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A Jew in the Woods
“A rare, if not singular, Holocaust-era artifact… It offers the chance to enrich a little-explored topic of World War II history, one often left out of the broader canon of Holocaust the Jews who escaped Nazi persecution and fled to the woods of Eastern Europe.”
―Rebecca Frankel, author of Into the A Holocaust Story of Survival, Triumph, and Love
Of the 35,000 Lithuanian Jews trapped by the Germans in the Kovno Ghetto, most did not survive. Berl Kagan, a 34-year-old journalist and political activist, was among the few who escaped the ghetto before it was liquidated. Yet this bid for freedom was only the first step in a protracted quest to cheat almost-certain death. With his wife and sister-in-law, Kagan spent nine months in the forest, facing near-starvation, freezing temperatures, and the ever-present threat of capture and murder. The Red Army was advancing―but how many miracles would it take to see the day of liberation?
Over the course of those dark, intrepid months, Kagan somehow kept a journal, recording his day-to-day life with unflinching lucidity and eloquence. The experience of Jews who fled to the woods of Eastern Europe during the Holocaust is little documented―but here we have an electrifying, real-time account of, in the author’s words, “one long, horror-filled drama.” Both riveting and ashimmer with moral beauty and hope, A Jew in the Woods is an astonishing testament to the resilience of the human spirit.
―Rebecca Frankel, author of Into the A Holocaust Story of Survival, Triumph, and Love
Of the 35,000 Lithuanian Jews trapped by the Germans in the Kovno Ghetto, most did not survive. Berl Kagan, a 34-year-old journalist and political activist, was among the few who escaped the ghetto before it was liquidated. Yet this bid for freedom was only the first step in a protracted quest to cheat almost-certain death. With his wife and sister-in-law, Kagan spent nine months in the forest, facing near-starvation, freezing temperatures, and the ever-present threat of capture and murder. The Red Army was advancing―but how many miracles would it take to see the day of liberation?
Over the course of those dark, intrepid months, Kagan somehow kept a journal, recording his day-to-day life with unflinching lucidity and eloquence. The experience of Jews who fled to the woods of Eastern Europe during the Holocaust is little documented―but here we have an electrifying, real-time account of, in the author’s words, “one long, horror-filled drama.” Both riveting and ashimmer with moral beauty and hope, A Jew in the Woods is an astonishing testament to the resilience of the human spirit.
149 pages, Paperback
First published March 21, 2018
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September 17, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and White Goat Press for providing me with an ARC of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.
Although I do not enjoy reading memoirs of Holocaust survivors, I make sure to do so whenever I can. I am the daughter of a Holocaust survivor from Poland who spent the majority of the Holocaust in hiding, so my father instilled a strong urge to bear witness. To me, that means reading nonfiction accounts written by survivors and continuing to carry the message that my father spent his life sharing.
I have read countless memoirs and nonfiction books about the Holocaust, but each survivor has a unique story, especially those who were in hiding. This book caught my attention, and I was fascinated by the fact of a Jew in hiding during the Holocaust keeping a diary that survived. While my father and his immediate family survived in Poland, where 90% of the country’s Jews were murdered, I was curious to learn more about what it was like in Lithuania. Between 90% and 95% of Lithuania’s Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, and before the war there was a thriving Jewish community and it had been known as a major Jewish religious and cultural center since the 18th century.
This book was translated from the original Yiddish (A Yid in Vald) by Max Rosenfeld, and has an epilogue written by his daughter. It took me nearly a month to read this short read (149 pages), while reading lighter reads concurrently, mainly because it hit really close to home. Kagan’s story of survival had a lot of similarities to that of my own family.
The writing is simple and straightforward but it is also raw and uncensored. It makes it both easy to read yet emotionally difficult. Kagan doesn’t make attempts to sanitize the horrors of the Holocaust at any point—he openly shares about the misery of being infested with lice, freezing cold, unable to bathe, starving, and always with the threat of death hanging over their heads. Every day there were decisions to make: should we stay in the ghetto or try to escape? If we escape, where can we go? Even while in hiding, they constantly had to worry about being caught, being given up by a neighbor, and above all, their lives were ruled by fear.
“My own opinion was that it would be better to get out of the ghetto ten months too early than ten minutes too late.”
Kagan shares what life in the ghetto was like living with the threat of liquidation over their heads. He spends time considering when to make his escape, along with his wife and his sister-in-law. The odds weren’t good for Jews in Lithuania no matter what—the Nazis were hunting Jews, the Lithuanian partisans in the forest that fought against the Germans often held equally antisemitic views so trying to join them might result in being shot.
There are so many passages in the book that really hit me in the feels, and it wasn’t just because of the similarities between the Kagans and my own family (who spent 27 months hiding in a tiny attic loft in a barn with 6 other people). This is a raw, uncensored, and highly emotional book, and even I found it hard to sit and read for long periods of time, so I made sure to squeeze in a chapter or two each day. He openly shares about feeling stuck, “lying in a living grave,” while life goes on for the Gentiles. My father also would share about being covered in lice, but it seemed like they focused on the smaller irritants to not have to think about death hanging over them at all times. This quote really hit me hard:
“If we ever get out of this alive, we will probably wonder how we managed to endure such a hail of close calls, such a long series of emotional shocks, without our hearts bursting into pieces.”
Lithuania was a center of Jewish religious life and Torah study was widespread, so it isn’t surprising that Kagan leans heavily into his faith and spirituality. He leans on his vast memories of Biblical study and parables to get through this ordeal, even not knowing whether he would survive or not. This didn’t surprise me at all, especially after seeing this occur in my own lifetime—when the hostages returned from Gaza, so many of them reported becoming more spiritual and religious to get through their ordeal.
Besides the cramped and dangerous situations when a pair of Lithuanian peasants open their barn to a group of Jews, they also had to worry about being able to pay for food and lodging, the internal squabbles that inevitably occur with a group of people living in close quarters for a long period of time, and most of all, being discovered and killed. They lived in constant fear and Kagan describes it as:
“Every rustle, every crackle of a twig, every bark of a dog, every sound of a passing wagon—everything gives birth to a thought: They’re after me. They will catch me. They are leading me—to death.”
One thing I have noticed about fictional Holocaust stories, even those based on a true story, is that they often end in a positive way. However, that wasn’t how it typically was for most Jews. I often hear (and say) that two things can be true at the same time, and that’s never clearer than in this book. Kagan expresses happiness over his survival of the Holocaust, but tempers that joy with all of the pain that arises from realizing that yes, you lived but have nowhere to go and often no one to celebrate survival with. Entire families were wiped out across Nazi-occupied Europe, but in countries like Poland and Lithuania nearly all of the Jewish population was wiped out. Discovering that your home is gone, your family is gone, your resources are gone, and all you have is your life and if you’re especially lucky, a few family members that also survived. It also takes him time to readjust to living without having to always worry about someone seeing or hearing you, and that also echoes experiences of hostages kept in Gaza:
“The fear of the people who have dominated us does not vanish immediately. We still walk unsteadily. We still speak in whispers. We still hesitate to utter a Yiddish world aloud. And if anyone does raise his voice, we still warn him, ‘Sh-sh! Not so loud!’"
Overall, this was a raw, emotional, and deeply distressing read, but also so important. Part of the distress might be because it did echo experiences that my own family had, but I do feel strongly that a book like this is a vital and enlightening addition to Holocaust nonfiction. Each story of a Jew in hiding is different from another, and this book offers an eyewitness account of the ways Lithuanian Jews made use of the forests to hide. It adds to the historical record, and for that alone, this was valuable reading for me even if it wasn’t an easy read. I loved that it showed the long-standing tradition of both joy and pain that was always present for so many generations of Jews—even those who survived struggled to celebrate their freedom and survival when there were so many other major losses, including homes, families, finances, and entire communities. While this was not an easy read, it is worthwhile.
Bottom line: An incredible memoir of a Lithuanian man who survives the Holocaust by hiding out, it is also highly emotional and doesn’t sanitize the horrors of Jews living in hiding during Nazi occupation. Just be warned: it is grim and can be distressing, and the ending is bittersweet.
Although I do not enjoy reading memoirs of Holocaust survivors, I make sure to do so whenever I can. I am the daughter of a Holocaust survivor from Poland who spent the majority of the Holocaust in hiding, so my father instilled a strong urge to bear witness. To me, that means reading nonfiction accounts written by survivors and continuing to carry the message that my father spent his life sharing.
I have read countless memoirs and nonfiction books about the Holocaust, but each survivor has a unique story, especially those who were in hiding. This book caught my attention, and I was fascinated by the fact of a Jew in hiding during the Holocaust keeping a diary that survived. While my father and his immediate family survived in Poland, where 90% of the country’s Jews were murdered, I was curious to learn more about what it was like in Lithuania. Between 90% and 95% of Lithuania’s Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, and before the war there was a thriving Jewish community and it had been known as a major Jewish religious and cultural center since the 18th century.
This book was translated from the original Yiddish (A Yid in Vald) by Max Rosenfeld, and has an epilogue written by his daughter. It took me nearly a month to read this short read (149 pages), while reading lighter reads concurrently, mainly because it hit really close to home. Kagan’s story of survival had a lot of similarities to that of my own family.
The writing is simple and straightforward but it is also raw and uncensored. It makes it both easy to read yet emotionally difficult. Kagan doesn’t make attempts to sanitize the horrors of the Holocaust at any point—he openly shares about the misery of being infested with lice, freezing cold, unable to bathe, starving, and always with the threat of death hanging over their heads. Every day there were decisions to make: should we stay in the ghetto or try to escape? If we escape, where can we go? Even while in hiding, they constantly had to worry about being caught, being given up by a neighbor, and above all, their lives were ruled by fear.
“My own opinion was that it would be better to get out of the ghetto ten months too early than ten minutes too late.”
Kagan shares what life in the ghetto was like living with the threat of liquidation over their heads. He spends time considering when to make his escape, along with his wife and his sister-in-law. The odds weren’t good for Jews in Lithuania no matter what—the Nazis were hunting Jews, the Lithuanian partisans in the forest that fought against the Germans often held equally antisemitic views so trying to join them might result in being shot.
There are so many passages in the book that really hit me in the feels, and it wasn’t just because of the similarities between the Kagans and my own family (who spent 27 months hiding in a tiny attic loft in a barn with 6 other people). This is a raw, uncensored, and highly emotional book, and even I found it hard to sit and read for long periods of time, so I made sure to squeeze in a chapter or two each day. He openly shares about feeling stuck, “lying in a living grave,” while life goes on for the Gentiles. My father also would share about being covered in lice, but it seemed like they focused on the smaller irritants to not have to think about death hanging over them at all times. This quote really hit me hard:
“If we ever get out of this alive, we will probably wonder how we managed to endure such a hail of close calls, such a long series of emotional shocks, without our hearts bursting into pieces.”
Lithuania was a center of Jewish religious life and Torah study was widespread, so it isn’t surprising that Kagan leans heavily into his faith and spirituality. He leans on his vast memories of Biblical study and parables to get through this ordeal, even not knowing whether he would survive or not. This didn’t surprise me at all, especially after seeing this occur in my own lifetime—when the hostages returned from Gaza, so many of them reported becoming more spiritual and religious to get through their ordeal.
Besides the cramped and dangerous situations when a pair of Lithuanian peasants open their barn to a group of Jews, they also had to worry about being able to pay for food and lodging, the internal squabbles that inevitably occur with a group of people living in close quarters for a long period of time, and most of all, being discovered and killed. They lived in constant fear and Kagan describes it as:
“Every rustle, every crackle of a twig, every bark of a dog, every sound of a passing wagon—everything gives birth to a thought: They’re after me. They will catch me. They are leading me—to death.”
One thing I have noticed about fictional Holocaust stories, even those based on a true story, is that they often end in a positive way. However, that wasn’t how it typically was for most Jews. I often hear (and say) that two things can be true at the same time, and that’s never clearer than in this book. Kagan expresses happiness over his survival of the Holocaust, but tempers that joy with all of the pain that arises from realizing that yes, you lived but have nowhere to go and often no one to celebrate survival with. Entire families were wiped out across Nazi-occupied Europe, but in countries like Poland and Lithuania nearly all of the Jewish population was wiped out. Discovering that your home is gone, your family is gone, your resources are gone, and all you have is your life and if you’re especially lucky, a few family members that also survived. It also takes him time to readjust to living without having to always worry about someone seeing or hearing you, and that also echoes experiences of hostages kept in Gaza:
“The fear of the people who have dominated us does not vanish immediately. We still walk unsteadily. We still speak in whispers. We still hesitate to utter a Yiddish world aloud. And if anyone does raise his voice, we still warn him, ‘Sh-sh! Not so loud!’"
Overall, this was a raw, emotional, and deeply distressing read, but also so important. Part of the distress might be because it did echo experiences that my own family had, but I do feel strongly that a book like this is a vital and enlightening addition to Holocaust nonfiction. Each story of a Jew in hiding is different from another, and this book offers an eyewitness account of the ways Lithuanian Jews made use of the forests to hide. It adds to the historical record, and for that alone, this was valuable reading for me even if it wasn’t an easy read. I loved that it showed the long-standing tradition of both joy and pain that was always present for so many generations of Jews—even those who survived struggled to celebrate their freedom and survival when there were so many other major losses, including homes, families, finances, and entire communities. While this was not an easy read, it is worthwhile.
Bottom line: An incredible memoir of a Lithuanian man who survives the Holocaust by hiding out, it is also highly emotional and doesn’t sanitize the horrors of Jews living in hiding during Nazi occupation. Just be warned: it is grim and can be distressing, and the ending is bittersweet.
August 23, 2026
This is the diary of Berl Kagan, a Lithuanian Jew, during the latter part of World War II. Kagan, his wife, and his wife’s sister, along with five others, were able to escape the Jewish ghetto of Kovno. I cannot believe they managed to not only get out, but survive for nine months in the hellish circumstances in which they found themselves. Even the healthiest human beings would have been hard-pressed to overcome such physical, mental and emotional hardships. Imagine that every time someone knocks on the door, all eight of you must grab your few possessions and hide, hoping against all reason that you will not be discovered. Bathing and clean clothing are things of the past, so fleas, lice, ticks and gnats are ever-present, tormenting you every second of every day and night.
There’s something to be said about knowing each of your neighbors, but the villagers took nosiness to a whole other level. I can’t imagine the stress endured by not only the Jews, but the old peasant couple who harbored them. It was an immediate death sentence for everyone if the secret was discovered. My anxiety is spiking just thinking about it.
This simply *must* be required reading for everyone, no matter the age. It’s astonishing that Kagan managed to keep the diary with him—the very least we can do in return is to read his words and pass them along to others.
What would you write in similar circumstances, if you could only write between the lines of one small book?
What would you consider to be of utmost importance?
It certainly bears thinking about.
Please read this book. The epilogue is also significant.
5 out of 5 stars, which honestly seems paltry, considering the subject matter.
Thank you to NetGalley, White Goat Press, Miriam Kagan Lieber (the author’s daughter), and Max Rosenfeld (who has done a wonderful job translating) for allowing me to have an advance copy. I am honored.
I am writing this review entirely voluntarily.
There’s something to be said about knowing each of your neighbors, but the villagers took nosiness to a whole other level. I can’t imagine the stress endured by not only the Jews, but the old peasant couple who harbored them. It was an immediate death sentence for everyone if the secret was discovered. My anxiety is spiking just thinking about it.
This simply *must* be required reading for everyone, no matter the age. It’s astonishing that Kagan managed to keep the diary with him—the very least we can do in return is to read his words and pass them along to others.
What would you write in similar circumstances, if you could only write between the lines of one small book?
What would you consider to be of utmost importance?
It certainly bears thinking about.
Please read this book. The epilogue is also significant.
5 out of 5 stars, which honestly seems paltry, considering the subject matter.
Thank you to NetGalley, White Goat Press, Miriam Kagan Lieber (the author’s daughter), and Max Rosenfeld (who has done a wonderful job translating) for allowing me to have an advance copy. I am honored.
I am writing this review entirely voluntarily.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Lithuanian Jew and journalist Berl Kagan was forced to make the impossible decision of staying or leaving the Kovno Ghetto in World War II before it was liquidated. Both options carried a death sentence. He, his wife, and five others decided to leave while they could but the hardships they were exposed to were nearly insurmountable. The group spent nine months in the forest, on constant high alert. Thankfully, Kagan kept a detailed journal of the ordeal. His writing is raw, real, beautiful, intelligent, and heart crushing. Even one day in that level of desperation is incomprehensible.
Initially, their stay in a ramshackle stable of an older couple was torment, from lice to fleas to sharing space with animals to filth to starvation. But that was just the beginning. They were in constant fear of being turned over to the Nazis so the merest hint of company meant scrambling with their meager belongings into hiding. After a time, they were forced to move into the forest during winter. Tensions in the group ran high, adding a further layer of agony. Eventually, they returned to their haven, the stable, which was now a palace in comparison. But the next moment was never promised them.
My eyes were glued to the pages as the details were extremely vivid and easy to envision. The moving story really impacted me. I have read many, many books on the Holocaust but this is one of the most personal and unique. There is power in words and that is incredibly evident here. This book should be mandatory reading for every reader. I will never forget it.
