Dorothy Pierce - Shoes of the Shoah: The Tomorrow of Yesterday (Holocaust Survivor True Stories WWII Book 5)

I am not a writer. I used to be a mathematician before age deprived me of that ability. I am, however, a Jew. Not just a Jew, but a Jew obsessed with preserving my heritage, my culture, my Holocaust. So, when I discovered that a friend of mine was a Holocaust survivor who because she thought there was no interest refused to share her experience with others, it became apparent that my friend Henny's story had to be told.

I know that many Holocaust books are out there, so why another? It is my firm belief that there can never be enough told about the Holocaust because each story is different. Each adds to the accumulation of our history, each gives us a different lesson, each reveals a hidden fact and each reminds us of what should never be forgotten. Henny's story adds new insight into our history. Her story is about Lithuania, the Kovno ghetto, the Stutthof concentration camp, a death march, survival, and eventual victory over adversity.

The story begins with her death march and the recollections about her life before the German invasion of Kovno. We follow Henny as she matures and we learn about her family and school life. We are with her when she is forced into the ghetto with her family and meets and marries her husband, Raphael (also called Ralph), while in the ghetto. We learn about Raphael and his family. We listen to Henny's voice as she recounts the abuse of the Jews by the Lithuanians, the German atrocities, the sadistic Aktions, and we cry with her at her losses.

We are with Henny as she tries to hide from the Germans, is sent to Stutthof concentration camp, where she sees and experiences the horror of starvation, death, and disease surrounding her, faces her own death, loses her parents, uncles, cousins and her brother.

Through her voice, we experience her liberation by the Russians and eventually finding her way to Lodz where she is reunited with Raphael. We follow Henny as she and her husband weave their way through Europe and eventually relocate to the United States. We learn of their life and successes there.

Henny's story is about courage, hope, and the will to live. It is a story that must be shared with the world. It is a lesson for students about how a young person survived the most horrific treatment imaginable and triumphed.

We spent many hours recounting Hennys story on videotape. She amazed me with her ability to recall so many incidents and when I mentioned this, she stated, It is often more difficult to forget than to remember. We'll never forget the unpleasant experiences. It is almost like a deep wound that never heals, but in time it develops a crust.

Henny's story is recounted in the pages that follow. Much of her story is in her own words.

It has been very difficult for me to write this memoir. Reading and hearing about the atrocities carried out by the Germans brought tears to my eyes and filled me with intense anger and hatred. I dont know how, but it is indeed a miracle that Henny survived.

I am honored to present her story and in doing so, I very much hope that her story of survival will contribute to the important knowledge base of the horrendous Holocaust.

Henny is gone from us now, but her story will live on and continue to inspire those in the direst conditions and to remind us what we as humans are capable of doing.

I would like to thank Henny's son, Steven Aronson, for all his assistance, editing, encouragement, and photographs. I would also like to thank Tina Aronson, Hennys daughter, for her contribution to this memoir.

Dorothy Pierce