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La petite fille au manteau rouge
Lorsqu’en 1993, Roma Ligocka assiste, sur invitation du maire de Cracovie, à la projection de La Liste de Schindler de Steven Spielberg, elle reste pétrifiée devant la célèbre scène où une petite fille en manteau rouge traverse le paysage dévasté du ghetto. « C’est moi ! Cette petite fille, c’était moi ! »
Ce film sera le déclic qui va permettre à ses souvenirs, refoulés depuis 50 ans, de remonter à la surface.
Née juive dans une famille aisée et unie, elle est enfermée avec les siens dans le ghetto, en mars 1941, à l’âge de trois ans, et parvient à s’en évader avec sa mère, en 1943.
Après avoir survécu à la Shoah, et être devenue décoratrice de théâtre et peintre, Roma Ligocka livre ici un témoignage déchirant sur son enfance ravagée, véritable cri de douleur, mais aussi d’espoir.
Ce film sera le déclic qui va permettre à ses souvenirs, refoulés depuis 50 ans, de remonter à la surface.
Née juive dans une famille aisée et unie, elle est enfermée avec les siens dans le ghetto, en mars 1941, à l’âge de trois ans, et parvient à s’en évader avec sa mère, en 1943.
Après avoir survécu à la Shoah, et être devenue décoratrice de théâtre et peintre, Roma Ligocka livre ici un témoignage déchirant sur son enfance ravagée, véritable cri de douleur, mais aussi d’espoir.
416 pages, Pocket Book
First published January 1, 2000
219 people are currently reading
4271 people want to read
About the author
Roma Ligocka
20 books35 followersA Polish costume designer, writer, and painter and the cousin of Roman Polański.
She was born in a Jewish family in Cracow a few years before the WWII. During the German occupation of Poland her family was persecuted by the Nazis - her father was incarcerated, first in the Płaszów and then Auschwitz concentration camps. In 1940 she was taken with her mother to the Kraków Ghetto but before the end of the ghetto in 1943 they fled and hid with a Polish family.
In 1965 she and her husband Jan Biczycki left the Communist Poland and moved to Munich, Germany where she continued with her set design assignments.
The traumatic war experiences are reflected in her personal life. For some time in her life she was addicted to various drugs but she recovered.
She was born in a Jewish family in Cracow a few years before the WWII. During the German occupation of Poland her family was persecuted by the Nazis - her father was incarcerated, first in the Płaszów and then Auschwitz concentration camps. In 1940 she was taken with her mother to the Kraków Ghetto but before the end of the ghetto in 1943 they fled and hid with a Polish family.
In 1965 she and her husband Jan Biczycki left the Communist Poland and moved to Munich, Germany where she continued with her set design assignments.
The traumatic war experiences are reflected in her personal life. For some time in her life she was addicted to various drugs but she recovered.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 249 reviews
April 7, 2023
Bardziej takie 2,5-2,75 bo strasznie się przy niej męczyłam.
December 12, 2011
Yes this is a harrowing story about this little girl and a fascinating insight to what it must have been like in Krakow at that time. Sadly I did not warm to the author. She came across as obsessed with herself. Throughout the book she seems to want to put across how beautiful she was and how men would pursue her and ask to marry her at the drop of a hat. This may well be the case but I really felt I did not need this information.
This author, despite her terrible childhood, did not ever have to endure being in a concentration camp. You can walk away, as she did, from an alcoholic. You could not walk away from Auschwitz. She should not have put this comment in the book. Also, there is a theme throughout the book about her wanting to disappear or be invisible. Despite this she still tells us how she would dress in colourful clothes and low cut tops. Of course she has been mentally damaged by her past and I do feel for all of the children who endured what she did and far worse. But I get a sense of this woman capitalising on her past in a way which I find a little irritating. I also think the family who kept taking them into their home were not given as much attention as they deserved. We are told, Manuella, the lovely daughter of this family had died. The author idolised this young woman but all we are told is that she is dead. I wanted to know more about her and how she came to die. I was also surprised to learn that the picture of the little girl in the red coat was not in fact the author - she just 'recognised' herself in her. I imagine so did many many other children.