Initially, their stay in a ramshackle stable of an older couple was torment, from lice to fleas to sharing space with animals to filth to starvation. But that was just the beginning. They were in constant fear of being turned over to the Nazis so the merest hint of company meant scrambling with their meager belongings into hiding. After a time, they were forced to move into the forest during winter. Tensions in the group ran high, adding a further layer of agony. Eventually, they returned to their haven, the stable, which was now a palace in comparison. But the next moment was never promised them.
My eyes were glued to the pages as the details were extremely vivid and easy to envision. The moving story really impacted me. I have read many, many books on the Holocaust but this is one of the most personal and unique. There is power in words and that is incredibly evident here. This book should be mandatory reading for every reader. I will never forget it.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This book is the English translation of a Yid in Vald, a firsthand account of Berl Kagan and his family as they escape into hiding from a condemned Lithuanian Jewish ghetto. Rather than seeking shelter within the walls of a home, he and his family flee to the countryside, hiding in the forest in the day, emerging in the night and sleeping in barns when they are fortunate enough to be able to - “Children of a people who ‘brought light unto the nations’ now seek protection from the dark.”
This is a dark read, a reminder of atrocities that should never be forgotten. At the same time, it is beautifully written and beautifully translated. This book is very much in the same vein as The Diary of a Young Girl and Incidents in the Live of a Slave Girl, in that it offers valuable insight into the inhumanity of a dark time from the perspective of the oppressed. If you are researching the holocaust or WWII, this will be an especially vital read.
Thank you to NetGalley, the family of Berl Kagan, and White Goat Press for sharing an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.
This is a dark read, a reminder of atrocities that should never be forgotten. At the same time, it is beautifully written and beautifully translated. This book is very much in the same vein as The Diary of a Young Girl and Incidents in the Live of a Slave Girl, in that it offers valuable insight into the inhumanity of a dark time from the perspective of the oppressed. If you are researching the holocaust or WWII, this will be an especially vital read.
Thank you to NetGalley, the family of Berl Kagan, and White Goat Press for sharing an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Death and death and death, from every direction. How does one escape it?
Quiet but powerful, without embellishments and flourishes, this last will and testament intimately portrays the stark reality of existence, survival, endurance and perseverance in the face of unimaginable circumstances.
Inhuman suffering calls forth inhuman strength.
Written in the form of diary entries, this Holocaust memoir is a reminder and an inspiration.
It is an illuminating account of the strength of the human spirit and of its resilience in one of history's darkest periods.
Life goes on even when you hear the sound of death’s wings fluttering over you every minute of the day and night.
Thanks to Berl Kagan’s family, the publisher and Netgalley for my advanced copy.
Quiet but powerful, without embellishments and flourishes, this last will and testament intimately portrays the stark reality of existence, survival, endurance and perseverance in the face of unimaginable circumstances.
Inhuman suffering calls forth inhuman strength.
Written in the form of diary entries, this Holocaust memoir is a reminder and an inspiration.
It is an illuminating account of the strength of the human spirit and of its resilience in one of history's darkest periods.
Life goes on even when you hear the sound of death’s wings fluttering over you every minute of the day and night.
Thanks to Berl Kagan’s family, the publisher and Netgalley for my advanced copy.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
A Jew in the Woods offers another harrowing perspective into life during the holocaust. Berl Kagan was among the few who escaped the Kovno Ghetto during Hitler’s reign. Despite escaping the ghetto prior to its destruction, the following months were plagued by fear and misery as the group hid while completely at the mercy of the people that helped them and the elements.
This diary serves as another important reminder of the Holocaust, but also shows that everyday people doing the right thing is a force in itself.
Thank you to NetGalley and White Goat Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This diary serves as another important reminder of the Holocaust, but also shows that everyday people doing the right thing is a force in itself.
Thank you to NetGalley and White Goat Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Heartbreaking and gripping, a new English language translation of the diaries of Berl Kagan, a Jew who escaped the Kovno Ghetto (Lithuania) and survived for many months in the forest, along with a small group of other Jews, with the help of a peasant couple. It's a miracle not only that they survived, but that he managed to keep the diaries with him throughout their months of hiding and escape.
September 28, 2026
This was an wonderful book written by Berl Kagan, A Lithuanian Jewish man. He, his wife and sister-in-law are saved by a non Jewish couple, who hide them in their home, their barn, and when the Nazi's get close help them hide in the woods. It was published recently by their daughter. Beautiful diary. Hard to put down. It deserves more than 5 stars
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Absolutely incredible first person account of living in the Lithuanian woods during the German occupation during WW2. The terror and the trauma is palpable. This is such an important diary and feel that it should be widely read as Anne Frank's is.
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