your body, hope can keep your mind free. That mindset is hard to even comprehend.
Another detail that hit me harder than I expected: people having to buy the yellow star they were forced to wear. It’s such a small thing in the grand scale of atrocities, but it says so much about the cruelty and dehumanisation.
And then there are the small moments. Tiny acts of kindness. Sharing food. Offering comfort. These moments shouldn’t feel extraordinary- but in that environment, they were everything. They were survival.
Every story in here is a story of hope because without hope, none of them would have survived to tell it.
This book doesn’t try to soften anything. It doesn’t dramatise. It simply bears witness. And that’s what makes it so powerful.This isn’t an easy read. It’s heartbreaking, heavy, and at times overwhelming. But it feels important- because these stories matter. Because remembering matters.
And because there are millions more who never got the chance to tell theirs.
Stories of Hope from Auschwitz by Petra Stevenson isn’t something you read and rate-it’s something you sit with. These aren’t stories in the way we’re used to. They’re real accounts. Traumatic, devastating, and deeply moving yet somehow still carrying fragments of hope.
What stayed with me most wasn’t just the scale of suffering, but the details. There are moments in this book that feel almost unbearable to read - like mothers being forced into unimaginable choices to spare their children further suffering. It’s impossible to fully process. The phrase “choiceless choices” feels painfully real here.
One story that really stuck was John Chillag… liberated weighing under four stone, yet going on to live a full life, becoming a lecturer, and holding onto the belief that no matter what is done to your body, hope can keep your mind free. That mindset is hard to even comprehend.
Another detail that hit me harder than I expected: people having to buy the yellow star they were forced to wear. It’s such a small thing in the grand scale of atrocities, but it says so much about the cruelty and dehumanisation.
And then there are the small moments. Tiny acts of kindness. Sharing food. Offering comfort. These moments shouldn’t feel extraordinary- but in that environment, they were everything. They were survival.
Every story in here is a story of hope because without hope, none of them would have survived to tell it.
This book doesn’t try to soften anything. It doesn’t dramatise. It simply bears witness. And that’s what makes it so powerful.This isn’t an easy read. It’s heartbreaking, heavy, and at times overwhelming. But it feels important- because these stories matter. Because remembering matters.
And because there are millions more who never got the chance to tell theirs.
Review of advance copy
This book is very different to the ones I've been reading lately but given the state our world is in currently is perfectly placed. It shares accounts from people who lived through Auschwitz.
I can't say one story stands out more than another as they're equally as harrowing. The horrendous things people do to one another is not something that surprises me in this day and age and we often tune out with war being a constant in one country or another. If it's not in front of you then you just don't see it.
The people in these accounts show the humanity in those suffering where they support each other, sacrifice themselves and resist a regime despite knowing the consequences. The hope that comes from each and determination to survive echoes throughout. But, the cost was high and wasnt just for those contained in the camps but those tasked with keeping people prisoner. Doctors and nurses tried to help but we see that oftentimes the help was barbed - the nurse terminating pregnancy in order to save a mother was sad. 😢
Children lying about their ages to spare themselves from the chamber was devastating especially when they knew their siblings wouldn't be spared and their parents were likely to Be killed too. Conditions were terrible and treatment worse. Hard to imagine.
Within the stories we learn of musicians, artists and dancers. Real people and their lives and professions before being stripped of everything. In many accounts, they survived and went on to live building family, community and sharing awareness of the holocaust. It sounds positive and hopeful that people did come out of the other side but, the accounts are few in comparison to lives lost. A hard read but a perfect dose of reality.
I can't say one story stands out more than another as they're equally as harrowing. The horrendous things people do to one another is not something that surprises me in this day and age and we often tune out with war being a constant in one country or another. If it's not in front of you then you just don't see it.
The people in these accounts show the humanity in those suffering where they support each other, sacrifice themselves and resist a regime despite knowing the consequences. The hope that comes from each and determination to survive echoes throughout. But, the cost was high and wasnt just for those contained in the camps but those tasked with keeping people prisoner. Doctors and nurses tried to help but we see that oftentimes the help was barbed - the nurse terminating pregnancy in order to save a mother was sad. 😢
Children lying about their ages to spare themselves from the chamber was devastating especially when they knew their siblings wouldn't be spared and their parents were likely to Be killed too. Conditions were terrible and treatment worse. Hard to imagine.
Within the stories we learn of musicians, artists and dancers. Real people and their lives and professions before being stripped of everything. In many accounts, they survived and went on to live building family, community and sharing awareness of the holocaust. It sounds positive and hopeful that people did come out of the other side but, the accounts are few in comparison to lives lost. A hard read but a perfect dose of reality.
April 8, 2026
For my full sensory review please visit my blog.
Any book about Auschwitz or the Holocaust is not for the faint hearted and needs to be understood that you will read horrific scenes.
I have read many books that cover this subject from childhood. I often read or come across the same stories, in Stories of Hope from Auschwitz there was many new to me stories and families and names.
There are many famous names too and realising who is related to who and I found various revelations that I went on to research further. Each story is just a few pages long, however the author manages to pack so much in, in just those few pages.
I like the background, we learn how each person found themselves in the cattle carts on the train to Auschwitz. The reader learns of some of the persons life before and up to the point they enter Auschwitz. The reader leans the heartbreaking stories of what then happens from their arrival.
No matter how many books I read on the subject, I always shed a tear. These stories need to be share and spoken about. The author also didn’t repeat what others had said about their own experiences and instead gives us the book tiles or journal as to where to find out more.
It is amazing to discover just how many survivors did go on to write books or share their stories to be written. The author has written the book with the upmost respect and I found it a fascinating and unputdownable read. I highly recommend this book.
Any book about Auschwitz or the Holocaust is not for the faint hearted and needs to be understood that you will read horrific scenes.
I have read many books that cover this subject from childhood. I often read or come across the same stories, in Stories of Hope from Auschwitz there was many new to me stories and families and names.
There are many famous names too and realising who is related to who and I found various revelations that I went on to research further. Each story is just a few pages long, however the author manages to pack so much in, in just those few pages.
I like the background, we learn how each person found themselves in the cattle carts on the train to Auschwitz. The reader learns of some of the persons life before and up to the point they enter Auschwitz. The reader leans the heartbreaking stories of what then happens from their arrival.
No matter how many books I read on the subject, I always shed a tear. These stories need to be share and spoken about. The author also didn’t repeat what others had said about their own experiences and instead gives us the book tiles or journal as to where to find out more.
It is amazing to discover just how many survivors did go on to write books or share their stories to be written. The author has written the book with the upmost respect and I found it a fascinating and unputdownable read. I highly recommend this book.
April 1, 2026
This factual book of real-life stories from survivors of the horror that was Auschwitz was never going to be easy read. Unlike most books I found myself putting this down for a day or two before picking it up and reading another chapter or two. Most chapters are very short, just a few pages, so there isn’t a lot of detail in some. But each has its own horrors and hopes.
When the camps were liberated in 1945 most of the prisoners had been taken on a death march to camps in Germany leaving just 7000 behind. It is inspiring to see just how some of these survivors were able to achieve so much in their lives but there must have been many survivors who never recovered fully, whether physically or emotionally.
I can’t really pick out any particular chapter that was more important/emotional/evil than any other. With so many stories there are some similarities between them. They are all traumatic and despite all the stories I’ve read before it still completely astounds me how humans beings can treat each other so inhumanely. A hard but important and emotional read. As the number of survivors declines it’s important that this is never forgotten. The worst and the best of humanity in one book.
When the camps were liberated in 1945 most of the prisoners had been taken on a death march to camps in Germany leaving just 7000 behind. It is inspiring to see just how some of these survivors were able to achieve so much in their lives but there must have been many survivors who never recovered fully, whether physically or emotionally.
I can’t really pick out any particular chapter that was more important/emotional/evil than any other. With so many stories there are some similarities between them. They are all traumatic and despite all the stories I’ve read before it still completely astounds me how humans beings can treat each other so inhumanely. A hard but important and emotional read. As the number of survivors declines it’s important that this is never forgotten. The worst and the best of humanity in one book.
March 29, 2026
"𝙷𝚘𝚙𝚎, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎. 𝙸’𝚖 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚏 𝚞𝚜, 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎, 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚊 𝚍𝚊𝚢.”
From the moment I've read the introduction, I already knew. These powerful stories will destroy me and fill me with hope at the same time. Reading these real life events of Auschwitz, about how people there suffered at concentration camps and how they still, after all that terror and pain, managed to hold onto hope and show humanity to each other... It was a truly empowering and inspiring book, I am so grateful to have read.
I haven't cried on a book in a long time...but this. This one truly touched my heart. I cried many times... Every small act of kindness, every tiny piece of breadcrumbs matters. I can't even imagine the horror they went through these people... As a Hungarian it was even more heartbreaking to read about all the Hungarians stories and the children, so many got killed... These were the stories of those who survived, and those, who with each act of kindness helped them make it out alive. Live to tell people their stories and have families.
𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐀𝐮𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐳 is a must-read to all. ♡
From the moment I've read the introduction, I already knew. These powerful stories will destroy me and fill me with hope at the same time. Reading these real life events of Auschwitz, about how people there suffered at concentration camps and how they still, after all that terror and pain, managed to hold onto hope and show humanity to each other... It was a truly empowering and inspiring book, I am so grateful to have read.
I haven't cried on a book in a long time...but this. This one truly touched my heart. I cried many times... Every small act of kindness, every tiny piece of breadcrumbs matters. I can't even imagine the horror they went through these people... As a Hungarian it was even more heartbreaking to read about all the Hungarians stories and the children, so many got killed... These were the stories of those who survived, and those, who with each act of kindness helped them make it out alive. Live to tell people their stories and have families.
𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐀𝐮𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐳 is a must-read to all. ♡
April 4, 2026
It’s hard to give a book like this book 3 stars, (I would give it more 3 and a half if that were possible), but I need to for a particular reason: I spotted mistakes in this book. An example of this was on page 107 - “the dairy”. It said that Otto Frank (the father of Anne Frank) went info hiding with his wife, two daughters and his mother in law. When they were discovered and sent to camps, he was then separated from his wife, daughters and mother in law. But this is not possible as his mother in law died in January 1942, when they went into hiding in July 1942, and were discovered in August 1944.
However: I did like reading about so many different stories, and the journeys they went through to survive. Most of them were only a few pages long, so very easy to read. It was hard to pick one that stood out to me, as they’re all so different.
However: I did like reading about so many different stories, and the journeys they went through to survive. Most of them were only a few pages long, so very easy to read. It was hard to pick one that stood out to me, as they’re all so different.
April 6, 2026
I have read a number of books based on the Holocaust and specifically Auschwitz, but never one like this. Each individual true story describes a different aspect - the gas chambers, the torture, the medical experimentation and the starvation juxtaposed with the friendships, small gestures of kindness, courage, luck, resilience and, of course, hope. I was fascinated by the post Auschwitz details, the teaching and sharing of experiences and the long lives some survivors lived. I found a few of the chapters particularly moving - He Who Saves One Life, Choiceless Choices and The Twins. I only read a few chapters in one sitting so I could stop and reflect on the words and experiences. What unimaginable times that should never be forgotten.
March 26, 2026
Stories of Hope from Auschwitz is definitely a hard read, but Holocaust stories are never light reading. Having said that, it's a read that reveals the best of humanity under the very worst of circumstances.
For me, there isn't a specific story that stands out, as they're all as harrowing and traumatic as eachother, but there's also light and optimism within the tales as we learn of the real people, the artists, the dancers, the musicians and of how some survived and went on to raise families.
So it's a read of two halves, the dark and the light.
4 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 's from me.
For me, there isn't a specific story that stands out, as they're all as harrowing and traumatic as eachother, but there's also light and optimism within the tales as we learn of the real people, the artists, the dancers, the musicians and of how some survived and went on to raise families.
So it's a read of two halves, the dark and the light.
4 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 's from me.
Read
April 1, 2026Stories of Hope from Auschwitz is a non-fiction read containing many stories of those who were in Auschwitz.
Each chapter is a different person’s story and is only a couple of pages long. This makes it easy to grab the book read a story then put it down.
I’ve read other accounts of Auschwitz survivors before but this book is bespoke because it covers many people’s stories and really gives you a feel for the amount of people who were affected - rather than just looking at a number on a page.
Each chapter is a different person’s story and is only a couple of pages long. This makes it easy to grab the book read a story then put it down.
I’ve read other accounts of Auschwitz survivors before but this book is bespoke because it covers many people’s stories and really gives you a feel for the amount of people who were affected - rather than just looking at a number on a page.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews