Remember Us: My Journey from the Shtetl through the Holocaust
Remember Us is a look back at the lost world of the shtetl: a wise Zayde offering prophetic and profound words to his grandson, the rich experience of Shabbos, and the treasure of a loving family. All this is torn apart with the arrival of the Holocaust, beginning a crucible fraught with twists and turns so unpredictable and surprising that they defy any attempt to find reason within them.
From work camps to the partisans of the Nowogrudek forests, from the Mauthausen concentration camp to life as a displaced person in Italy, and from fighting the Egyptian army in a tiny Israeli kibbutz in 1948 to starting a new life in a new world in New York, this book encompasses the mythical “hero’s journey” in very real historical events. Through the eyes of 91-year-old Holocaust survivor Martin Small, we learn that these priceless memories that are too painful to remember are also too painful to forget.
Skyhorse Publishing, along with our Arcade, Good Books, Sports Publishing, and Yucca imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs. Our list includes biographies on well-known historical figures like Benjamin Franklin, Nelson Mandela, and Alexander Graham Bell, as well as villains from history, such as Heinrich Himmler, John Wayne Gacy, and O. J. Simpson. We have also published survivor stories of World War II, memoirs about overcoming adversity, first-hand tales of adventure, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
Reviews (186)
Amazing Story of Survival
What made this Holocaust book so different and better than others I’ve read is that Martin Small’s entire life was recounted, not just his concentration camp experience. I learned what life was like for him and other Jews in Poland before the Nazi invasion, which gave more perspective to the story, and a deeper appreciation of all that was taken from them. And I enjoyed that the story didn’t end with liberation, which is usually the case. Life as a DP was all new to me; the fact that the suffering continued for years after liberation, as the survivors were homeless wanderers with no nation willing to accept them despite their suffering. I liked that the founding of Israel was included in the story as the only place for displaced people to finally return home. And I enjoyed the final segment of Small’s life story, living an American life and creating a new family in New York. For all these reasons, this was the best book I have read about the Holocaust.
but this one is by far the best. In fact
I've read several books on the Holocaust, but this one is by far the best. In fact, in my opinion it should be REQUIRED READING in every high school and college. The author tells all. He starts by describing his life, his town, his family, before the trouble began. Then he takes you through the most detailed account I've ever read on the subject of the concentration camps, and finally and heartbreakingly he details the effects it had on him for the rest of his life after liberation. A MUST READ.
A beautiful and horrific written sculpture of life before during and after the Holocaust
I was drawn to this book because it was promoted as defining a culture that was lost in the Holocaust rather than a litany of horrors. I also wanted a feel for life in an area where my grandmother had lived before the war. I was not disappointed. This is a touching luminescent jewel of a book that provides a glimpse into the simple and colorful life of Maitchet and makes the reader understand the full extent of what was destroyed by the Nazis and their supporters. And also, what was carried as treasure inside the hearts and minds of those who survived. In some cases mind numbing, heartbreaking treasure, but still important and valuable.
This was an excellent book with a look at the holocaust from a ...
This was an excellent book with a look at the holocaust from a Jewish perspective. This story will stay with you long after you put the book down. I found myself telling people about this book and wanting them to read this book. So many people don’t believe there was the holocaust but this man’s story will tell you from the beginning to the end was he and his family endure during WWII in Europe. It was not a book to make you feeling sorry for Martin Small but to admire his courage and fight for his belief. You will not be sorry for this purchase.
MOST DEFINITIVE HOLOCAUST MEMOIR
Yes, to know the entire abomination that was the Holocaust, you need only to read this one stunning, riveting, powerful accounting of one survivor. Mr. Small manages to tell this storytelling miracle without concentrating on the explicitness of the torture. He treads very lightly there, yet still manages to make us feel the enormous grief that was his life and the lives of 6 million others. He lives to a very old age and never stops being haunted for even one day. He explains, "It was too horrible to remember, but too horrible to ever forget." We learn much that is not usually part of the telling of this most massive-scale depravity in human history, much of which I knew but preferred to forget, such as the fact that the Polish hated, tortured and murdered the Jewish people, just as the Germans did. The Polish atrocities were perhaps worse because they had formerly been their friends and neighbors. Most people think that at the war's end, the concentration camp survivors went home to resume their lives where they left off. Not so! There were no homes to return to! What had not been destroyed in the rubble that was now Europe, had been confiscated by others. Europe was then a teeming mass of millions of wandering, homeless "displaced persons," many of whom were Germans attempting to hide from and escape justice. Foreign countries did not want these survivors, so there was only one solution -- the land that God had promised them -- Palestine, and so the rebirth of Israel. I hope with all my heart that Mr. Small is now peacefully at rest.
Worth Reading - Martin Smith is One to Remember
Martin Small's memoir is a must read. Sure there were parts of this story that I couldn't read because they were too disturbing, that I had to skim over, and yes place that made me cry. The atrocities committed against the Jewish people in Europe are beyond comprehension, how can people be and do such evil. Today we have terrorists picking up where the Nazis left off. Sobering to think we may be reading some of the survivors memoirs in a few years. God definitely had His hand on Martin, sparing his life and making away for him to be with extended family in the US and start his own family with a wife who was also a Holocaust survivor. I don't want to share too many details to spoil the read for someone else, but there are a few "coincidences" that could only be arranged by the hand of God.
OH IT HAPPENED!!!
EXCELLENT BOOK! However, it started off a little too slow for my taste. I feel we could have left out 1 or 2 chapters in the beginning. I felt like it was starting to drag. Please don't get me wrong when I say this and feel that his family is unimportant, not so. I just don't think every single minute detail needed to be there. Anyway, I really felt that the book was expertly written. Well documented, it gave me an insight to Mauthausen Concentration Camp that I didn't even know existed. Which is unbelievable, considering it was THE WORST CAMP OF THEM ALL!!! Read the book, starts off a little slow but it's worth it in the end..
An Amazing Account of One Man's Experience Growing Up, In the Holocaust and Liberation
This was an experience I cannot imagine surviving. He made himself into what was necessary to survive. He had a great sense of humor but was able to reach out to others to help them. He eventually came to the United States, had his family and used his art skills to help him and others heal as best they could. I was very touched by what he shared and highly recommend this book.
Best overall history of before, during, and afterwards of a Holocaust survivor
I have read many different memoirs from Holocaust survivors and other victims of The Nazis’ WWII slaughter. This one is the most comprehensive, giving you an idea of who he was beforehand, his life in one of the worst concentration death camps, and after. It’s the afterwards that differs from so many other accounts. Martin (previously Mordi) tells about the majority of his life in the days, months, and years after being liberated from the concentration camp. His story is full of opportunities to help build Israel to immigrating to the U.S. However, his story doesn’t end there. Instead it goes on throughout his long life, letting you know how he moves forward, but also cannot forget the painful past. It is one of the most comprehensive, yet personal stories I have read in a long time. His story sticks with you and thankfully ends happy. It’s incredible how someone who was starved for that long can go on to live a long life.
Sobering in light of our times
As I look at the living hatred that is even now taking over much of our 21st century world I can only pray that we will learn from this history of man's inhumanity to other humans. May Martin Small's story never be forgotten...he has , with the help of a compassionate writer, managed to open a window into a period of absolutely unimaginable depravity. Nothing I've ever read about the holocaust has affected me so profoundly...and I've read much. As the granddaughter of a man who fled Germany for America as Hitler was assending and who was not Jewish I used to hear him talk with a friend about "that madman" This book would have grieved him even more.
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