In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer

Read by Hope Davis7 hours 6 minutes, 4 cassettes"You must understand that I did not become a resistance fighter, a smuggler of Jews, a defier of the SS and the Nazis all at once. One's first steps are always small: I had begun by hiding food under a fence."Through this intimate and compelling memoir, we are witness to the growth of a hero. Irene Gut was just a girl when the war began: seventeen, a Polish patriot, a student nurse, a good Catholic girl. As the war progressed, the soldiers of two countries stripped her of all she lovedâ€”her family, her home, her innocenceâ€”but the degradations only strengthened her will.She began to fight back. Irene was forced to work for the German army, but her blond hair, her blue eyes, and her youth bought her the relatively safe job of waitress in an officer's dining room. She would use this Aryan mask as both a shield and a sword: She picked up snatches of conversation along with the Nazis' dirty dishes and passed the information to Jews in the ghetto. She raided the German Warenhaus for food and blankets. She smuggled people fron the work camp into the forest. And, when she was made the housekeeper of a Nazi major, she successfully hid twelve Jews in the basement of his home until the Germans' defeat.This young woman was determined to deliver her friends from evil. It was as simple and as impossible as that.

Children's Books

Opdyke, Irene

History

Listening Library

In My Hands: Memories Of A Holocaust Rescuer (Digest Edition) (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition)

jennifer-armstrong

Teen & Young Adult

Turtleback Books

"You must understand that I did not become a resistance fighter, a smuggler of Jews, a defier of the SS and the Nazis all at once. One's first steps are always small: I had begun by hiding food under a fence." Through this intimate and compelling memoir, we are witness to the growth of a hero. Irene Gut was just a girl when the war began: seventeen, a Polish patriot, a student nurse, a good Catholic girl. As the war progressed, the soldiers of two countries stripped her of all she loved — her family, her home, her innocence — but the degradations only strengthened her will. She began to fight back. Irene was forced to work for the German Army, but her blond hair, her blue eyes, and her youth bought her the relatively safe job of waitress in an officers' dining room. She would use this Aryan mask as both a shield and a sword: She picked up snatches of conversation along with the Nazis' dirty dishes and passed the information to Jews in the ghetto. She raided the German Warenhaus for food and blankets. She smuggled people from the work camp into the forest. And, when she was made the housekeeper of a Nazi major, she successfully hid twelve Jews in the basement of his home until the Germans' defeat. This young woman was determined to deliver her friends from evil. It was as simple and as impossible as that.

Biographies

Knopf Books for Young Readers

Irene Gut was just seventeen in 1939, when the Germans and the Russians divided and devoured her native Poland. In an instant her life would be transformed—distilled to flight, capture, escape, and hiding. After being rounded up outside of church one Sunday, Irene was put to work for the German Army. Her blond hair, her blue eyes, her youth—these bought her the relative safe job of kitchen helper and waitress in an officers' dining room. But behind this Aryan mask, Irene began to wage her own war. She picked up snatches of conversation along with the Nazi's dirty dishes and passed the information to Jews in the ghetto. She raided the German Warenhaus for food and blankets. She smuggled Jews from the work camp into the forest. And , when she was made the housekeeper for a Nazi Major, she managed to hide twelve people in the basement of his home and to keep them safe there until the Germans' defeat. Irene Gut Updyke has received many honors for her actions: Israel's Medal of Honor, recognition from the Vatican, a permanent place in the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. But this memoir, masterfully written by Jennifer Armstrong, strips away the laudatory titles—Holocaust Rescuer, Righteous Gentile—and reveals the woman herself. Just a girl, really. A girl who saw evil around her and chose to defy it. A girl who proves that the actions of one good person can make a difference; that the will to protect is every bit as powerful as the will to destroy. Ms. Opdyke began to share her story only recently—after hearing the holocaust denounced as a hoax, or propaganda. She now travels the country, speaking about her experiences. Her favorite audience is young people—people who are now the same age she was when the war began. These are the people who are now the same age she was when the war began. These are the people Irene most hopes to empower with the message that each of us can, and must, decide for ourselves what is good and what is evil, and behave accordingly.

Recounts the experience of the author, who, as a young Polish girl, was forced to work for the German army because of her blond hair and blue eyes and secretly assisted the Jews, from passing on information to smuggling prisoners from the work camp i

In My Hands (Abridged) (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition)

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Books by Opdyke, Irene

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Opdyke, Irene. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer

In My Hands: Memories Of A Holocaust Rescuer (Digest Edition) (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition)

In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer

In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer

In My Hands (Abridged) (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition)