Opening Sentence: ‘…My mother had a secret…’

Sala is sixteen when she offers to take her older, and frailer, sisters place at a Nazi labour campfor a six week job to earn some money to help her family out. What no-one knew is that it was a slave labour camp, and that Sala would spend the next five years working in horrendous conditions and that it was a ruse and no wages ever were paid. The author, Anne Kirschner, does not reveal to any great extent, what those conditions are, instead she leaves it up to the imagination of the reader to fill in the more horrific details, of which we are all well aware. Sala lost nearly all of her family, only her and her two sisters survived.

Sala kept the secrets of her wartime experiences from her children for nearly 50 years. Only when she feared she might not recover from major surgery did she reveal to the existence of hundreds of letters, postcards and photo’s that she had received during her years in Nazi slave labor camps – amazingly, mailed right into the camps. These letters were her gift to her daughter Ann – the author of this book. It is from these mementos, Sala’s memories and a lot of research and investigation that Ann was able to write this book.

While Sala lost her family, many friends and, at times, hope, she always seem to find someone to hold her up and protect her. As the letters from family and friends stopped one by one she turned to a network of support from new friends within the camps.

This is more than a glimpse into a horrible stain on human history – this is a story of adventure, suspense, romance, danger, tragedy and bravery – this story is true. ( )

What makes this book remarkable is that the author's mother, Sala, was able to save all the letters from friends and family that she received throughout her five year ordeal in seven different labor camps. These letters, along with Sala's short diary, form the basis of the book and allow the reader to hear directly from the participants themselves at the time--rather than a retelling or telling many years later. The author fills in the context skillfully so that one doesn't feel jolted from letter to description. Altogether I was reminded of The Diary of Anne Frank. The voices of Sala and her sisters and friends reach out to us from the past in a way that is compelling, authentic, and innocent in the face of the horrors that descend upon them. ( )

http://thebookwormslibrary.com/?p=54 ( )

Ann Kirschner tells her mother's World War II story of life in a Nazi work camp and the loss of nearly all her family.

www.salasgift.com