Destined to Live - One Woman's War, Life, Loves Remembered

by Sabina Wolanski, Diana Bagnall

Sabina van der Linden-Wolanski (1927-2011) was the only member of her family to survive the Holocaust in eastern Poland. After the war, she spent time in Silesia (now part of Poland) and Paris before emigrating to Australia in 1950. A diary and a few photographs were all she had left to remind her of her youth. Decades later, these unique items became part of the exhibition in the Information Centre of the Holocaust Memorial. Sabina gave a speech as a guest of honour at the inauguration on 10 May 2005. Her autobiography is a testament to the determination and the uncertainties of a young girl facing violence and murder, but also to the strength of character that enabled Sabina to make a new start on the other side of the world as a wife, mother and businesswoman.

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This edition is available to purchase from The Foundation Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Holocaust, Biography, Polish Literature, World War II, Memoir

245 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2008

Reviews

[Tony Cinque · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sabina’s story of her holocaust survival and subsequent life, is yet another important witness account of the terrible sufferings Jews endured during WWII. This time the narrative comes from an otherwise obscure, south-eastern Polish town, later claimed by Ukraine in the post-war boundary adjustments of European nations.

Sabina, as a young teenager, endured the brutal and senseless murder of her mother, father, brother and countless friends and acquaintances. We can’t properly understand this. That’s why these first hand accounts are invaluable.

As a survivor, Sabina went on to develop her life and business successes in her new home in Sydney, Australia. She continually rebuilt her hopes for the future, and sought fulfilment through her children, grandchildren and life-long friends and her business endeavours.

She was chosen to be the guest of honour and deliver the keynote address in 2005 at the inauguration of the newly built Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, in Berlin, Germany.

Need we ask why she inexplicably survived the Holocaust and was Destined To Live?

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you follow my blog then you'll already know that I don't read or review much non fiction, especially not memoirs, but we read about some of Sabina Wolanski's story at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin and when we found out they had an English copy of her memoir for sale we immediately bought a copy. Sabina actually gave a speech at the opening of the memorial and we heard a recording of part of that speech while touring the museum and I found her words were both poignant and deeply meaningful considering the rise of prejudice and hatred that just seems to be building in the west over the last few years.

What have I learned from my bitter experience? I have learned that hatred begets hatred. I have learned that we must not remain silent and that each of us as an individual must fight the evil of racism, discrimination, prejudice, inhumanity.

This book isn't an easy read, it took me a long time to read because I kept getting so emotional and had to take a break and walk away. I cried buckets of tears while reading and I'm welling up again now as I write this review, but don't let that put you off picking up a copy because it's such an important story.

Sabina was just 12 years old when Nazis invaded her hometown of Boryslaw (at the time part of Poland but now within Ukraine boarders) and her world was turned upside down. She talks unflinchingly about the aktions she witnessed, the way people were rounded up and sent to death camps to be gassed like her mother or just shot in the head like her father and brother. She talks about her fears and how as a child she just couldn't understand the way she was suddenly no longer able to attend school or play with her non Jewish friends, she goes into detail about life in the ghettos created to house Jewish people and about her time spent hiding in underground shelters or people's basements trying to avoid detection.

Out of all the countries in Europe Poland suffered the largest losses of Jewish life under Hitler's regime, out of 3.5 million Jews before the war 3 million people were murdered. From a Jewish population of 15,000 in and around Boryslaw Sabina was one of an estimated 800 survivors. Those kind of numbers are just so hard to comprehend, it's a tragedy on a scale that I can't wrap my head around it but that's why books like this one are so incredibly important. Sabina puts a human face to just one of those stories while so many more have been forgotten and will never be told. This book should be required reading for everyone and if you ever go to Berlin then the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe is also a must visit.

This isn't only about Sabina's live during the war though, it's also about her life after she escapes Europe and emigrates to Australia. You can see the way the events she witness shaped her whole life but she fought against all odds to survive and even travelled back to Germany to be a witness at the trial of the man who ordered the murders of her father and brother. Sabina's story is one of survival against the darkest odds, it's about the people who were willing to risk their lives to help her along the way and it's about good triumphing over evil. The most important message is that we must never forget this tragedy and we must never allow it to happen again.

