Description: It is important to remember not just what the Holocaust was but to remember the individuals who were the subjects of unrelenting Nazi brutalities. Written by a survivor about the people she knew and cared for, these eight stories fight against the depiction of Jews as victims and victims only, and individualize a tragedy that is too often abstracted into dates and statistics. Amidst the dramatic narrative, there is a brutal honesty and frankness that makes these stories far more infuriating, sad, and shocking than any fictional attempt to convey what it was like to be human in such inhuman circumstances. These biographies remind readers of the consequences of hate upon the fragile beauty and complexity of human life.
Brief description: The late Vera Schiff was a Holocaust survivor, educator and award winning author living in Toronto, Canada. In 2012 she received an honorary doctorate of Letters from the University of New Brunswick for her contributions to the field. In 2020 she was awarded the Order of Canada for her illustrious career as an author, historian and public speaker who is nationally recognized for sharing her moving experiences of the Holocaust.