Helga's Diary
A Young Girl's Accout of Life in a Concentration Camp
24 May 2013
Territory Rights — Worldwide, excluding Canada, the British Commonwealth and the European Union.
Description
The remarkable diary of a young girl who survived the Holocaust—appearing in English for the first time.
In 1941, Helga and her parents were sent to the concentration camp of Terezín. There, Helga continued to write with astonishing insight about her daily life: the squalid living quarters, the cruel rationing of food, and the executions—as well as the moments of joy and hope that persisted in even the worst conditions.
In 1944, Helga and her family were sent to Auschwitz. Before she left, Helga’s uncle, who worked in the Terezín records department, hid her diary and drawings in a brick wall. Miraculously, he was able to reclaim them for her after the war.
Of the 15,000 children brought to Terezín and later deported to Auschwitz, only 100 survived. Helga was one of them. Reconstructed from her original notebooks, the diary is presented here in its entirety. With an introduction by Francine Prose, a revealing interview between translator Neil Bermel and Helga, and the artwork Helga made during her time at Terezín, Helga's Diary stands as a vivid and utterly unique historical document.
Reviews
"A breathtaking account…a chilling testament to the tragedy of the Holocaust." — Publishers Weekly
"Weiss' moving eyewitness portrait adds a deepening to the understanding of the Jews' plight during this horrific period in history." — Kirkus Reviews
"The most moving Holocaust diary published since Anne Frank." — The Telegraph
"What's startling, throughout, is the resilience with which her buoyant spirit keeps bobbing up past the hardships, indignities, and cruelties of her captors." — Francine Prose
"As the number of Holocaust survivors dwindles dramatically, the potency of first-hand accounts increases with each passing year.... Illustrated with family photographs and her own paintings and drawings, Helga’s Diary serves as a remarkable testament to her horrific journey and the ultimate resiliency of youth. Since so few of the approximately 15,000 children interred in Terezin survived, Helga’s Diary, like the collective reminiscences in Hannelore Brenner’s The Girls of Room 28 (2009), must speak for all the young voices that were prematurely stifled." — Booklist
"At times the struggle of this young girl in the face of evil becomes so real that you’ll notice yourself adjusting your blanket and thermostat right along with her as she shivers in the worst of conditions." — The Daily Beast
"Page after page of writing that candidly, expertly, showcases humanity at its best and its worst." — Malcolm Forbes, The Rumpus