Sarinka: A Sephardic Holocaust Journey: From Yugoslavia To An Internment Camp in America

by F. Linda Cohen

Sarinka is an evocative family memoir detailing the rarely heard Sephardic Jewish experience during the Shoah. What began as a daughter’s hunger to faithfully recount as a family heirloom her parents’ unique story of great love and great loss at the hands of the Nazis is now a gift to us all.With fastidious attention to detail and to history, Linda Cohen immerses us in the twists, turns, terrors and daily miracles of her hastily wed parents’ harrowing flight from their homes, their families, and eventually from their country. With painterly descriptions that engage all the senses, Cohen has us right there with Sarinka and Leon as the Nazis invade Yugoslavia mere hours before their planned wedding celebration, with the Muslim neighbors who came to their aid, with the partisans in the freezing woods, and with Ruth Gruber, the young American journalist who had a bold plan, capitalizing on Franklin Roosevelt’s modest exception to tight US immigration quotas to help save a handful of Europe’s doomed Jews. Sarinka is a significant addition to Holocaust literature. --Karen Tintori, author of Unto the Daughters: The Legacy of an Honor Killing in a Sicilian-American Family, St. Martins Press

Sarinka is a moving Holocaust story that traces the life of a young woman beginning with her childhood in prewar Yugoslavia to experience living on the run, in hiding, and as a nurse among Tito’s partisans. She was one of the 982 refugees who resided at the Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter that was established in America for victims of the Nazi Holocaust during WWII. Author and daughter of the heroine, Linda Cohen takes the readers on a unique journey as she describes life in Yugoslavia—through her mother’s eyes—during the war and all the restrictions and dangers she encountered once Yugoslavia became occupied by the Axis powers. Heroic and tragic in parts, Sarinka embodies the resiliency of the human spirit. --Rebecca Fisher, Researcher at the Safe Haven Holocaust Refugee Shelter Museum Oswego, NY


Sarinka is beautifully written, historically accurate and a genuine page turner. Young people who read this book will understand the truth of being a refugee. They will learn what it means to lose everything—one’s home, one’s language, one’s culture. And yet they will find hope in this very moving story. --Ruth Gruber, March 14, 2010

Sarinka, a true story about a young girl set in WWII is one of perseverance and survival. Her world is suddenly shattered when the running and hiding began the very day she dreamed of her whole life, her wedding day. Sarinka and her husband face danger and uncertainty as they desperately try to save their lives. No matter how tough life gets, Sarinka and her husband never give up hope, even when they find themselves in an internment camp in America, that many never knew existed in 1944. Also appropriate for teens and young adults interested in Holocaust chapter books

Genres: Nonfiction, Holocaust

208 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 10, 2019

Reviews

[Jaime · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible story. Beautifully written. Such an important part of history to tell about. Perfect for young adults to introduce to this horrendous period in time.

[Maryclaire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently visited the Safe Haven at Fort Ontario in Oswego, NY. I picked up a few books and this was one. I have read Ruth Gruber's books about the people and their trip across the Atlantic to safety from Hilter and WWII. This is a book about a young girl, her life of a child in a Jewish home in Yugoslavia to living in a refugee camp in Oswego, NY. She speaks of the deaths of her family and friends. The secret trips to the train stations and the times the Nazi soldiers interview her and her husband. This is a very moving book, that shows that there is hope. The book also explains how Ruth Gruber was helpful to all involved and how she had Elenor Roosevelt visit the camp for encouragement.

[Sarah B White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative

I found this book last night, bought it, and began reading it immediately. I just could not put it down. I was disturbed that the world stood by as the Nazis attempted to exterminate an entire race of people. I wept for the loss. I finished high school and began college in the late '60s. It amazes me that this information was not included in our instruction at either instructional level.

[Karen Tintori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sarinka is an evocative family memoir detailing the rarely heard Sephardic Jewish experience during the Shoah. What began as a daughter’s hunger to faithfully recount as a family heirloom her parents’ unique story of great love and great loss at the hands of the Nazis is now a gift to us all. With fastidious attention to detail and to history, Linda Cohen immerses us in the twists, turns, terrors and daily miracles of her hastily wed parents’ harrowing flight from their homes, their families, and eventually from their country. With painterly descriptions that engage all the senses, Cohen has us right there with Sarinka and Leon as the Nazis invade Yugoslavia mere hours before their planned wedding celebration, with the Muslim neighbors who came to their aid, with the partisans in the freezing woods, and with Ruth Gruber, the young American journalist who had a bold plan, capitalizing on Franklin Roosevelt’s modest exception to tight US immigration quotas to help save a handful of Europe’s doomed Jews. Sarinka is a significant addition to Holocaust literature. --Karen Tintori, author of Unto the Daughters: The Legacy of an Honor Killing in a Sicilian-American Family, St. Martins Press

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn’t put it down. Such an important historical accounting of a time and place during the Holocaust that has been overlooked for too long. Highly recommend reading this book. Well written, compelling story.

[sally reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

This memoir was a hard one to put down! It was very well written and had a lot of detail regarding the authors journey across Europe.

[Leah Good · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simply told but still powerful, this is a daughter's tribute to her parents, their story told in their own words.

Sarinka and Leon, Sephardic Jews from Yugoslavia, were married on the day Germany invaded their country. Their first years of marriage were spent fleeing for their lives and saying farewell to family members they would never see again. They became one of the 1,000 refugees brought to Oswego, NY ... the only European refugee group allowed into the United States during the war. This is their story.

I purchased this book, along with several others, from the Safe Haven museum. Well worth the read.

May we not forget to live--to embrace--the words engraved on one of our country's most famous landmarks. The words many of our own ancestors traveled past as they came in search of new opportunities. "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” 

[Shawna Shapero · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would give Sarinka a six star rating if possible. I’ve been reading more during the pandemic than usual and a stand-out amongst all is “Sarinka” by F. Linda Cohen. This is a memoir of her parents’ escape from Nazi rule during WWII. I was moved by their faith and the power of prayer as they bravely faced unimaginable loss and suffering. So inspiring to learn about Ruth Gruber, and how the power of one can surely make a difference. Linda’s mother’s words will stay with me “My hope is people will learn from my story and will not remain silent when Jews or any other innocent groups of people face genocide” and brought tears of joy with “Humanity showed up outside Camp Ontario in Oswego.” ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Robyn Steinbrueck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely captivating! I couldn’t put it down!

[Lauren Cohen · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a special story and so well written. I loved this memoir.