For half a century, a terrible secret lay hidden, locked in a trunk in an attic... photos, official documents, and scraps of a diary written by a young girl. “The time has come when I must share my life story... some facts from the past that could make a contribution, however small it may be, to the history of mankind.” The Secret Holocaust Diaries is a haunting eyewitness account of Nonna Lisowskaja Bannister, a remarkable Russian-American woman who saw and survived unspeakable evils as a young girl. For half a century, she kept her story secret while living a normal American life. She locked all her photos, documents, diaries, and dark memories from World War II in a trunk. Late in life, she unlocked the trunk, first for herself, then for her husband, and now for the rest of the world. Nonna’s story is one of suffering, torture, and death—but also of incredible acts of kindness that show the ultimate triumph of faith and love over despair and evil. The Secret Holocaust Diaries is in part a tragedy, yet it’s also an unforgettable true story about forgiveness, courage, and hope.
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"What cruelty was unleashed in the world during World War II! Nonna Bannister, born into a wealthy family in Russia, tells of an idyllic childhood, with loving parents and a caring big brother. In the early chapters of the book, she focuses on the Christmas of 1932, an extremely happy time for her entire extended family, as stark contrast to the horrors she witnessed during the Holocaust. Her father had attempted to send his family West before the Germans invaded but was unsuccessful. After sending her brother to safety (or so they thought; he was never heard from once the war started), Nonna and her parents return to her grandmother's Great House. Her father was discovered in hiding and beaten, dying of his injuries not long afterward. Nonna and her mother eventually decide to head to Germany on trains carrying people destined for labor camps, thinking anything would be better than staying in Russia between advancing German troops and retreating Russian troops, but it turns out horrifically for them. Sent to labor camps, half-starved and ill-treated, witnessing horrors that should never been seen, Nonna somehow clings to her faith.
As an aside, I was amazed to see that Nonna had known Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn as a child. I had picked up from a used bookstore and read just recently his One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, another book detailing the horrors that man can inflict on his own kind.
I do agree with others who say this book could have benefited from more editing. I read an eBook version of it on my Nook, and it took me a few chapters to realize that the first paragraph was an introduction written by the editors; it was difficult to know this since it was in no way set apart from the rest of the text. I did appreciate the small-print notes that did give more information than Nonna did, but I found the chronology a bit difficult to follow, as it went back and forth between time periods without notice.
This little book really should be read by all, for without knowledge of history, we are destined to repeat it. It also shows that while Jews were the main sufferers of the Holocaust, it also swallowed up other people, of all faiths."
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Karyl (4 out of 5 stars)