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Into the Forest: A Holocaust Story of Survival, Triumph, and Love
A 2021 National Jewish Book Award Finalist
One of Smithsonian Magazine 's Best History Books of 2021
"An uplifting tale, suffused with a karmic righteousness that is, at times, exhilarating." —Wall Street Journal
"A gripping narrative that reads like a page turning thriller novel." — NPR
In the summer of 1942, the Rabinowitz family narrowly escaped the Nazi ghetto in their Polish town by fleeing to the forbidding Bialowieza Forest. They miraculously survived two years in the woods—through brutal winters, Typhus outbreaks, and merciless Nazi raids—until they were liberated by the Red Army in 1944. After the war they trekked across the Alps into Italy where they settled as refugees before eventually immigrating to the United States.
During the first ghetto massacre, Miriam Rabinowitz rescued a young boy named Philip by pretending he was her son. Nearly a decade later, a chance encounter at a wedding in Brooklyn would lead Philip to find the woman who saved him. And to discover her daughter Ruth was the love of his life.
From a little-known chapter of Holocaust history, one family’s inspiring true story.
One of Smithsonian Magazine 's Best History Books of 2021
"An uplifting tale, suffused with a karmic righteousness that is, at times, exhilarating." —Wall Street Journal
"A gripping narrative that reads like a page turning thriller novel." — NPR
In the summer of 1942, the Rabinowitz family narrowly escaped the Nazi ghetto in their Polish town by fleeing to the forbidding Bialowieza Forest. They miraculously survived two years in the woods—through brutal winters, Typhus outbreaks, and merciless Nazi raids—until they were liberated by the Red Army in 1944. After the war they trekked across the Alps into Italy where they settled as refugees before eventually immigrating to the United States.
During the first ghetto massacre, Miriam Rabinowitz rescued a young boy named Philip by pretending he was her son. Nearly a decade later, a chance encounter at a wedding in Brooklyn would lead Philip to find the woman who saved him. And to discover her daughter Ruth was the love of his life.
From a little-known chapter of Holocaust history, one family’s inspiring true story.
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 7, 2021
464 people are currently reading
15219 people want to read
About the author
Rebecca Frankel
2 books90 followersAuthor of New York Times best-selling War Dogs: Tales of Canine Heroism, History, and Love and forthcoming Into the Forest (September 7, 2021), Rebecca Frankel is a longtime editor and journalist. She has been a guest on Conan, PBS NewsHour, BBC World News, and the Diane Rehm Show, among others. Her piece "The Story of Dyngo, a War Dog Brought Home From Combat," about the retired Air Force bomb-sniffing dog she adopted in 2016, was featured in Smithsonian magazine's "America at War" issue.
You can follow her on Instagram @rebeccafrankelbooks.
You can follow her on Instagram @rebeccafrankelbooks.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 379 reviews
December 12, 2021
What are the chances that a woman who chooses to save a young boy from certain death by momentarily pretending he is her son, would in a chance encounter reconnect with him many years later on another continent? What are the chances this unexpected reunion would then lead to him becoming her son-in-law by virtue of him falling in love with and marrying her daughter?
On top of that, what are the chances that this same woman and her family survived the Holocaust in the first place by hiding in a Polish forest for two years? Keeping in mind they had two young children who had to be kept quiet at all times and they had to live in only temporary, handmade structures that could camouflage them from roaming bands of Nazis. Never mind the weather, the illnesses, and the starvation they had to endure. The series of coincidences, miraculous events, acts of bravery, pure fortitude, and the kindnesses of others that led to this family’s survival almost defies belief.
This is one real life story you don’t want to miss.
On top of that, what are the chances that this same woman and her family survived the Holocaust in the first place by hiding in a Polish forest for two years? Keeping in mind they had two young children who had to be kept quiet at all times and they had to live in only temporary, handmade structures that could camouflage them from roaming bands of Nazis. Never mind the weather, the illnesses, and the starvation they had to endure. The series of coincidences, miraculous events, acts of bravery, pure fortitude, and the kindnesses of others that led to this family’s survival almost defies belief.
This is one real life story you don’t want to miss.
February 15, 2023
World War II and its effects linger on in our collective memory and this book adds to those memories. These experiences should be remembered. This account of the survival of a small family group brings their remarkable story to life. It was lovingly and professionally written by Rebecca Frankel. This book is a welcome addition to our understanding of these horrific events.
St. Martin's Press is the publisher if this book and through whom I received my copy. My thanks to them for this experience. This was facilitated through a Goodreads Giveaway.
St. Martin's Press is the publisher if this book and through whom I received my copy. My thanks to them for this experience. This was facilitated through a Goodreads Giveaway.