This author, despite her terrible childhood, did not ever have to endure being in a concentration camp. You can walk away, as she did, from an alcoholic. You could not walk away from Auschwitz. She should not have put this comment in the book. Also, there is a theme throughout the book about her wanting to disappear or be invisible. Despite this she still tells us how she would dress in colourful clothes and low cut tops. Of course she has been mentally damaged by her past and I do feel for all of the children who endured what she did and far worse. But I get a sense of this woman capitalising on her past in a way which I find a little irritating. I also think the family who kept taking them into their home were not given as much attention as they deserved. We are told, Manuella, the lovely daughter of this family had died. The author idolised this young woman but all we are told is that she is dead. I wanted to know more about her and how she came to die. I was also surprised to learn that the picture of the little girl in the red coat was not in fact the author - she just 'recognised' herself in her. I imagine so did many many other children.
January 20, 2018
2.5 stars.
Unfortunately I didn't like Roma much. The story of her life started in the ghetto of Krakow at the beginning of the war. It is told with a great distance, the words didn't reach my heart.
Unfortunately I didn't like Roma much. The story of her life started in the ghetto of Krakow at the beginning of the war. It is told with a great distance, the words didn't reach my heart.
May 27, 2007
I read this book over the course of a day because I found it hard to put it down. It's well written and very compulsive. I found some of it very distressing and I got quite upset during the first half of it. This is partly down to the subject matter, but mostly down to the fact that the observations of the horror are written from the perspective of a young child. The simplicity of the writing and the confusion of the child are very moving.
It's an autobiography of Roma Ligocka and starts with her earliest memories. She was born in Poland in 1939 to Jewish parents. Her first years were spent in the Krakow Ghetto and are absolutely horrific. Roma and her mother escaped the Ghetto and spent the rest of the war in hiding.
I was particularly interested in Roma's account of Ghetto life because she was so young. Adults heap huge responsibilty on her. She is expected to keep secrets and remember cover stories but is never told why. She sees people shot in front of her and is told to look away and not think about it. This particular way of thinking is something she adopts as an adult and she refuses to talk about her past even though she suffers from fears and phobias that stem from that time.
The chapters that cover Roma's teenage life are fascinating. I have read a few books about adult Holocaust survivors and the way they coped after 1945, but it was the first time I'd read about a young person at that time. Roma is creative and rebellious and desperate to find a place that she feels she belongs. She throws herself into things she loves with passion, like art and music. She finds herself drawn to Communism and then becomes disenchanted by it. There are also a number of references to Roman Polanski, who is her cousin.
I think the thing that I liked most about this book was that I came away with a full picture of Roma. Often autobiographies about the Holocaust end when the war ends and I'm left wondering what happened. By writing a book that deals with the Holocaust and then goes on to write about her subsequent successes and failures, Roma Ligocka becomes a rounded person to the reader.
It's an autobiography of Roma Ligocka and starts with her earliest memories. She was born in Poland in 1939 to Jewish parents. Her first years were spent in the Krakow Ghetto and are absolutely horrific. Roma and her mother escaped the Ghetto and spent the rest of the war in hiding.
I was particularly interested in Roma's account of Ghetto life because she was so young. Adults heap huge responsibilty on her. She is expected to keep secrets and remember cover stories but is never told why. She sees people shot in front of her and is told to look away and not think about it. This particular way of thinking is something she adopts as an adult and she refuses to talk about her past even though she suffers from fears and phobias that stem from that time.
The chapters that cover Roma's teenage life are fascinating. I have read a few books about adult Holocaust survivors and the way they coped after 1945, but it was the first time I'd read about a young person at that time. Roma is creative and rebellious and desperate to find a place that she feels she belongs. She throws herself into things she loves with passion, like art and music. She finds herself drawn to Communism and then becomes disenchanted by it. There are also a number of references to Roman Polanski, who is her cousin.
I think the thing that I liked most about this book was that I came away with a full picture of Roma. Often autobiographies about the Holocaust end when the war ends and I'm left wondering what happened. By writing a book that deals with the Holocaust and then goes on to write about her subsequent successes and failures, Roma Ligocka becomes a rounded person to the reader.
September 30, 2011
It would really be misleading to call this a Holocaust memoir. Roma Ligocka does write about the Holocaust, but she was a very young child during that time and her vague, fragmentary memories of it take up only a few chapters of the book. The rest of the book is about her growing up and her adulthood as an artist. I didn't find the book all that interesting, and I thought Roma liked to promote herself a lot, talking about how beautiful she was, etc. Interesting detail: Roma's cousin is the famous film director Roman Polanski, and he's one of the major characters in the early part of the book.