I understood that while anti-Semitism had been my particular burden to bear, prejudice and hatred in any form, whether it be against blacks, or Asians, or Muslims, or women, demeaned humanity and contained within it the seeds of evil. I understood, and wanted future generations to understand, that those who remained silent in the face of prejudice and hatred gave prejudice and hatred permission not only to exist but to flourish.

[Anne Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

The earlier chapters of this book were a fascinating read as the 2022 war between Ukraine and Russia spilled over into atrocity. Sabina was a young girl in what was Poland during World War II but became Ukraine after the war. The violence happening to the people of the Ukraine in the 21st century bear an eerie resemblance to that their ancestors inflicted on the Jewish population in the region eighty years ago. Does the human race never remember the lessons of history? Apparently not. It wasn't just the Nazis who, on invading both Poland and Ukraine, who carried out repeated and terrifying 'aktionen' against the Jews, it was also close neighbours and local citizens who participated in these frightening raids. Horrifyingly, some Jews survived the war in hiding, only to be murdered on their return home by communities who believed the Nazis did not go nearly far enough in their attempt at genocide. (p164) Antisemitism was very prevalent in the part of Poland (now Ukraine) where Sabina lived. (p185) The murder of dozens of Jews who returned from the death camps to Kielce triggered alarm in the Jewish population and over 60,000 Jews left Poland between July and September 1946 when the government was issuing passports valid only to leave the country. (p165) Eva Fogelman in Conscience and Courage: Rescuers of Jews During the Holocaust suggests that most people lost their bearings under the madness of the Nazi occupation when evil was rewarded and good acts punished. (p116)

Sabina describes the first pogrom: 'Nothing in my life had prepared me for this, for the killing, the mutilation, the rape and torture in the streets of our town over those 48 hours... We were caught unawares. Nothing was organised. No-one was prepared. We heard the sound of running and shouting in the street and hid wherever we could, in a cellar, behind a cupboard, under a bed, anywhere, like mice scattering and darting into holes... I could hear people outside in the street, crazed mobs shouting, running from house to house and dragging terrified Jews from their hiding places in order to torment and slaughter them. Our attackers weren't German. They were people we knew, and people who knew us - Poles and Ukrainians. Mostly they were peasants who lived in the surrounding countryside, people who brought their produce to our marketplaces, and whose forested mountain hamlets, like Rybnik, we children from the towns knew as our summer playground. My parents sold flour and sugar and rice to them. And there they were, turning the steel blades of their sickles, ordinarily used to swish through swathes of grass and wheat, against human flesh and bone... The body count was close to 200 when the Germans called a halt to the killing.' (p33f)

[Irene · Rating 3 out of 5]

An honest story of self, but not in the best way or style. I don't know, maybe because the writer is an extrovert, the reflection is not as deep as introverts do. I always like stories of holocaust/Nazi-war survivors. They are made of tough materials how in the end they are able to share their extraordinary stories to the world.

[Gemma Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written and deeply moving. I purchased this book while in Berlin at the Memorial for Murdered Jews because at a glance I noticed that the author emigrated to Australia after the war (and I am Australian). It felt like a connection that I couldn't ignore. I feel very grateful to have had the opportunity to read this memoir during my travels. It will stay with me.

[Leonie Recz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This biography although interesting was, in my opinion, poorly written. Given my in-laws were in Poland during this time kept me engaged and if it was not recommended by them I doubt I would have finished. I will however, research for further material that covers this important period in history.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read

I learn more with each book I read on the holucast. It must never happen again. Prayers for all our people.

[Mimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent memoir of a very tragic, painful time.

[Carolyn Scarcella · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing life, the story I read about Sabina Wolanski who work alongside with Diana Bagnall who help her to write her book called “Destined to live”. She was only 12 years old when Nazi invaded her hometown of Boryslaw (at the time of Poland but now with Ukraine boarders). I couldn’t put it down, the written was intriguing, honest story of love, loss and survival. She was one of her whole family to have survived the Holocaust.

[Maryellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I continue to be in awe as I read more and more stories of Survivors of Hitler's murderous regime. This story, of a teenage girl thrown into the chaos and horror of the Nazi invasion of Poland, is no exception. Violently separated from her mother, she survived to bear witness to the eventual murder of her entire family. The triumph of her spirit is an engaging and uplifting story.

[Sherry Mackay · Rating 3 out of 5]

An amazing life. Incredible that she survived the nazi regime in Poland This is an interesting story. The writing is as you would expect from someone who is not a writer but the story keeps you going.