February 27, 2022
3-1/2 /5*
This is a family history following the Rabinowitz family as they are forced from their home in 1942 into the Nazi ghettos in Poland from which they narrowly escape into the forest where they survive for two years living in bunkers, with little or no food, no medicine to treat the severe typhus outbreaks or any other maladies, no proper clothing especially for the brutal winters until they are liberated in 1944.
It is no surprise that the Bielski brothers are mentioned, probably the best known of all the partisans who survived in the forest – by 1943 the brothers had at least 1,200 Jews under their protection.
(See the movie “Defiance” 2008 starring Daniel Craig as Tuvia Bielski)
After liberation the Rabinowitz family’s wish is to get to Palestine. They begin an arduous journey as refugees through the Alps leaving them in Italy with dreams of Palestine fading to nil. In the end the family is able to make their way to the USA through family members who fled Poland before the war.
The story continues the family history as they make America their home.
In 1953 a chance meeting at a wedding in NYC young Philip Lazowski, through a conversation with another guest is led to finding the woman who saved his life in the Ghetto – Miriam Rabinowitz.
This is a family history following the Rabinowitz family as they are forced from their home in 1942 into the Nazi ghettos in Poland from which they narrowly escape into the forest where they survive for two years living in bunkers, with little or no food, no medicine to treat the severe typhus outbreaks or any other maladies, no proper clothing especially for the brutal winters until they are liberated in 1944.
It is no surprise that the Bielski brothers are mentioned, probably the best known of all the partisans who survived in the forest – by 1943 the brothers had at least 1,200 Jews under their protection.
(See the movie “Defiance” 2008 starring Daniel Craig as Tuvia Bielski)
After liberation the Rabinowitz family’s wish is to get to Palestine. They begin an arduous journey as refugees through the Alps leaving them in Italy with dreams of Palestine fading to nil. In the end the family is able to make their way to the USA through family members who fled Poland before the war.
The story continues the family history as they make America their home.
In 1953 a chance meeting at a wedding in NYC young Philip Lazowski, through a conversation with another guest is led to finding the woman who saved his life in the Ghetto – Miriam Rabinowitz.
June 18, 2021
This is yet another good book from WWII, written by Rebecca Hankel. It focuses on the Rabinowitz family and their experiences after escaping to the forest to avoid capture by the Nazis. I enjoy reading about different aspects of this time period to further my knowledge of history. Advance electronic review copy was provided by NetGalley, author Rebecca Frankel, and the publisher.
September 6, 2021
From the first chapter, I found myself completely invested in the Rabinowitz family. Living in a small town in Poland, they managed to get by for a time without much interference from the Germans. Eventually, like many other Jewish families, they ended up in a Nazi Ghetto.
Once the Nazi regime started their “selections” the Rabinowitz family knew they had to escape the ghetto and take their chances living in the forest. Their ingenuity, patience and bravery were what drove them to successfully escape the ghetto and then survive two brutal winters in the forest. Typhus, starvation, freezing and the risk of capture were ever-present challenges to overcome.
Liberated by the Red Army, the family eventually crossed into Italy and lived for a time as refugees before making their way into the United States, where they were reacquainted with a young man who survived the same ghetto, thanks to Mrs. Rabinowitz.
I found their journey after being liberated just as interesting as their time in the forest, though not as harrowing. History lovers and those who enjoy inspiring stories will not want to miss this book.
Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read an advance copy. I am happy to give my honest review.
Once the Nazi regime started their “selections” the Rabinowitz family knew they had to escape the ghetto and take their chances living in the forest. Their ingenuity, patience and bravery were what drove them to successfully escape the ghetto and then survive two brutal winters in the forest. Typhus, starvation, freezing and the risk of capture were ever-present challenges to overcome.
Liberated by the Red Army, the family eventually crossed into Italy and lived for a time as refugees before making their way into the United States, where they were reacquainted with a young man who survived the same ghetto, thanks to Mrs. Rabinowitz.
I found their journey after being liberated just as interesting as their time in the forest, though not as harrowing. History lovers and those who enjoy inspiring stories will not want to miss this book.
Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read an advance copy. I am happy to give my honest review.
September 8, 2021
I have always enjoyed reading about the Holocaust and have quite a few books on the subject in my own library. This one does something most other books don’t. It follows some survivors beyond that horrific time and delves into their lives deeper. The author here has done a wonderful job!
My thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book.
My thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book.
October 31, 2023
3.5 stars
This is an amazing nonfiction account of a Jewish family's fight for survival during the Holocaust.
The Rabinowitz family's struggles both during and after WWII are both astounding and inspiring. The persecution and slaughter of innocent people is, as always, mindboggling. If I didn't know any better, I would say that this book is fiction, but it's not.
This audiobook is narrated by Natalie Pela who has a lovely English accent. The story was interesting enough to make a long car ride less tedious. However, I would have preferred it to be at least 2 hours shorter. Of course, after 11 hours of listening, it's hard to tell if I was weary of the story or mostly just the car ride.
Overall, I never got a true sense of how far they had to travel while they were hiding out or how they obtained food to eat for so many people, day after day, for the two years that they spent in the woods. There are also a lot of Polish and Jewish names of people and places in the information that were sometimes hard to grasp.
I would recommend this book to mavens of history and WWII, and nonfiction fans.
This is an amazing nonfiction account of a Jewish family's fight for survival during the Holocaust.
The Rabinowitz family's struggles both during and after WWII are both astounding and inspiring. The persecution and slaughter of innocent people is, as always, mindboggling. If I didn't know any better, I would say that this book is fiction, but it's not.
This audiobook is narrated by Natalie Pela who has a lovely English accent. The story was interesting enough to make a long car ride less tedious. However, I would have preferred it to be at least 2 hours shorter. Of course, after 11 hours of listening, it's hard to tell if I was weary of the story or mostly just the car ride.
Overall, I never got a true sense of how far they had to travel while they were hiding out or how they obtained food to eat for so many people, day after day, for the two years that they spent in the woods. There are also a lot of Polish and Jewish names of people and places in the information that were sometimes hard to grasp.
I would recommend this book to mavens of history and WWII, and nonfiction fans.
September 22, 2021
Do not let the word “Love” in the title fool you into thinking this is a novel style, romantic love story. I personally like reading about WW2, and this book tells a part of history that I have never heard of. This is a true story that follows a Jewish family through the struggle of keeping their family together, while staying alive, with all odds against them, going to unimaginable lengths, through that dark time in history. There is no fluff filler. It tells the atrocities without extreme, but enough, detail, it makes you feel a wide range of emotions. I had to reread some paragraphs more than once and had to keep reminding myself that this really happened, to real people, not an exaggerated “loosely based on true events” story. I had to set it down a couple of times to regroup. It shows the bad and good of human nature, and how circumstances can change people’s actions. It shows that the love of family is one remarkable, odds defying, emotion.
Thank you so much for the ARC
Thank you so much for the ARC
June 25, 2021
Oh my, what an absolutely awesome read. This is by far one of the best WWII books I have come upon. I came to feel as if I knew Morris and Miriam as my friends. This is my first Rebecca Frankel novel; I will be looking for more. The writing was excellent, the research was stellar.
This book covers how it was, to live in the forest and so many times I backtracked just to hear the telling again. Miriam and Morris’s love for each other, their dedication to their family and their kindness and determination to make a life after, was inspiring. Based upon true events – wonderful book…..
Wonderful read. The highest 5 stars!!!
I want to thank St. Martin’s Press along with NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read an ARC.
This book covers how it was, to live in the forest and so many times I backtracked just to hear the telling again. Miriam and Morris’s love for each other, their dedication to their family and their kindness and determination to make a life after, was inspiring. Based upon true events – wonderful book…..
Wonderful read. The highest 5 stars!!!
I want to thank St. Martin’s Press along with NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read an ARC.
October 28, 2021
This story is going to stick with me for a long time. I can't remember the last time a book had such an effect on me that I would wake up in the night and think about it.
Ever since reading The Forest of Vanishing Stars I wanted to know more about the Jews that hid in the forest and I was very pleased to receive a copy of this.
A young man at a wedding speaks to a young lady and they discover they are both from Poland and she tells him a remarkable story of the mother of her friend who saved a young boy and remarkably he was the young boy. This is a small part of the story but still remarkable. The story is of Miriam and Morris Rabinowitz and their two daughters, Rochel and Tania. When the Nazis force them to live in a ghetto they build a skron, a place for the family to hide if soldiers come to arrest them. Eventually they flee to the forest and live there for two years hiding from the Nazis. This truly depicts the hardship that they endured. At times the weather was well below zero and finding food was hard. They built shelters underground for the little bit of warmth that would provide and camouflage. Diseases were widespread and Miriam contracts typhus. Morris nurses her back to health by shear stubbornness. Even when they are finally able to leave the forest they have more to endure as they hope to make their way to Palestine but end up in the United States. This is nonfiction but really reads more like fiction and I was enthralled from beginning to end.
I would like to thank Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a copy of this moving story.
Ever since reading The Forest of Vanishing Stars I wanted to know more about the Jews that hid in the forest and I was very pleased to receive a copy of this.
A young man at a wedding speaks to a young lady and they discover they are both from Poland and she tells him a remarkable story of the mother of her friend who saved a young boy and remarkably he was the young boy. This is a small part of the story but still remarkable. The story is of Miriam and Morris Rabinowitz and their two daughters, Rochel and Tania. When the Nazis force them to live in a ghetto they build a skron, a place for the family to hide if soldiers come to arrest them. Eventually they flee to the forest and live there for two years hiding from the Nazis. This truly depicts the hardship that they endured. At times the weather was well below zero and finding food was hard. They built shelters underground for the little bit of warmth that would provide and camouflage. Diseases were widespread and Miriam contracts typhus. Morris nurses her back to health by shear stubbornness. Even when they are finally able to leave the forest they have more to endure as they hope to make their way to Palestine but end up in the United States. This is nonfiction but really reads more like fiction and I was enthralled from beginning to end.
I would like to thank Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a copy of this moving story.
July 12, 2021
Into the Forest is a nonfiction book about the Rabinowitz family living in Zhetel, in what is now Belarus. It's an astonishing tale of hardship, survival, and, in the end, love.
A chance meeting at a weeding puts a young man on a path to find the woman who saved him from being shipped off to a camp and killed.
There is a brief introduction in the first few chapters about the family - how they landed in Zhetel, what their businesses were, what their houses looked like, and so on. Normally, this would be well less than interesting, an infodump that the author did not weave into the narrative, but it works here, as the immersion into that time and that place are both necessary and fascinating.
The woods of the title refers to the large forested area in the vicinity. As WWII begins, and Nazi troops begin pouring through the country, first depriving Jews of their rights and then of their lives, the Rabinowitz family escapes the ghetto and hides in the forest for an amazing two years. They dig dugout shelters and disguise them to hide from Nazi (and their collaborators) due to raids. There is never enough food during the years, and never enough heat in the harsh winters. Disease runs rampant, and the family is forced to relocate their shelter when the smallish community of those hiding in the woods is found by the Nazis.
Throughout it all, the family stays together, occasionally making contact with friendly farmers in the area - people the Rabinowitz family knew to be sympathetic to their plight even before the Jews were rounded up in the area.
Eventually, WWI ends, and the family, along with other survivors, heads over another dangerous pass, this time to sneak into Italy as a step of making their way to what is now Israel. They ultimately give up on that idea and head to America instead.
It's a fantastic story, well told, and I loved it. Highly recommended.
Five out of five stars.
Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the reading copy.
A chance meeting at a weeding puts a young man on a path to find the woman who saved him from being shipped off to a camp and killed.
There is a brief introduction in the first few chapters about the family - how they landed in Zhetel, what their businesses were, what their houses looked like, and so on. Normally, this would be well less than interesting, an infodump that the author did not weave into the narrative, but it works here, as the immersion into that time and that place are both necessary and fascinating.
The woods of the title refers to the large forested area in the vicinity. As WWII begins, and Nazi troops begin pouring through the country, first depriving Jews of their rights and then of their lives, the Rabinowitz family escapes the ghetto and hides in the forest for an amazing two years. They dig dugout shelters and disguise them to hide from Nazi (and their collaborators) due to raids. There is never enough food during the years, and never enough heat in the harsh winters. Disease runs rampant, and the family is forced to relocate their shelter when the smallish community of those hiding in the woods is found by the Nazis.
Throughout it all, the family stays together, occasionally making contact with friendly farmers in the area - people the Rabinowitz family knew to be sympathetic to their plight even before the Jews were rounded up in the area.
Eventually, WWI ends, and the family, along with other survivors, heads over another dangerous pass, this time to sneak into Italy as a step of making their way to what is now Israel. They ultimately give up on that idea and head to America instead.
It's a fantastic story, well told, and I loved it. Highly recommended.
Five out of five stars.
Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the reading copy.
August 5, 2021
I've read a large number of Holocaust-era memoirs, biographies, nonfiction, and fiction. Yet Rebecca Frankel's new nonfiction account of a family surviving for years while hiding out in the primordial Bialowietza Forest. The book is an inspirational account of Jewish refugees, partisan Russian fighters, and others hiding in this impenetrable forest. They evade Nazi annihilation, survive Typhus, and live through record cold winters. It is one of the top books I've read detailing Holocaust history.
And there is more. Frankel's tale uncovers some odds-defying coincidences that bring some of the survivors together after the war. The story was riveting from beginning to end; it reads like a novel. I'm thrilled this story is coming out.
If you like WWII history and want to learn more about a relatively unknown and heroic aspect of the Holocaust, add this book to your reading list.
I received a Net Galley copy of this book in return for an honest review.
January 5, 2022
Excellent book of spirit and heroisms. Emphasis on the bonds of family, friends, and love.
May 13, 2021
I had just finished a soon to be published fascinating fictional book of people hiding in the woods to escape the nazis, so when I saw this new NF account I had to request it. Besides reading about resistance fighters hiding for a while in the woods, this is the first time Ive read or heard about this little known chapter in WW2. To stay hidden in the woods for over two years trying to survive through the cold weather, lack of food and continuous nazi raids is an incredible feat, and one we should hear more about. This story is incredible, the writing great, the subject matter riveting. I highly recommend Into the Forest.
June 18, 2021
A story of survival of the Rabinowitz family during the Holocaust. It is honest, emotional, and raw and people need to realize stories like these still matter for historical accuracy. Because I was so emotional and taken by the honesty, I was able to read it in a few sittings even though some of cruelty was graphic.