January 8, 2019
Brutally beautiful.
January 11, 2015
Thoughts:
1. I would hesitate to call this a Holocaust memoir; it's more of a life memoir. And for the most part, it works. Half of the book is during the war, and the second half follows her life afterwards. The transition between the two sections is really well handled.
2. Ligocka writes her memoir almsot like a novel. It's very beginning-middle-end, with the various people in her life weaving in and out like characters of a play. I think that she misses beats in some areas. I felt some of the people she talked about were under-developed, like her friends in her twenties, as well as the relationship she had with some of the men that entered her life. Furthermore, the pacing is a bit all over the place. Ligocka rarely stays at certain moments for long, which disconnected me with what she was feeling at each part of her life. I think a part of this has to do with her writing, which is here-and-there. Of major issue is her descriptive writing. I never felt like I was with her in the moment. I coulnd't imagine what the scenes looked like, or what he life really felt like, especially earlier on.
3. The way she reminisces about her mother is on-point, and the flow of their relationship is handled extremely well. There were some moments where you could really feel all the feelings. That was excellent.
4. Yeah. It's hard to rate a memoir, as I sort of feel like I'm giving critique on a person's life. But from what I read about her elsewhere, I think this book could have been revised a few more times to make more connection with the readers.
Rating: 3 stars out of 5
1. I would hesitate to call this a Holocaust memoir; it's more of a life memoir. And for the most part, it works. Half of the book is during the war, and the second half follows her life afterwards. The transition between the two sections is really well handled.
2. Ligocka writes her memoir almsot like a novel. It's very beginning-middle-end, with the various people in her life weaving in and out like characters of a play. I think that she misses beats in some areas. I felt some of the people she talked about were under-developed, like her friends in her twenties, as well as the relationship she had with some of the men that entered her life. Furthermore, the pacing is a bit all over the place. Ligocka rarely stays at certain moments for long, which disconnected me with what she was feeling at each part of her life. I think a part of this has to do with her writing, which is here-and-there. Of major issue is her descriptive writing. I never felt like I was with her in the moment. I coulnd't imagine what the scenes looked like, or what he life really felt like, especially earlier on.
3. The way she reminisces about her mother is on-point, and the flow of their relationship is handled extremely well. There were some moments where you could really feel all the feelings. That was excellent.
4. Yeah. It's hard to rate a memoir, as I sort of feel like I'm giving critique on a person's life. But from what I read about her elsewhere, I think this book could have been revised a few more times to make more connection with the readers.
Rating: 3 stars out of 5
May 21, 2018
I got a dose of survivor's guilt reading this heart-rending memoir. It divides naturally into two halves, the latter surprisingly just as distressing as the first The first half tells of Ligocka's oft-times miraculous survival as a Jewish child in Poland as the Nazi occupation and the Holocaust gather pace. The second half depicts her valiant but vain attempts to process the deeply traumatic impact of it all as her adult life unfolds. Despite achieving a superficial measure of professional success, her talents cannot prevent her personal life repeatedly stalling or unravelling in slow motion.
If you approach this book expecting a conventional story of hard won triumph over adversity you will be thwarted. And, to those reviewers who find Ligocka's memoir 'whiny' or 'narcissistic', I would merely say that surviving existential trauma does not necessarily endow you with glowing or heroic personal attributes. But it's the cracks that let the light in. I just hope that by penning this haunting personal tragedy the author found a measure of recovery and peace.
If you approach this book expecting a conventional story of hard won triumph over adversity you will be thwarted. And, to those reviewers who find Ligocka's memoir 'whiny' or 'narcissistic', I would merely say that surviving existential trauma does not necessarily endow you with glowing or heroic personal attributes. But it's the cracks that let the light in. I just hope that by penning this haunting personal tragedy the author found a measure of recovery and peace.
July 11, 2015
I really felt that this could have been over halfway through the book. The author seems to be craving attention and is awfully spoiled as you'll find in the second half of the book. I found her to be whiny about the people and events in her life (not the Holocaust part....the rest of her life). The part about her going through the Holocaust was really good. After that though it seemed like she didn't want to wrap it up and by the end of her book I didn't care for her much. She even complained that she wasn't given the time of day after the premiere of Schindler's List when she claimed to be the girl in the red coat. Honestly, why would it necessarily be her? So she had a red coat too.....? I'm not sure I'd give that claim the time of day either. Her story about surviving the Holocaust is powerful and intense. I just think she could have ended it with that.
