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The Partisan's Daughter
She gave up everything to save his daughter. Now he wants her back.
Warsaw, 1945. Having survived the Holocaust and the death of his wife, Aaron returns to his ruined hometown . Three years ago, he and his wife Raizel made an impossible decision to secure their daughter Machale ’s life. Having left her in the care of a local Christian family, Aaron and Raizel believed their choice would spare their daughter from the horrors to come. Now, standing alone in the ruins of his once peaceful home, Aaron assumes the worst.
Then a chance encounter sparks the hope of survival.
Warsaw, 1942. On her way to Sunday mass, Magda discovers the unconscious body of a young girl, laying on the banks of the Vizsla river. Without a second thought, Magda takes the girl in, risking more than her own life to protect the girl — and her incredible story.
The fateful meeting between Aaron and the woman who saved his daughter brings forth unfathomable passion and heartbreak.
Inspired by unbelievable true events, The Partisan’s Daughter is an unforgettable novel telling the amazing story of a father who is willing to do anything for his daughter, and of the woman who risked everything to save her.
Warsaw, 1945. Having survived the Holocaust and the death of his wife, Aaron returns to his ruined hometown . Three years ago, he and his wife Raizel made an impossible decision to secure their daughter Machale ’s life. Having left her in the care of a local Christian family, Aaron and Raizel believed their choice would spare their daughter from the horrors to come. Now, standing alone in the ruins of his once peaceful home, Aaron assumes the worst.
Then a chance encounter sparks the hope of survival.
Warsaw, 1942. On her way to Sunday mass, Magda discovers the unconscious body of a young girl, laying on the banks of the Vizsla river. Without a second thought, Magda takes the girl in, risking more than her own life to protect the girl — and her incredible story.
The fateful meeting between Aaron and the woman who saved his daughter brings forth unfathomable passion and heartbreak.
Inspired by unbelievable true events, The Partisan’s Daughter is an unforgettable novel telling the amazing story of a father who is willing to do anything for his daughter, and of the woman who risked everything to save her.
201 pages, Paperback
Published December 13, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
December 21, 2022
Good read - a revelatory novel!
Israeli author Michael Behagen is also a filmmaker, a musician, and the son of a Holocaust survivor. His books to date - LULLABY and now THE PARTISAN’S DAUGHTER, translated from the Hebrew by Yossie Bloch.
Written with dramatic intensity, Behagen’s novel is a fictional story about the Holocaust, but the unique aspect of this novel is his shining light on aspects of that period seldom addressed - the interaction and positive contributions of Christian characters in protecting Jewish children. The plot line follows: ‘Warsaw, 1942. On her way to Sunday mass, Magda discovers the unconscious body of a young girl, laying on the banks of the Vizsla river. Without second thought Magda takes the girl in, risking more than her own life to protect the girl—and her incredible story. Warsaw, 1945. Having survived the holocaust and the death of his wife, Aaron returns to his ruined hometown. Three years ago, he and his wife Raizel made an impossible decision to secure their daughter Machale’s life. Having left her in the care of a local Christian family, Aaron and Raizel believed their choice would spare their daughter from the horrors to come. Now, standing alone in the ruins of his once peaceful home, Aaron assumes the worst. Then a chance encounter sparks the hope of survival. The fateful meeting between Aaron, and the woman who saved his daughter brings forth unfathomable passion and heartbreak.’ Beautifully written and celebrating love and compassion, this novel is cinematic and hopefully with Behagen’s experience as a filmmaker, that aspect may be realized. Very highly recommended.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book
Israeli author Michael Behagen is also a filmmaker, a musician, and the son of a Holocaust survivor. His books to date - LULLABY and now THE PARTISAN’S DAUGHTER, translated from the Hebrew by Yossie Bloch.
Written with dramatic intensity, Behagen’s novel is a fictional story about the Holocaust, but the unique aspect of this novel is his shining light on aspects of that period seldom addressed - the interaction and positive contributions of Christian characters in protecting Jewish children. The plot line follows: ‘Warsaw, 1942. On her way to Sunday mass, Magda discovers the unconscious body of a young girl, laying on the banks of the Vizsla river. Without second thought Magda takes the girl in, risking more than her own life to protect the girl—and her incredible story. Warsaw, 1945. Having survived the holocaust and the death of his wife, Aaron returns to his ruined hometown. Three years ago, he and his wife Raizel made an impossible decision to secure their daughter Machale’s life. Having left her in the care of a local Christian family, Aaron and Raizel believed their choice would spare their daughter from the horrors to come. Now, standing alone in the ruins of his once peaceful home, Aaron assumes the worst. Then a chance encounter sparks the hope of survival. The fateful meeting between Aaron, and the woman who saved his daughter brings forth unfathomable passion and heartbreak.’ Beautifully written and celebrating love and compassion, this novel is cinematic and hopefully with Behagen’s experience as a filmmaker, that aspect may be realized. Very highly recommended.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book
February 24, 2023
This book is sad and written in a time of tumultuous chaos and hate. Magda risks her life to save a young girl who was given up by her beloved parents. There are no winners in this story only emotionally scarred survivors. I thought the young daughter Machale showed the only redemption in the book for me. She took the effort to reconnect with the woman who gave her life in the chaos of the war. It is a valued read that resonates today in the sea of anti semitism that pervades our society..
January 19, 2024
Poignant, sad, but beautiful. The end of the war section felt a bit rushed. Overall a worthy read.
March 30, 2023
A grandfather finally tells his granddaughter the full story of the horrors of the holocaust...his separation from her mother, the death of the grandmother at the hands of a Nazi gun, the struggle to find a safe place for the child, the girl's mother. It tells of the terrible ways the Jews were treated and the terrible slander against God and Jesus that this really entailed. It tells of the woman who gave the Jewish girl a safe place, the separation from that safe haven, the person who stood up for and with the child, and why no one has heard of this person until now.
And now, decades after, the question is, what became of the woman who was like a mother to the girl's mother?
While the father was set for the camps, he was clever enough to find a way out, only to find himself surrounded by antisemitic partisans - and finding a way to make himself an asset to them. As the war ended, he started to look for his little girl.
The story is a deep dive into how evil even ordinary people can become, how it can affect those who are evil's target, the herd mentality, and the influence of Soviet Russia on their Eastern European satellites. I looked it up once; in Soviet Russia alone, anti-Jewish pogroms during the war years killed an estimated 2 million Jews, a number that IMO should be added to the Nazi atrocities - yet, Russia and the former Soviet Bloc get a pass that the German people don't...yet, the Germans no longer try to harm Jews, but antisemitic attacks/pogroms continued in the Soviet Union apace in the post war years until the 1980s, when world pressure forced the USSR to allow Jews to emigrate. Since the end of the war, before Jewish emigration was allowed, an estimated 1 - 3 million more Jews died in pogroms under Communist rule. While the Tsars ruled, pogroms were a regular thing, and Russian Jews were the most restricted in movement of any group under Tsarist Russian control. Communism was supposed to change all that, not make it worse.
Now, we are seeing a resurgence of antisemitism worldwide, which increased drastically with immigration to Europe from other countries. And if you read Bible prophecies in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, Israel, tiny Israel, will stand alone against the world's hate one day - and Jesus will lead the armies of the Lord to fight for them, when He returns. Those who hate Israel will lose. But I believe we should never again allow antisemitism to flourish to that point.
And this book shows you why Never Again should not just be the motto of Jews, but of any TRUE Christian.
And now, decades after, the question is, what became of the woman who was like a mother to the girl's mother?
While the father was set for the camps, he was clever enough to find a way out, only to find himself surrounded by antisemitic partisans - and finding a way to make himself an asset to them. As the war ended, he started to look for his little girl.