Recommended for people that like untold stories in world history. Well written and researched.
Thanks to Netgalley, Rebecca Frankel and St Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Available: 9/7/21
Recommended for people that like untold stories in world history. Well written and researched.
Thanks to Netgalley, Rebecca Frankel and St Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Available: 9/7/21
October 19, 2021
Rebecca Frankel did a masterful job of relaying the stories of two families who survived the Holocaust by living in the woods for three years and then traveling to America. This story was told to her by the actual survivors who gave her access to their stories and photos. Into the Forest is rich in history, sacrifice and love. As a sidebar, I wish some of the Holocaust deniers would read this book!
September 14, 2021
Over the years many books and memoirs have been written describing the imponderable experiences of survivors of the Nazi Holocaust. The story line that I have found most unbelievable involves those individuals who escaped the Nazi imposed ghettoization of villages, towns, and cities into forests that adjoined their homes. The latest narrative, INTO THE FOREST: A HOLOCAUST STORY OF SURVIVAL, TRIUMPH AND LOVE by Rebecca Frankel is a poignant description of eight hundred people who escaped the Belorussian village of Zhetel in August 1942 into the Lipiczany forest who by August 1944 was reduced to about two hundred. The resistance/survival genre of the Holocaust was popularized in the 1980s with the publication of the book DEFIANCE and a film of the same name which told the true story of the Bielski brothers who defied the Nazis, built a village in the forest, and saved about 1200 Jews. These stories reflect the tenacity and will to live by so many as is shown in Frankel’s description of the plight of the Rabinowitz family as they survived in a primeval forest near their home.
Frankel immediately captures the attention of her readers as describes a 1953 wedding in Brooklyn, New York attended by Philip Lazowski, a Yeshiva student who attended classes at Brooklyn College. We soon learn that during the war that Philip left his home in Bilitz as the Nazis were massacring Jews and was protected by a woman and her two young daughters as the Nazis had moved on to the village of Zhetel. While attending the wedding Philip recognized a woman named Miriam Rabinowitz, the same person who had saved his life. This story and numerous others are recounted by Frankel as she delves into the many horrors that the Holocaust wrought to so many people. Frankel’s monograph is a story of how people react to certain death and the triumph of the human spirit.
In telling her stories Frankel blends the course of the war and the Holocaust in a concise manner and its impact on the Rabinowitz family, Morris, Miriam, and their two young daughters Rochel and Tania, in addition to other relatives and people that they came in contact with. Morris had been a businessperson who had acquired an intimate knowledge of forestry which would assist him and his family in their quest for survival. Miriam had owned a medical shop that sold alternative remedies for injuries and disease, again her knowledge would later come in very handy.
Frankel explores the distinction between Nazi and Soviet approaches in dealing with Jews particularly after the Nazi-Soviet Pact of August 26, 1939, and the invasions by both countries dividing Poland in half. Everyone is aware of the Nazi approach to the “Final Solution” of the Jewish people, but the Russians in many instances let their anti-Semitism block any cooperation with Jewish partisans who wanted to fight the Germans. Once the Rabinowitz’s escaped into the forest the author describes the hardships they faced and how they went about surviving. They would link up with Chaim Feldman’s family who were able to smuggle a wagon load of supplies into the forest and the two families were able to dig shelters and smuggle food into the forest through their friendships with Christian families forged before the war.
The book points to a myriad of rules and mores that were broken. The forest would produce its own socio-economic structure that created friendships but also a degree of hostility as the woods created a society of have and have nots. Frankel describes in intimate details how human relationships became tools of survival for women. It was clear to many that the only way a woman might survive was if they had a relationship with a man for protection. If these relationships happened to produce a pregnancy, abortion and allowing babies to die became the norm as any sound, i.e.; a crying baby could give away a position and result in another Nazi Selektion that would massacre the Jews. Frankel delves into the fears, the highs and lows of living in the forest with death facing them each moment, the preparations to fight, and the interactions with others with the result that the reader should develop a high degree of empathy for victims of the Nazi genocide.
Many historical events and characters appear. The Bielski brothers resided in the same forest as the Rabinowitz’s. SS Obersturmbannfuhrer Oskar Direwanger who had the reputation as “the most evil man in the SS” leads the the killing squads that resulted in the death of over 10,000 in the first months of 1943 appears. Herz Kaminsky, a man who lost his wife and child took in seventy people and protected them and acquired the nickname of “the father of all children.” Numerous other personal stories are told each rendering the reader to ponder how they may have fared in this situation.
By the start of 1944, the 150,000 Russian partisans had taken control of the forests and the Soviet army began its march toward Berlin. The Jews who lived in the forest had to navigate being caught between the surging Russian forces and the retreating Germans. By September of 1944, the Rabinowitz’s and others were told by the Christian farmers that the Germans were gone, and they soon walked for weeks to return to the village of Zhetel which they found was occupied by the Soviet army and their homes and possessions gone.
The 1953 wedding is evidence of the randomness of survival and reconnection that followed European Jewry after the war. Frankel’s extensive research based on interviews of survivors and their descendants tells a story of struggle and resilience and it will captivate the reader and in many instances bring forth thoughts of how people treat each other in desperate situations and what they will do to overcome and save themselves and their families. This is a gripping story with a satisfying ending, which I recommend to all.
Frankel immediately captures the attention of her readers as describes a 1953 wedding in Brooklyn, New York attended by Philip Lazowski, a Yeshiva student who attended classes at Brooklyn College. We soon learn that during the war that Philip left his home in Bilitz as the Nazis were massacring Jews and was protected by a woman and her two young daughters as the Nazis had moved on to the village of Zhetel. While attending the wedding Philip recognized a woman named Miriam Rabinowitz, the same person who had saved his life. This story and numerous others are recounted by Frankel as she delves into the many horrors that the Holocaust wrought to so many people. Frankel’s monograph is a story of how people react to certain death and the triumph of the human spirit.
In telling her stories Frankel blends the course of the war and the Holocaust in a concise manner and its impact on the Rabinowitz family, Morris, Miriam, and their two young daughters Rochel and Tania, in addition to other relatives and people that they came in contact with. Morris had been a businessperson who had acquired an intimate knowledge of forestry which would assist him and his family in their quest for survival. Miriam had owned a medical shop that sold alternative remedies for injuries and disease, again her knowledge would later come in very handy.
Frankel explores the distinction between Nazi and Soviet approaches in dealing with Jews particularly after the Nazi-Soviet Pact of August 26, 1939, and the invasions by both countries dividing Poland in half. Everyone is aware of the Nazi approach to the “Final Solution” of the Jewish people, but the Russians in many instances let their anti-Semitism block any cooperation with Jewish partisans who wanted to fight the Germans. Once the Rabinowitz’s escaped into the forest the author describes the hardships they faced and how they went about surviving. They would link up with Chaim Feldman’s family who were able to smuggle a wagon load of supplies into the forest and the two families were able to dig shelters and smuggle food into the forest through their friendships with Christian families forged before the war.
The book points to a myriad of rules and mores that were broken. The forest would produce its own socio-economic structure that created friendships but also a degree of hostility as the woods created a society of have and have nots. Frankel describes in intimate details how human relationships became tools of survival for women. It was clear to many that the only way a woman might survive was if they had a relationship with a man for protection. If these relationships happened to produce a pregnancy, abortion and allowing babies to die became the norm as any sound, i.e.; a crying baby could give away a position and result in another Nazi Selektion that would massacre the Jews. Frankel delves into the fears, the highs and lows of living in the forest with death facing them each moment, the preparations to fight, and the interactions with others with the result that the reader should develop a high degree of empathy for victims of the Nazi genocide.
Many historical events and characters appear. The Bielski brothers resided in the same forest as the Rabinowitz’s. SS Obersturmbannfuhrer Oskar Direwanger who had the reputation as “the most evil man in the SS” leads the the killing squads that resulted in the death of over 10,000 in the first months of 1943 appears. Herz Kaminsky, a man who lost his wife and child took in seventy people and protected them and acquired the nickname of “the father of all children.” Numerous other personal stories are told each rendering the reader to ponder how they may have fared in this situation.
By the start of 1944, the 150,000 Russian partisans had taken control of the forests and the Soviet army began its march toward Berlin. The Jews who lived in the forest had to navigate being caught between the surging Russian forces and the retreating Germans. By September of 1944, the Rabinowitz’s and others were told by the Christian farmers that the Germans were gone, and they soon walked for weeks to return to the village of Zhetel which they found was occupied by the Soviet army and their homes and possessions gone.
The 1953 wedding is evidence of the randomness of survival and reconnection that followed European Jewry after the war. Frankel’s extensive research based on interviews of survivors and their descendants tells a story of struggle and resilience and it will captivate the reader and in many instances bring forth thoughts of how people treat each other in desperate situations and what they will do to overcome and save themselves and their families. This is a gripping story with a satisfying ending, which I recommend to all.
October 17, 2021
Extraordinary nonfiction book about a Jewish family in Poland who survived both the Nazis and Russians. They escaped from the ghetto to live in the forest for several years fighting with Russian partisans who were likely to turn on them too if they weren’t needed to fight so badly. Two preteens survived out in the forest only to meet up in the United States years later. A well written, absorbing book I couldn’t put down. Excellent.
July 2, 2021
This was a really good, detailed book. I really enjoyed it and would like to read more by the author. Would definitely recommend this to anyone.
June 24, 2022
I found this an okay read.