April 3, 2015
This is not a book about her life as a holocaust survivor. Rather, a memoir of what came to be her life after escaping the horrors of the holocaust. As such, it is misleading. I won't take away that it is an easy read, and because it is written as memory recollections, it is interesting. It is not daunting, harrowing, or even captivating. In fact, I was taken aback at how manipulative, selfish, and ignorant she turned out to be! After all her mother went through!! Cannot recommend this book as a good holocaust memoir. For that, read The Boy in the Stripes Pajamas (fiction) or even Diary of Anne Frank (non-fiction).
July 2, 2020
I cannot rate this book highly enough, to say it is moving is an understatement of epic proportions. It is a chilling and heartbreaking account of a child, whose voice I think will haunt me for ever. I spent the last few pages not wanting it to end and then having a complete breakdown in the bathroom when it was finished. So beautifully and simply written, it will be one I always remember.
October 15, 2018
I purchased the book in the shop that is located at Oskar Schindler's factory in Krakow. The visitor centre was outstanding and I wanted a book to be able to keep as a memento of the visit to Krakow. We had also during our short break visited both Auschwitz - Birkenau II, and also Auschwitz I sites and naturally were horrified by the experiences. Just being a tourist at such sites is horrific, but to imagine what it must have been like at the time and to have experienced it in real life is enough to make your blood run ice-cold. I had previously watched Schindler's List on a few occasions over the years, but it had been some time since I had last watched it so some of the things in the film were patchy in my memory. So, as any one knows who ever re-reads a previous read knows it is always nice to rediscover forgotten parts of a story and to find links to things which show how inter-connected people and experiences truly are. This book does not fail you on that I can assure you! If you have not yet read this book, please look away now because this review will be full of spoilers for you. If you have already read the book, and are just reading previous reviews as I have this morning then please carry on reading....
Everyone who has ever watched Schindlers's List would probably say they can remember some, or all of the scenes that show the girl wearing the red coat. The deeper meaning of why this is shown in colour when everything else is in black and white has a number of possible explanations, but the very essence of it is to highlight further the deeply deeply horrific event that is unfolding. All tourists who do go and visit Schindler's factory will have also visited the area of the Ghetto (known in Krakow as Getta), so visually what the author is trying to describe is easier if you have watched Schindler's List, and also if you have visited the sites described in the book, and not just the sites of Jewish persecution, but also the historical sites of Krakow too. The main market square, the restaurants and bars that surround the market square and its site streets. The cathedrals, the apartment blocks that are now apart-hotels for tourists. The stairwells, and landings within the apartments blocks, and also riding the trams (street cars as Roma calls them) that surround the old town and the lead over the Vistula River bridges towards the Getta and other places in the outskirts of Krakow.
There are descriptions in the book of the old way of life for Jewish people in Krakow before the war,
and it must have been a lovely place to live back then, how things then fell apart cannot be over emphasised. Roma takes you on a journey through a very long period in Krakow's history, both before the war (from her recollections of what her mother used to tell her about it), and also from her own recollections of the wartime period too, and then how Krakow then changed again under the communist rule, and how this period was also terrible.
I especially like the fact the book shows family photos as you go through the journey of reading it, rather than the annoying way that some books put all the photos together in a middle section of the book so that you then see images later on from when you need to seek them, or you then see them too early in the books story. More books should do it this way in my opinion. I remember early in the book seeing a large photo of some of her families friends and other family members, that also points out that Roman Polanski's parents are in the middle of the back row. Through the early part of book Roma does refer a lot to her cousin named Roman but not at anytime does she tell you her cousin is actually THE Roman Polanski. That is a surprise much later towards the end. It was also, a big shock that when I re-watched Schindler's List immediately after finishing the book that in the very ending scenes of the film where all of the actual survivors of Oskar Schindler walk past his grave stone in Israel and place a rock on top of it that the man shown as 'Ryszard Horowitz' is actually the same Ryszard Horowitz that she and Roman Polanski used to live with, and play together with in the very aftermath of the war. The three of them spent their time rediscovering some of their lost youth, and rightfully so too. Neither of these now famous characters were used at all on the back cover of the book, or in the reviews at the front of the book to get you to purchase it, and I respect that angle very much. I think it was probably a very conscious decision between the author and the publisher, and it really works well for that reason. I thought Roma's detailing of her journey throughout her life was very interesting, and vivid and I personally was engrossed from start to finish, and read the book in less than 24 hours. I started it waiting for my flight back home at Krakow airport and then finished it the next day. Roma has had a journey and a half in her life and deserves her acclaim for what is a very well structured book. It brought tears to my eyes on many occasions, but also brought smiles to my face when she describes the finer things that happened to her too after the war. I recommend the book anyway. I am now going to purchase the Polish version of the book for my Polish partner to read as she will also be able to go on a journey through her own countries history in the same way I have just done....
Everyone who has ever watched Schindlers's List would probably say they can remember some, or all of the scenes that show the girl wearing the red coat. The deeper meaning of why this is shown in colour when everything else is in black and white has a number of possible explanations, but the very essence of it is to highlight further the deeply deeply horrific event that is unfolding. All tourists who do go and visit Schindler's factory will have also visited the area of the Ghetto (known in Krakow as Getta), so visually what the author is trying to describe is easier if you have watched Schindler's List, and also if you have visited the sites described in the book, and not just the sites of Jewish persecution, but also the historical sites of Krakow too. The main market square, the restaurants and bars that surround the market square and its site streets. The cathedrals, the apartment blocks that are now apart-hotels for tourists. The stairwells, and landings within the apartments blocks, and also riding the trams (street cars as Roma calls them) that surround the old town and the lead over the Vistula River bridges towards the Getta and other places in the outskirts of Krakow.
There are descriptions in the book of the old way of life for Jewish people in Krakow before the war,
and it must have been a lovely place to live back then, how things then fell apart cannot be over emphasised. Roma takes you on a journey through a very long period in Krakow's history, both before the war (from her recollections of what her mother used to tell her about it), and also from her own recollections of the wartime period too, and then how Krakow then changed again under the communist rule, and how this period was also terrible.
I especially like the fact the book shows family photos as you go through the journey of reading it, rather than the annoying way that some books put all the photos together in a middle section of the book so that you then see images later on from when you need to seek them, or you then see them too early in the books story. More books should do it this way in my opinion. I remember early in the book seeing a large photo of some of her families friends and other family members, that also points out that Roman Polanski's parents are in the middle of the back row. Through the early part of book Roma does refer a lot to her cousin named Roman but not at anytime does she tell you her cousin is actually THE Roman Polanski. That is a surprise much later towards the end. It was also, a big shock that when I re-watched Schindler's List immediately after finishing the book that in the very ending scenes of the film where all of the actual survivors of Oskar Schindler walk past his grave stone in Israel and place a rock on top of it that the man shown as 'Ryszard Horowitz' is actually the same Ryszard Horowitz that she and Roman Polanski used to live with, and play together with in the very aftermath of the war. The three of them spent their time rediscovering some of their lost youth, and rightfully so too. Neither of these now famous characters were used at all on the back cover of the book, or in the reviews at the front of the book to get you to purchase it, and I respect that angle very much. I think it was probably a very conscious decision between the author and the publisher, and it really works well for that reason. I thought Roma's detailing of her journey throughout her life was very interesting, and vivid and I personally was engrossed from start to finish, and read the book in less than 24 hours. I started it waiting for my flight back home at Krakow airport and then finished it the next day. Roma has had a journey and a half in her life and deserves her acclaim for what is a very well structured book. It brought tears to my eyes on many occasions, but also brought smiles to my face when she describes the finer things that happened to her too after the war. I recommend the book anyway. I am now going to purchase the Polish version of the book for my Polish partner to read as she will also be able to go on a journey through her own countries history in the same way I have just done....
August 23, 2022
The Girl in the Red Coat is a touching and heartbreaking autobiography about the life of a Polish Jewish Holocaust survivor. Roma Ligocka was a young child when her and her family were forced to move into the Krakow Ghetto. Luckily, Roma and her mother were able to escape the Ghetto and were taken in by a non-Jewish family who hid them and passed them off as "cousins".
Roma poignantly describes the trauma of life in the Ghetto and the constant fear of her and her mother being caught by the Germans and making even the slightest mistake that could cost them their lives. Roma is forced to grow up at a young age and cannot have a normal childhood. Even simple things that most children take for granted such as playing outside and being with other children are forbidden to Roma.
Although Roma and her mother survive the war and are reunited with her father and other family members including Roman Polanski, the trauma hangs over their heads and their lives will never be normal. Roma not only bears her own trauma but the trauma of the family and friends who survived the concentration camps and subject the children to the horrendous details.
Roma doesn't get to catch up on the childhood that she missed as her father tragically dies two years after the war and communism takes hold over Poland, restricting people's lives and subjecting them to poverty and lack of freedom.
For those who say that this isn't a Holocaust memoir, they are wrong. You don't have to be a survivor of a concentration camp to be a Holocaust survivor and tell your story. Those who were hidden during the war have just as much right to tell their story and carry their own trauma.
Roma's account was extremely moving and tragic. The tragedy continues to impact her life as is the case for all Holocaust survivors. My grandparents were both Holocaust survivors who fled from Germany. I know that my grandmother's trauma impacted her until the day that she died.
The only problem I had with this book is that Roma dwells more on her life after leaving Poland during the communist era, living in West Germany, her marriages and social life. I felt like it took the focus away from her early experiences of the Holocaust and life in communist Poland and felt a bit irrelevant. I didn't really feel as connected to Roma in the latter part of the book. Perhaps the book wasn't marketed properly as I expected that it would just be about Roma's childhood, but it ended up being a memoir including a large portion of her adult life.
All in all this was a very evocative and moving book. Through such dark and harrowing times, Roma interweaves colour and child-like wonder and hope into her very traumatic story. I would definitely recommend this.
Grade: A
Roma poignantly describes the trauma of life in the Ghetto and the constant fear of her and her mother being caught by the Germans and making even the slightest mistake that could cost them their lives. Roma is forced to grow up at a young age and cannot have a normal childhood. Even simple things that most children take for granted such as playing outside and being with other children are forbidden to Roma.
Although Roma and her mother survive the war and are reunited with her father and other family members including Roman Polanski, the trauma hangs over their heads and their lives will never be normal. Roma not only bears her own trauma but the trauma of the family and friends who survived the concentration camps and subject the children to the horrendous details.
Roma doesn't get to catch up on the childhood that she missed as her father tragically dies two years after the war and communism takes hold over Poland, restricting people's lives and subjecting them to poverty and lack of freedom.
For those who say that this isn't a Holocaust memoir, they are wrong. You don't have to be a survivor of a concentration camp to be a Holocaust survivor and tell your story. Those who were hidden during the war have just as much right to tell their story and carry their own trauma.
Roma's account was extremely moving and tragic. The tragedy continues to impact her life as is the case for all Holocaust survivors. My grandparents were both Holocaust survivors who fled from Germany. I know that my grandmother's trauma impacted her until the day that she died.
The only problem I had with this book is that Roma dwells more on her life after leaving Poland during the communist era, living in West Germany, her marriages and social life. I felt like it took the focus away from her early experiences of the Holocaust and life in communist Poland and felt a bit irrelevant. I didn't really feel as connected to Roma in the latter part of the book. Perhaps the book wasn't marketed properly as I expected that it would just be about Roma's childhood, but it ended up being a memoir including a large portion of her adult life.
All in all this was a very evocative and moving book. Through such dark and harrowing times, Roma interweaves colour and child-like wonder and hope into her very traumatic story. I would definitely recommend this.
Grade: A
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August 22, 2020Die erste Hälfte dieses Buches erfüllte meine Erwartungen vollkommen: Roma Ligocka berichtet von ihren Erlebnissen während des Zweiten Weltkriegs. Ich war neugierig darauf, zu erfahren, an wie viel sie sich erinnern konnte, denn immerhin war sie beim Ausbruch des Krieges kaum ein Jahr alt gewesen. Sprich: Sie hat den Krieg als Kleinkind erlebt. Trotzdem hat sie eine sehr klare, eine sehr detaillierte Erinnerung an das, was sie und ihre Familie durchmachen mussten.
In der zweiten Hälfte geht es um ihr Leben nach dem Krieg. Sie erzählt von ihrem beruflichen Werdegang und davon, wie sie ihren Mann kennenlernte, von ihrer Ehe, wie sie Mutter wird und so weiter. Das war mir ehrlich gesagt ein wenig zu viel des Guten. Mir ging es nicht unbedingt darum, zu erfahren, wie sie als Künstlerin durchstartete, daher empfand ich die zweite Hälfte des Buches als überflüssig.
Da ich diesem Buch nichts unter 5 Sternen geben möchte - es erscheint mir nicht richtig, ein solch persönliches Werk derart zu bewerten -, habe ich beschlossen, überhaupt keine Bewertung abzugeben.
In der zweiten Hälfte geht es um ihr Leben nach dem Krieg. Sie erzählt von ihrem beruflichen Werdegang und davon, wie sie ihren Mann kennenlernte, von ihrer Ehe, wie sie Mutter wird und so weiter. Das war mir ehrlich gesagt ein wenig zu viel des Guten. Mir ging es nicht unbedingt darum, zu erfahren, wie sie als Künstlerin durchstartete, daher empfand ich die zweite Hälfte des Buches als überflüssig.
Da ich diesem Buch nichts unter 5 Sternen geben möchte - es erscheint mir nicht richtig, ein solch persönliches Werk derart zu bewerten -, habe ich beschlossen, überhaupt keine Bewertung abzugeben.
September 3, 2016
This was an incredibly moving read, but I had two objections. I thought she actually was the one in the red coat- it was a metaphor only, probably something a lot of reviewers unwittingly passed on and I distrusted a lot of her early memories. Not so much the memories, just the pure dialogue involved. Why can writers not simply provide a general impression of early recollections, rather than entire dialogue there is no possibility of being truthful? This was my big complaint against The Glass Castle and I felt the same way reading her early memories, actually the dialogue surrounding her early memories. I completely believe she would remember full scenarios in toto but not the conversations as explicitly written. I would have preferred something different and found I had to read beyond and was able to accept her storytelling for what it was.
Very powerful and moving and also laudable she did not trade on her relationship to Roman Polanski to sell this book.
Very powerful and moving and also laudable she did not trade on her relationship to Roman Polanski to sell this book.
January 5, 2024
I liked this book quite a bit. It’s awful that the author never had a childhood and I can see how this would affect a person for the rest of their life. Being scared, hungry, thirsty, etc 24/7 has got to play havoc on a persons perception of life and the people around them. I’ve seen Schindlers List and I find it fascinating that she is that little girl in the red coat. I remember being haunted by that clip for quite a long time after seeing the movie. And, as always, when watching or reading anything about the nazis, I’m appalled at the atrocities they committed and at the seeming ease with which they got every day people to go along with them. Maybe Americans need to look at the parallels this country is facing in 2024.
September 6, 2011
Great book. Moving. Important. Great perspective on the years after the war for this particular survivor.
April 29, 2023
heartbreaking memoir.
February 7, 2021
Ich habe dieses Buch gelesen weil es außerhalb meiner Komfortzone liegt und mich die Geschichte rund um das jüdische Mädchen das zur Zeit des Nationalsozialismus im Ghetto von Krakau leben muss. Auch wenn es eine Biografie ist lies es sich flüssig lesen. Jedoch war ich überrascht dass das Buch nicht nur in dem Ghetto spielt sondern auch die Nachkriegszeit und die Auswirkungen nach dem Leben im Ghetto geschildert werden. Roma hat durch ihre Erfahrungen die sie nie richtig verarbeitet hat auch ein paar psychische Probleme die sich während ihrem ganzen Leben immer wieder zeigen. Jedoch hat mir der Teil nach dem Krieg irgendwann nicht mehr so richtig gefallen und war auch nicht mehr ganz so spannend zu lesen. Außerdem hatte ich nicht damit gerechnet, dass das Buch das Leben von Roma bis sie ungefähr 40 Jahre alt ist schildert. Deshalb waren meine Erwartungen an das Buch etwas andere. Es war trotzdem gut zu lesen. Deshalb bekommt es 3,5 Sterne von mir.
August 31, 2021
I really liked this book. The beginning gives a great view on the Holocaust through the eyes of a little child (and because she is so small, it gets really uncomfortable, because she doesn't understand everything we do understand). The rest of the book is a great tale of how what happened in her early years influences her and her choices and further life. Roma is not always the smartest or most sympathetic character, but it is all very logical and can be explained as a consequence of what she has lived through.
