Elli: Coming of Age in the Holocaust

Elli Friedmann

by Livia E. Bitton-Jackson

Librarian's note: Alternate cover edition of ISBN 0812908821.

From her small, sunny hometown between the beautiful Carpathian Mountains and the blue Danube River, Elli Friedmann was taken-at a time when most girls are growing up, having boyfriends and embarking upon the adventure of life-and thrown into the murderous hell of Hitler's Final Solution.

When Elli emerged from Auschwitz and Dachau just over a year later, she was fourteen. She looked like a sixty-year-old.

This account of horrifyingly brutal inhumanity-and dogged survival - is Elli's true story.

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

212 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1980

Reviews

[Anne-Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is definitely the saddest holocaust book I've ever read... It was even more graphic and disturbing than Night. When I started the book, I didn't even know it was about the Holocaust (I have an old version that just says "Ellie" on the cover and there are no pictures) so I had no idea what I was in for. It was extremely well-written and I couldn't put it down, but at the same time I kept thinking to myself, "Ahhh stop reading!" because it was just so sad. It's hard to believe that people even survived at all - for example, the author once went seven days without eating or drinking anything. I didn't think that was humanly possible. It's also incredible that any of these people were able to move on with their lives after what happened to them, and even have families and normal jobs.

Overall, REALLY sad but very well-written and realistic. It didn't hold back at all with details. Every time I read it I just felt depressed for an hour afterwards... but I guess I'm really lucky because it only affects me for an hour or so and then I can forget about it and move on to other things. For people that went through the Holocaust, it's impossible to get it out of mind.

[Beth Bonini · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been looking, for teaching purposes, for some fresh titles in the historical genre that I will just describe, rather baldly and awkwardly, as "war stories." AlthoughDiary of a Young Girl enthralled me when I was thirteen years old, it has not been enjoyed by my students. After two years of collective disinterest in Anne Frank's story, I'm looking for something new -- and hopefully, engaging. A friend of mine (who teaches history) recommended this book, and said that his 13 year old daughter could not put it down. I would agree, entirely, that it is an unputdownable and compelling story. Unfortunately, it is also an excruciatingly detailed account of life in Auschwitz during World War II. If Elli, a 13 year old, could live through such horrors, shouldn't a 13 year old be able to bear reading about them? I've given this question a lot of thought -- and sadly, I've had to conclude that some kinds of knowledge can be too much. This is a story to give nightmares, and not for those of particularly sensitive disposition. Fascinating, yes; and not completely tragic, either; but I just can't teach it in good conscience. However, if you want a well-told, chronological story of the Jewish experience during WWII it is highly recommended.

[Jacki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was required to read this book in high-school and like all others that you are forced to read while in school I really wasn't interested...that was until I actually read the book. It is an amazing read and makes you grateful for the little things in life.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this book several times. I am passionate that we should all remember the atrocities of the Holocaust and we should NEVER let this happen again. We have had many many mass killings in many countries.......it needs to STOP!!

[Carolyn Scarcella · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my second holocaust book I haven’t read for a long time since Anne Frank. One day, two years ago I found this book that my sister decided to throw away and sell. It pops my eye when I saw the star at the front-page cover of the book. I was shocked it was another holocaust book. I was intrigued to read another girl’s story during the occupation years. I am very speechless because she describes every detailed what she went through the ghetto, concentration camps and the death march. It was an incredibly read and it haunts my thoughts when I try to visual the image where her family must fight for survival and hope. I know every holocaust survivor books are always horrendous to read but it must be told for the world to know. I love the writing style because it is so much thrilling suspense and riveting from the beginning to the end. I couldn’t put it down as a result. The story unfolds, Elli grew up in Samorin, Czechoslovakia. Elli was only 13 at the time when Nazi invades her hometown. Her family were evicted from their home and sent to Nagymagyar ghetto. Her father sent to a labour camp, then he died at Bergen-Belsen two weeks before the liberation. In June 1944, she and her mother went to a labour camp at Krakow-Plaszow. In August 1944, they went to Augsburg, Germany to work in a factory then went to Dachau where they reunited with her brother. They experience their first death march, and they escaped the death march and hide in barn, forest so on and they survived. In 1951, she moves to NYC. She enrolled her Ph.D. degree in Hebrew culture and Jewish history where she became a professor history at NYC university and taught for 37 years and she married Leonard in 1977 as a result. I enjoyed the writing because it is very easy, simple, and beautiful written. It is still a sad read but a happy ending and I couldn’t put it down.

[S.C. Skillman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read a wide range of holocaust literature, I continue to feel that it is important for books like this to come to the attention of readers over and over again through all future generations.

Nevertheless, reading first person accounts like this can lead to bewilderment and overwhelm, and I recommend also reading books which give a long-term assessment and overall perspective of what was going on in political and military terms as well as what it felt like to be one of those right in the heart of those appalling crimes against humanity.

This story is immediate, moving, harrowing and gripping. With all these first person accounts the one thing that keeps you, the reader, going - as it did those who suffered in these events - is hope. And the knowledge that this person survived, or they wouldn't be telling their story.

That is the greatest miracle of all: the ability of the human spirit to survive the most unbelievable physical, spiritual and emotional deprivations.

I believe that what kept the writer of this book going was her love for and utter commitment to family: to her mother who was with her, and to her brother, incarcerated in another camp. Ultimately, when reading these books we seek answers - wide-ranging, profound answers. I believe that the evil of Nazism derived largely from the fact that Hitler was worshipped as a god - and that led to his followers committing the most savage acts of inhumanity which for many are beyond their ability to imagine.

So, if you can bear it, read this book and others like it - and hold on to that same hope that kept the tellers of these stories alive through it all.

[Madeline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking. Terrifying. Real. These are just some of the words I can think of in relation to this book. It was the true fact behind everything that was written in Elli that made it hit hard at home for me, personally. I feel an enormous amounnt of anger towards Hitler and what he did. I don't know how Elli survived, knowing that if I was in her shoes I'd fall within a few weeks. Her strength was admirable to me and I liked how Livia detailed her life after she was released, it gave a sense of closure to the book in its entirety.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.5 stars
This is probably my favourite school book I've read so far! It was so moving and written exceptionally well and I'm glad we had to read it this year for school because it opens up ones eyes to the things people suffered in WW2 and the Holocaust. Though there were times where it was slow, it definitely picked up soon enough and once I hit that spot of enjoyment rather than work, I sped through it. Definitely pick this one up of you're looking for a breath taking true story that will move you incredibly.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in High School and it was truly an incredible book! It is truly underrated and I think gets overshadowed by books like 'The Diary of Anne Frank' a must read. The descriptions were very graphic so they gave you a real insight into what was going on with the story.

If you enjoy War stories or movies of humans facing extreme circumstances then this book is a must read.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another one I read probably over twenty five years ago. And it's another I've kept for that long. A second reading should give a better idea of whether the book stands up over time.

[Christa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely adored this book. It was written very well and a touching story. Very amazing.

[Jimy Sharp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deeply sad and moving, you won't find triumph or glory after so many horrors but that's the importance of this book, it describes in detail the horrors these people had to go through beyond anything else I've ever read. The simple but meaningful relationships, the bonds made around such darkness sometimes only for a moment. This gives you an appreciation of life and all the things we take for granted, a lesson that we shall never let anything alike this ever occur in human history again.

[Subha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elli Friedmann at 13, lived in a dream-like village in Czechoslovakia, next to Danube River. Her days are spent being academically bright at school, having teen crushes and warm soups with her family on cold winter nights. Until her father and brother are taken away by the German soldiers.
From then begins the horrifying journey for Elli and her mother of moving from one concentration camp to another, including the dreaded Auschwitz.

The writing is packed with imagery; so powerful that if you are highly empathetic by nature (like me); you would have to pause in multiple places. You will take a deep breath and close your eyes; rereading sections.
Elli narrates how women's bodies shrinks till the point that they disappear; women stop menstruating and humans remain just a stack of bones. When American soldiers find Elli, her mother and group of other women, they ask, 'Are you hurt? Are you men or women?'
When Elli steps out of the concentration camp at 14, she is compared to a 60-year-old woman!
The book broke my heart, it made me fight tears. It made me feel awe towards human spirit, hope and absolute will to survive.
Elli was liberated in 1945 and reached the U.S. on a refugee boat in 1951. She then studied at New York University, from which she received a Ph.D. in Hebrew Culture and Jewish History. Today, Elli (92 years) lives as Livia Bitton-Jackson.

[Lord Zion · Rating 5 out of 5]

An astonishing read. The prose is staccato and written in the present tense which makes the whole book read in such away that you feel the events have just happened, giving a real immediacy to the text.

I spent most of the time wondering how the hell this young girl survived. Although impossible to imagine a modern day equivalent, I am sure we all wonder how we would do in comparable situations. Clearly the strength of character Elli portrays is one of the major reasons she survived. Luck always seems to play a part, but Elli also had a practical intelligence that is hard to believe.

If ever a book was a page turner, this is it. There were several occasions where I felt myself shocked by what I was reading - something that is notable due to the amount of holocaust-related material I have read. There is one moment (and if you read the book, you will know it) that almost made me vomit. That is not an exaggeration.

Don't start your holocaust journey here (knowledge of events makes this book more prescient), but do make sure it is high up on your list.

[Aveen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read quite a few Holocaust/ WWII survivor stories I can say that this one is definitely worth reading and I found myself wanting to know what happened next. As always, it hits you that these things really happened and just what the Jews had to go through. Much of what I read in this book I had already known through other accounts that I read but there is always someone that you can take away from each survivors story. To have survived seemed massively based on sheer luck and on mental determination. However to have survived means they had to go through and experience harrowing times, so 'luck' seems like the wrong word.

[Sylvia O'Neill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found a copy of this book hidden away in an op shop. Was going to save it for my children to read as the cover gave me the impression it was a children's book. It is not. But it was about a child. It is one of the most heartrending stories I've ever read and it really helps to put things in perspective. People complain about such trivial things in their lives, when they really are so very fortunate if they have never had anything like this happen to them. I am so glad I read this testimony and I would recommend it o others, but warn them that this true story is a real tear jerker and there is one extremely confronting scene, though most of it is quite emotionally draining.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a truly horrific book. The way it is written allows the reader to picture everything that is told,which in some books is fantastic as you can really place yourself right into the story. But in this book it isn't a good thing to be able to picture everything that is going on and at many times while reading this I just had to put it down and walk away as there were just so many tragic details. But in saying that this book is an amazing eye opener. I have read many books of Hitlers reign over the Jews but none as powerful or as memorable as this.

[Daisy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elli is a Jewish girl who is 13 when the Nazis invade Hungary in 1944. This heartbreaking memoir describes the horrors and degradation suffered by her and her family during the Holocaust. Tragic, compelling and inspiring.

[Isabel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elli is a Jewish girl who is 13 when the Nazis invade Hungary in 1944. This heartbreaking memoir describes the horrors and degradation suffered by her and her family during the Holocaust. Tragic, compelling and inspiring.

[Bella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elli is a Jewish girl who is 13 when the Nazis invade Hungary in 1944. This heartbreaking memoir describes the horrors and degradation suffered by her and her family during the Holocaust. Tragic, compelling and inspiring.

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant and devastating.

[Tori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing.

[Ange · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite holocaust book. Loved it far more than Night. Raw and real. Read it many times, and it still manages to shock and provoke strong feelings every time.

[Carly Priebbenow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have read this book several times now. Absolutely loved it in a really depressing, heartbreaking kind of way.

[Shirl Turner (woolf) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great inspirational book about a family but mainly focuses on Elli. Very well written and is one of those books you want to read over and over.

[Joanne G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Note to self: I believe this is the older version of I Have Lived a Thousand Years: Growing Up in the Holocaust.

[Ceri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been on my shelf for decades. I can’t remember where I got it or where it came from, but I finally decided to pick it up and read Elli’s story of survival through the Holocaust.

As all memoirs from this time, it is harrowing to read about the treatment and torture Elli and thousands of others endured in the concentration and work camps she found herself in. I’m not sure if this work was originally written in another language and translated to English but the author has a real way with words and vividly described her experiences.

It seems odd giving a ‘star rating’ to this type of novel, as if I am pitting one persons nightmare against another.

My only criticism is the abrupt ending - I would have loved to have heard about Elli’s life in the years after the war. I’ve since read that her and her surviving family made it to America where she became an advocate for Holocaust victims and survivors.

I feel so strongly that we should make an effort to read these books, educate ourselves on what happened and never forget the atrocities and crimes committed against human life - this is a great book to start with.

[Safari · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in 1989 as part of the required reading for English Class in high school. This was my first experience with the devastating circumstances that surrounded the holocaust.

It was an eye opener, there was a lot of ugly crying and to be honest a bit of depression too. I read this book straight through even though I had to get up for school the next day. I just couldn't put it down. I took the day off sick in the end because I was just so emotionally rung out.

I think everyone should read this book regardless of their age. Especially teenages of 2021, you think lockdown and the pandemic suck? Imagine being Elli. Imagine having to go through that when these days some of the pressing issues are how to style your hair and do your make-up so your selfie looks insta-worthy.

Back then I was concerned about not having friends in yet another new school, at least I got the chance to go to school, Elli was just trying to ensure she actually got to see the next sunrise.

[Raz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in high school and remember really appreciating it, so when I found it in a second-hand bookshop recently I thought I'd pick it up and see how I felt about it 30 or so years later.

I was honestly not prepared for how harrowing Elli's story is...it is one thing to be aware of what people went through during the holocaust on an intellectual level, but she writes so well that you really get drawn into how horrific and dehumanising this experience was (especially for a teenager).

I mentioned to a friend that I was reading this recently even though it was super depressing and she asked why you would make school kids read about something so terrible...I think 100% we should expose teenagers and adults to these stories though, it's important to be aware of what human beings are capable of in order to resist it.

[Amy W · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read holocaust memoirs and books about WWII before, which are always harrowing, but this hit much harder than anything previously has. I think because she's writing from the perspective of being a young girl (rather than an adult man), I could visualise things more clearly. Her confusion at what was going on, finding ways to cope and stay strong for her mother, the shadow the experience cast on the rest of her life... all of it came through so clearly.

It took me a long time to get through this book as much of it is very distressing but it's an essential read. (I think the story has been republished since with a different title though, fyi.) It will stay with me for a long time.

This lady deserves to be as well-known as Anne Frank if you ask me. I'm thrilled to see she's still alive today, aged 91. Amazing.