The story is a deep dive into how evil even ordinary people can become, how it can affect those who are evil's target, the herd mentality, and the influence of Soviet Russia on their Eastern European satellites. I looked it up once; in Soviet Russia alone, anti-Jewish pogroms during the war years killed an estimated 2 million Jews, a number that IMO should be added to the Nazi atrocities - yet, Russia and the former Soviet Bloc get a pass that the German people don't...yet, the Germans no longer try to harm Jews, but antisemitic attacks/pogroms continued in the Soviet Union apace in the post war years until the 1980s, when world pressure forced the USSR to allow Jews to emigrate. Since the end of the war, before Jewish emigration was allowed, an estimated 1 - 3 million more Jews died in pogroms under Communist rule. While the Tsars ruled, pogroms were a regular thing, and Russian Jews were the most restricted in movement of any group under Tsarist Russian control. Communism was supposed to change all that, not make it worse.
Now, we are seeing a resurgence of antisemitism worldwide, which increased drastically with immigration to Europe from other countries. And if you read Bible prophecies in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, Israel, tiny Israel, will stand alone against the world's hate one day - and Jesus will lead the armies of the Lord to fight for them, when He returns. Those who hate Israel will lose. But I believe we should never again allow antisemitism to flourish to that point.
And this book shows you why Never Again should not just be the motto of Jews, but of any TRUE Christian.
August 7, 2023
My Musings
What an emotional story of a woman's selfless love and a daughter's devotion. Magda changed her life to save a young Jewish girl only to be betrayed for her selflessness. I am so glad that the ending reunited them. Happy reading!
What an emotional story of a woman's selfless love and a daughter's devotion. Magda changed her life to save a young Jewish girl only to be betrayed for her selflessness. I am so glad that the ending reunited them. Happy reading!
March 8, 2023
This is a terrible tale, beautifully told. Whenever I think that I've read about every atrocity & indignity suffered by the Jewish people during World War II, new ones are revealed. This is quite a different story from WWII with lessons about anti-Semetism that are more important than ever. I urge you to read it...it's a quick read with a powerful message for all of us.
February 21, 2023
Ah
A tender, sad, and moving story. Made me want to know more. During a desperate time, people can respond either with hatred or amazing heroism.
A tender, sad, and moving story. Made me want to know more. During a desperate time, people can respond either with hatred or amazing heroism.
March 3, 2026
Michael Behagen’s The Partisan’s Daughter is a profoundly moving and unforgettable novel about courage, love, and survival in the darkest of times. The story follows Machala, a little girl torn from her family during the Holocaust, whose life is saved by the bravery and compassion of Magda, a courageous Polish woman who risks everything to protect her.
The framing device involves Magda in Israel with her daughter Sarah and her father Aaron wh was a Jewish Partisan in Poland,recunting what happened.
Aaron is another key chacrter.
Behagen masterfully captures the tension, fear, and resilience of wartime Europe while giving us a deeply personal story of hope and human connection. The bond between Machala and Magda is heart-wrenching and inspiring, portraying the extraordinary lengths one human being can go to save another.
The prose is vivid and emotionally resonant, immersing readers in the perilous world of the Holocaust while balancing moments of tenderness, humanity, and quiet courage. Every chapter is gripping, and the story lingers in your mind long after the final page.
The Partisan’s Daughter is a testament to bravery, love, and the power of selflessness in the face of unimaginable cruelty. Michael Behagen has created a story that is as heartwarming as it is harrowing, and it will stay with readers forever.
The framing device involves Magda in Israel with her daughter Sarah and her father Aaron wh was a Jewish Partisan in Poland,recunting what happened.
Aaron is another key chacrter.
Behagen masterfully captures the tension, fear, and resilience of wartime Europe while giving us a deeply personal story of hope and human connection. The bond between Machala and Magda is heart-wrenching and inspiring, portraying the extraordinary lengths one human being can go to save another.
The prose is vivid and emotionally resonant, immersing readers in the perilous world of the Holocaust while balancing moments of tenderness, humanity, and quiet courage. Every chapter is gripping, and the story lingers in your mind long after the final page.
The Partisan’s Daughter is a testament to bravery, love, and the power of selflessness in the face of unimaginable cruelty. Michael Behagen has created a story that is as heartwarming as it is harrowing, and it will stay with readers forever.
March 13, 2026
I have always enjoyed historical fiction. This book told the story of Aaron his wife Raizel and their daughter Machale during the holocaust. Believing that they have found someone to care for their daughter instead of having her sent away like they were being sent from the ghetto. But like many Jews found out that kind family was not who they thought. Would they be reunited at the wars end?