November 6, 2022
Whilst wandering round a bookshop in the Jewish Quarter of Krakow I spotted this book and added it to my reading list. Having visited Auschwitz and explored quite a bit of the Jewish Quarter provided context to reading this book on my return. Following the story of the author from her childhood in Krakow, through the war and beyond was really interesting - hearing the story from a child's perspective really added to the story and provided a different understanding of what was going on and how it impacted children.
Well worth a read.
Well worth a read.
January 23, 2022
This was an impressive memoir and so unique that it was inspired by the author catching a glimpse of herself being portrayed as a child (and with the only splash of color) in “Schindler’s List”. I love how the memoir was not only about life during WWII, but also right after through her life into the 1990s (right before publication). A great reminder about how we treat each other and on mental health, too.
May 8, 2014
Dit boek heeft me enorm geraakt en ik weet zeker dat ik nog dagen zal blijven denken aan dat meisje in de rode jas en de vrouw die uiteindelijk niet anders kan, dan op zoek gaan naar zichzelf. Draai je om. Denk eraan. Herinner je. Vertel... Zo mooi!
May 11, 2023
„Dziewczynka w czerwonym płaszczyku” Romy Ligockiej wzrusza, porusza, ściska za serce i rozwala system. Zwłaszcza bardzo realistycznie relacjonuje okres II wojenny w Krakowie. Niesamowita biografia, która dotyka do żywego.
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March 11, 2021No rating because I usually don't rate non-fiction (especially not biographies)
Really liked seeing Romas perspective, her journey and the long-lasting trauma she sustained from her traumatic childhood.
I've read quite a few non-fictions from jewish people during the Second World War, but I feel like this really gave me something I had not read before. I don't think I've read about that time from someone who was that young when it happened, nor from someone who actually managed to hide out throughout the entire war. And I also liked how it didn't just stop with the end of the war, but also shows you how Roma was haunted by her past throughout her entire life.
Really liked seeing Romas perspective, her journey and the long-lasting trauma she sustained from her traumatic childhood.
I've read quite a few non-fictions from jewish people during the Second World War, but I feel like this really gave me something I had not read before. I don't think I've read about that time from someone who was that young when it happened, nor from someone who actually managed to hide out throughout the entire war. And I also liked how it didn't just stop with the end of the war, but also shows you how Roma was haunted by her past throughout her entire life.
March 7, 2020
Ik was best wel verrast dat in veel reviews staat dat dit ‘geen holocaust memoire’ is. Kennelijk heb je alleen recht op die vermelding als je in een kamp zat en daar het hele boek over laat gaan, anders is men teleurgesteld? Ik vond het boek juist erg mooi weergeven hoe het in je hele leven lang doorwerkt als je in een vijandige oorlogsomgeving opgroeit en dus als klein meisje geen andere werkelijkheid kent. Nee, Roma is niet supersympathiek, maar als je met aandacht leest snap je ook precies waarom.
February 11, 2024
I didn’t realise it was a memoir until halfway through because it reads so much like a novel. I also expected more of it to be during the actual holocaust, but majority was actually post-war stuff - still interesting and a bit different. I’m not normally a fan of day-to-day accounts though as it can be quite mundane, but I guess it reflects real life and there were still twists and turns that I couldn’t predict.
I got bored and left it for like a year but I’m glad I came back and persisted because it was much more relatable and exciting at the end. (Like many books unfortunately xo)
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February 10, 2023Ze względu na to, że jest to opowieść autobiograficzna, nie będę jej oceniać. Mimo wszystko była ona okrutna, wyciskająca łzy, ale też niewinna, bo była z perspektywy dziecka. Najbardziej łamiące serce momenty, to byłe te tuż po wojnie, kiedy ludzie, niby bezpieczni, ale straumatyzowani, wciąż nie mogli odnaleźć siebie (odnosi się to również do dzieci, co było w tym wszystkim najgorsze). Mam wrażenie, że dotknęła mnie nawet bardziej, niż ,,Chłopiec w pasiastej piżamie".
December 17, 2021
Pamiętam z tej książki jedno,. historię chłopczyka, który znów chciał byc dziewczynka.
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September 18, 2024Ik heb maar de helft gelezen! Was enkel geïnteresseerd in de oorlog en de naoorlogse praat🫣
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