It was admittedly a little long.
That being said, I still found it interesting.
3.1/5
It was admittedly a little long.
That being said, I still found it interesting.
3.1/5
December 18, 2022
A very compelling non-fiction book about a family and others escaped into a forest in WW 2 to avoid the Nazis. It details their life after the war and their life in the USA. Highly recommended.
May 25, 2021
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a DRC of this book!
Into the Forest is one family's story of survival during the Holocaust, and is an intimate look at the Holocaust along the Eastern front. The Rabinowitz family- father Morris, mother Miriam, and two little girls, lived in Zhetel with their extended family. Now located in Belarus, the town was occupied by the Soviets during the first years of the war. When the Nazis marched into town in 1941, the Jews of Zhetel and the nearby villages were placed in a ghetto. Unlike the Holocaust of Western Europe and parts of Poland occupied by the Nazis prior to 1941, there were no deportations from Zhetel to camps. Instead, the Nazis would periodically hold selections and take everyone they deemed unnecessary to a mass grave to shoot them. Knowing that escape was their only option to live, the family flees into the forest of Belarus.
It sounds terrible to say that I enjoyed reading a book about such horrible events, so perhaps enjoyed isn't the right word. This book was compelling. We don't often hear Holocaust survival stories from this part of the world, much less those that focus on a family unit rather than an individual. The family story is interwoven with the story of the community and it's surrounding area- how the Judenrat tried to resist the Nazis, how the partisans in the woods lived and interacted with each other and their various ideologies. This is a definite must-read for anyone interested in Holocaust history.
Into the Forest is one family's story of survival during the Holocaust, and is an intimate look at the Holocaust along the Eastern front. The Rabinowitz family- father Morris, mother Miriam, and two little girls, lived in Zhetel with their extended family. Now located in Belarus, the town was occupied by the Soviets during the first years of the war. When the Nazis marched into town in 1941, the Jews of Zhetel and the nearby villages were placed in a ghetto. Unlike the Holocaust of Western Europe and parts of Poland occupied by the Nazis prior to 1941, there were no deportations from Zhetel to camps. Instead, the Nazis would periodically hold selections and take everyone they deemed unnecessary to a mass grave to shoot them. Knowing that escape was their only option to live, the family flees into the forest of Belarus.
It sounds terrible to say that I enjoyed reading a book about such horrible events, so perhaps enjoyed isn't the right word. This book was compelling. We don't often hear Holocaust survival stories from this part of the world, much less those that focus on a family unit rather than an individual. The family story is interwoven with the story of the community and it's surrounding area- how the Judenrat tried to resist the Nazis, how the partisans in the woods lived and interacted with each other and their various ideologies. This is a definite must-read for anyone interested in Holocaust history.
December 22, 2021
All of the stories about Holocaust survival are very difficult for me to rate on this platform. The sufferings of millions of people during the holocaust is mindboggling. To rate a book about it is complex because the reader gets pulled into wishing to give a high rating because of the incredible human tragedies that are written about.
BUT as a critic of a book I want rate the books appeal or readability for the general public. For a student of the holocaust "Into The Forest" is a worthwhile resource and IMO highly desired for its uniqueness. For the Rabinowitz family this is also a worthwhile resource about their family. For the general public it is a different case.
As a lay reader, I found the telling of the experiences of the Rabinowitz family while intellectually harrowing to be rather sterile throughout most of the book. The chapters devoted to the family's actual survival in "The Forest" were few and short and lacked immediacy.
The remainder of the book was devoted to the post war travels the survivors took throughout Europe and reconnections with relatives and later marriages.
BUT as a critic of a book I want rate the books appeal or readability for the general public. For a student of the holocaust "Into The Forest" is a worthwhile resource and IMO highly desired for its uniqueness. For the Rabinowitz family this is also a worthwhile resource about their family. For the general public it is a different case.
As a lay reader, I found the telling of the experiences of the Rabinowitz family while intellectually harrowing to be rather sterile throughout most of the book. The chapters devoted to the family's actual survival in "The Forest" were few and short and lacked immediacy.
The remainder of the book was devoted to the post war travels the survivors took throughout Europe and reconnections with relatives and later marriages.
August 29, 2021
I finished this book at about 3am this morning, but this book was amazing. I love the realness of the details the author uses. I love that it’s also nonfiction because I’m a German history nerd, lol. This book is a must read and I’m really glad I won this in a giveaway and had the chance to read this book.
December 6, 2021
I've never read a Holocaust story like this one, with children and their parents surviving for years in the woods on the border of modern-day Lithuania, Belarus & Poland. Listen to the audiobook and you'll be rewarded with excerpts of the actual taped interviews the author made with the two sisters.
May 26, 2022
If you have read The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel, this is a wonderfuly researched and well-written non-fiction book about a Jewish family who escaped a Nazi ghetto in their Polish town in the summer of 1942 by fleeing to the forbidding Bialowieza Forest for two years. A 2021 National Jewish Book Award Finalist and one of Smithsonian Magazine's Best History Books of 2021.
June 7, 2021
I read an advanced copy from Edelweiss.
September 18, 2022
I strongly recommend the audio book! At the end, the author shares her interviews with the actual Holocaust survivors.
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August 18, 2021CW - Holocaust (Please look up for more details)
I think my biggest issue with the book is that it was miss marketed. I didn't realize this was non-fiction when I first picked it up. I believed it was based on true events of the holocaust and was well researched (based on the references in the back) but I believed it would be structured like a standard novel and follow a family through their experience during the Holocaust. The book does follow a particular family but just by showing what their life looked like while the booked walked the reader through events of the Holocaust. It's all telling and no showing. There are no conversations between characters (or in this case real people), we don't get into their heads to understand their thought process or feelings. The reader is shown what the the family is doing and then breaks off to show what else is going on at this time within the world in regards to the Holocaust and treatment of Jews. There are a lot of names of generals and rebel leaders that became confusing to follow in these descriptions.
Had I known that this was non-fiction before going into the book I think it would have prepare me for the writing style of the book (which does make sense for a non fiction book). The title "a holocaust story of survival, triumph, and love" and the back description make it sound like a novel and I think the book could have a hard time finding the right audience with that.
With all that being said, I did enjoy the book. I learned a lot about the Holocaust that I didn't already know from school, specifically about the survival of Jews in the Bialowieza Forest. For such a hard hitting and horrific period of history to read about I did find the book engaging and easy to read. If anyone is interested in reading more about the Holocaust, WWII, or nonfiction in general I would recommend this. I think it could be used as a great jumping off point to find more books on the subject (especially with all the references from research).
I think my biggest issue with the book is that it was miss marketed. I didn't realize this was non-fiction when I first picked it up. I believed it was based on true events of the holocaust and was well researched (based on the references in the back) but I believed it would be structured like a standard novel and follow a family through their experience during the Holocaust. The book does follow a particular family but just by showing what their life looked like while the booked walked the reader through events of the Holocaust. It's all telling and no showing. There are no conversations between characters (or in this case real people), we don't get into their heads to understand their thought process or feelings. The reader is shown what the the family is doing and then breaks off to show what else is going on at this time within the world in regards to the Holocaust and treatment of Jews. There are a lot of names of generals and rebel leaders that became confusing to follow in these descriptions.
Had I known that this was non-fiction before going into the book I think it would have prepare me for the writing style of the book (which does make sense for a non fiction book). The title "a holocaust story of survival, triumph, and love" and the back description make it sound like a novel and I think the book could have a hard time finding the right audience with that.
With all that being said, I did enjoy the book. I learned a lot about the Holocaust that I didn't already know from school, specifically about the survival of Jews in the Bialowieza Forest. For such a hard hitting and horrific period of history to read about I did find the book engaging and easy to read. If anyone is interested in reading more about the Holocaust, WWII, or nonfiction in general I would recommend this. I think it could be used as a great jumping off point to find more books on the subject (especially with all the references from research).
October 22, 2022
Rating 4.75 stars.
This is a story about the Rabinowitz family and their escape away from Nazi soldiers trying to expunge Jews and into the forest where survival was unlikely. The story is compelling and horrific.
Rebecca Frankel’s connection to the family and desire to tell their story is what attracted me to this book. The writing and piecing together from interviews and research kept me reading. The author’s note at the end along with recorded interviews on the audio book made this an immediate buy and keep forever book for me. Masterful!
Reading this book was emotional and hard and took me awhile. I am grateful for Frankel and for the survivors who told their stories. It is unfathomable what they endured. That they survived is miraculous. That they survived relationally whole going on to make such a difference for people through their vocations and servant-hearted actions is a testament to the power of the human spirit. It is also a testament to the role that telling our stories and being seen and heard plays for healing and wellness. This book is worth reading (with your ears or eyes or both)!
This is a story about the Rabinowitz family and their escape away from Nazi soldiers trying to expunge Jews and into the forest where survival was unlikely. The story is compelling and horrific.
Rebecca Frankel’s connection to the family and desire to tell their story is what attracted me to this book. The writing and piecing together from interviews and research kept me reading. The author’s note at the end along with recorded interviews on the audio book made this an immediate buy and keep forever book for me. Masterful!
Reading this book was emotional and hard and took me awhile. I am grateful for Frankel and for the survivors who told their stories. It is unfathomable what they endured. That they survived is miraculous. That they survived relationally whole going on to make such a difference for people through their vocations and servant-hearted actions is a testament to the power of the human spirit. It is also a testament to the role that telling our stories and being seen and heard plays for healing and wellness. This book is worth reading (with your ears or eyes or both)!
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