Tova Friedman was only five years old when she was incarcerated in Auschwitz. She was at the infamous concentration camp at the same time as Anne Frank, but where Anne’s story tragically ended, Tova’s continues. She was subjected to unspeakable horrors during her time at Auschwitz, but miraculously she survived, and her book tells her incredible tale of courage, resilience and endurance.
“I am one of the youngest survivors of the Holocaust and this is my story,” she says. “I am a survivor and that comes with a survivor's obligation to represent the one and a half million Jewish children murdered by the Nazis. They cannot speak. So, I must speak on their behalf.”
Written in collaboration with former war reporter Malcolm Brabant, whose thorough research has helped Tova uncover lost memories and recount her experiences in searing detail, this book painstakingly recreates her extraordinary story about one of the worst ever crimes against humanity.
Through The Daughter of Auschwitz, Tova wants to keep the reality of the Holocaust alive, especially when recent surveys reveal numerous misconceptions and knowledge gaps about the mass murder of Jews. One in twenty British adults does not believe the Holocaust even happened*.
“No matter how much I and the last few remaining survivors share our stories, it seems that people are forgetting,” she explains in the prologue. “I’m now eighty-three years old, and with this book, I am trying to immortalise what happened, to ensure that those who died are not forgotten.”
While The Daughter of Auschwitz captures the horrors of the Holocaust, at the same time, it’s full of hope – it’s an inspiring personal story about survival against the odds. Let Tova explain in her own words…