I initially began to read the Elli Friedmann series because my A.P. U.S. History teacher gave me books about the Holocaust as a gift. Being a book lover, I’ll read every book I can get my hands on. This series is all about the author’s experience before, during, and after the Holocaust. The first book, I Have Lived a Thousand Years: Growing Up in the Holocaust, begins how Elli Friedmann (the author changed her name) was before 1944; she would write poetry almost every day and talk to her family and friends about senseless things. She would talk to her neighbors without stressing over anything. Following a month after her thirteenth birthday, things began to change for her, her family, and millions of people all around the world. In March 1944, the Nazis invaded Hungary. At that point of her life, she and millions of Jews had to wear a distinguished garment, the yellow badge, to inform everyone that passes their path that they are Jews. Elli also couldn’t talk to anyone that was Christian or Catholic. A few days later, the authorities tell Elli’s family to pack a few of their belongings and go to a ghetto. The ghetto is the place where Elli and some of her family members get separated. After that separation, Elli and her mother go to a few concentration camps around Europe, including the notorious Auschwitz. In the first book of the series, Bitton-Jackson talks about the atrocities that she saw at such a young age. All through the book, Elli portrays her appearance, so you realize that she goes from a sensible, blue-eyed young lady with wonderful blonde locks to a mobile skeleton with a miserable look and a shaven head. One of the things that the author wrote that really struck me was that she was spared due to her hair. The Angel of Death let her and her mother live because of her golden locks. If it wasn’t for her hair, Elli and her mother would have been sent to the gas chambers.In the second book of the series, My Bridges of Hope, Elli discusses her experience after the Holocaust. This is the main reason why I like this book. Barely any Holocaust survivors’ books show what happens after the war was over. The writers will let you know that many years later they moved to another country such as United States, Israel, and England, but they won’t inform the readers about their life after the liberation. My Bridges of Hope shows how there’s still anti-Semitism around Europe. It shows how Elli and her family didn’t have a proper home because everything was taken from them and were basically nomads for six more years. It demonstrates that in spite of the fact that fighters from United States, Great Britain, and USSR liberated the Jews, they were not all saints. Many of them would catcall and rape girls around Europe. The second book displays the struggle of people immigrating to other countries. My Bridges of Hope is slightly an uncommon book with regards to the subject of the Holocaust. Elli tells the audience that she’s a Zionist implying that she supports the State of Israel. I have perused numerous books about this sort of subject yet never from a Zionist’s perspective. It was exceptionally fascinating to peruse about Jews’ ensembles and customs.The reasons why I rated the Elli Friedmann series sort of low is on the grounds that it wasn’t intriguing. It’s more informative than anything else. It informs about the struggles that the Jews had to go through, but it wasn’t filled with emotion or anything like that. It had numerous energizing arrangements; however they were in some cases said with an extremely monotone character voice, which reduced a lot of their energy to spellbind. The reader literally learns nothing about Elli with the exception of the different focuses on the course of events of her life. I was amped up for this book in light of the fact that I had trusted it would give some sort of clarification in the matter of how she and the remaining individuals from her family started to recuperate from the past, however, nothing in respect. I feel like this series was more of a chronology than anything else; there were no feelings, no brokenness, nothing.(If you want to read more about my review please visit fullofbooks.com)
My Bridges of Hope is one of the best books I have ever read. It is a compelling story about a girl and her family trying to pick up their life after the Holocaust. This book is so inspiring in so many ways. It shows you that it is never too late to start your life no matter what happens and that anything is possible. Livia Bitton-Jackson is an excellent writer and really knows how to tell her story. This is an amazing book that everybody should read. This book is an autobiography about Ellie Friedmannova's life after aushwitz. When Ellie and her family find out that there father has died they know that they need to start a knew life. With all of the antisemitism that is still around they know they can't stay in Hungary which had become Czechoslovakia. Ellie becomes a teacher of a Jewish seminary and is a counselor for kids who became orphans during the war. When Ellie and her mom finally get there visas to go to America they are overjoyed. After about twenty years in America and starting a family Ellie gets divorced and moves to Israel. This book can connect to my life through my grandparents. My grandparents were Holocaust survivors and met in displaced persons camps. They too had to get visas to come to America which was not easy. Although that Ellie and my grandparents both lived through something so tragic they were able to get back up and lead normal happy lives. 384 pages 2 books
What do You think about My Bridges Of Hope (2002)?
The author shares the years after she came out of Auschwitz as a 14 y.o. in 1945 until she and her mother arrived in the United States in 1951 to join her brother, who had been able to emigrate soon after the war. It's a testament to the resiliency of survivors, who continue to live in the uncertain world of post WWII Eastern Europe. She writes too of the establishment of Israel. I did a paper on the White Papers for a college history class, and it was interesting to read her account of news stories from the time.
—Elizabeth
This is a sequel memoir to "I Have Lived a Thousand Years". While the first book tells of the author's experience in a concentration camp, this memoir tells a lesser told story of the immediate aftermath of what happened to people after liberation from the camps. This is the story of the survivors who returned to their homes empty-handed to find all of their possessions stolen by either the Germans or their neighbors. The author relays the experience of finding jobs, lone survivors without families yearning for an education, spending time in various refugee camps on long waiting lists to emigrate to Israel or America, and young love. A nice perspective of life after the war.
—Neeta
This was an enjoyable autobiography that was quite easy to read. It is written in a style that would appeal to a teenager, while carrying the sophistication of a wise college professor.This is the story of a young Slovak girl in the years following her and her mother's liberation from Auschwitz. The reader becomes a witness to Elli's development from a 14-year-old to a very talented young woman. The story gives the reader insight into the challenges of life as a refugee and an immigrant.I was surprised by how learning more about Elli's story made me want to better understand the stories of "illegal" residents in the United States today.
—Stasia