Madge was a young woman who decided that she was not going to do what her village around her was doing . She would not let the innocent lives of the Jews be destroyed. She did this with her love and kindness for one child whom she finds on a river bank. Would she be able to protect this young child? Or would she and the child be headed to the camps or even death from her village?
There are many graphic displays of violence along with many heroic acts of courage in this story. Yes this is fiction but in this story you can see how there were people who were willing to stand up to the wrong doings of the majority to save the lives of the Jews
Madge was a young woman who decided that she was not going to do what her village around her was doing . She would not let the innocent lives of the Jews be destroyed. She did this with her love and kindness for one child whom she finds on a river bank. Would she be able to protect this young child? Or would she and the child be headed to the camps or even death from her village?
There are many graphic displays of violence along with many heroic acts of courage in this story. Yes this is fiction but in this story you can see how there were people who were willing to stand up to the wrong doings of the majority to save the lives of the Jews
October 11, 2023
Very Depressing. It was hard for me to get into the way the two stories weren't separated, but I finally got into it. The story was told by the grandfather about a small Jewish girl trying to survive and growing up during WWII in a world full of hate, horror and cruelty. I understand why the story must be told and I sympathize. Everyone needs to know this bit of history.
November 26, 2024
The story had the potential to be great. I loved the relationship between Magda and Machale. It was poorly written and hard to follow. Paragraphs would jump to a whole new storyline and setting with no warning.
December 14, 2025
I haven't actually read this book - I read The Partisan's Daughter by Louis de Bernieres which for some reason does not appear in the Goodreads archive. So this is being used as a placeholder. Louis de Bernieres is a very good British novelist and Goodreads should carry all of his books.
October 1, 2023
A good read
It was story with the possibility of life during those years of utter hate. We are still facing disturbing times.
It was story with the possibility of life during those years of utter hate. We are still facing disturbing times.
April 16, 2024
Sad but beautiful story. A little hard to follow along with at times
July 19, 2024
Very moving story of how a Jewish girl is treated and the effects on the people who are asked to help her and another who found her. Sad but shared in such a way to be believable.
September 20, 2024
3.5 stars
I enjoyed the story but it was sometimes difficult to follow. The breaks in paragraphs didn’t always flow or even make sense.
I enjoyed the story but it was sometimes difficult to follow. The breaks in paragraphs didn’t always flow or even make sense.
August 19, 2023
The book started out slow and I felt the writing was somewhat elementary making it an easy read. The story line dealt with survival of a young Jewish girl, Machale, given to a Christian couple by her father to insure her safety during the war. I found the young girl a little too precocious and at times unbelievable. As the father relates the events after the war upon finding his daughter, I felt angry, void of feeling and disgusted from his insensitive actions.
May 23, 2023
Good story
There were many brave people like Magda who saved many people. But they were few and far between. At that time it seemed the bad people so much outweighted the good people. This is a sad story in so many ways. But somehow there is always love.
There were many brave people like Magda who saved many people. But they were few and far between. At that time it seemed the bad people so much outweighted the good people. This is a sad story in so many ways. But somehow there is always love.
July 3, 2023
salvation
I loved the fact that Anastasia returned to look for the mother who saved her life. Anastasia demonstrated her love by being so grateful and patient with the woman who put her life in danger to save her.
I loved the fact that Anastasia returned to look for the mother who saved her life. Anastasia demonstrated her love by being so grateful and patient with the woman who put her life in danger to save her.
March 11, 2023
3.5 to 4*
Was really enjoying this book but was disappointed with the ending.
Was really enjoying this book but was disappointed with the ending.
June 28, 2023
I had a hard time following the storyline in this book. The two time changes were difficult for me to follow. It was a very sad story with no real winners in the end.
July 21, 2023
My only complaint is that the change between chapters was confusing at times. I’m not sure if it’s a Kindle issue or not but it was very confusing at times.
Other than that, I’d recommend it
Other than that, I’d recommend it
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews