In My Hands Memories of a Holocaust ..., Irene Gut Opdyke
In My Hands Memories of a Holocaust ..., Irene Gut Opdyke
9 Rating(s)
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In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer

Author: Irene Gut Opdyke, Jennifer Armstrong

Narrator: Hope Davis

Unabridged: 7 hr 6 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/24/2015


Synopsis

IRENE GUT WAS just 17 in 1939, when the Germans and Russians devoured her native Poland. Just a girl, really. But a girl who saw evil and chose to defy it.

“No matter how many Holocaust stories one has read, this one is a must, for its impact is so powerful.”—School Library Journal, Starred

A Book Sense Top Ten Pick

A Publisher’s Weekly Choice of the Year’s Best Books

A Booklist Editors Choice

About The Author

Irene Gut Opdyke was presented with the Israel Medal of Honor and a special commendation from the Vatican. She died in 2003. Jennifer Armstrong is the author of many highly acclaimed books for young readers. She lives in Saratoga Springs, NY.


Reviews

AudiobooksNow review by kellgrl on 2009-01-18 18:39:06

Only a girl. That's what Irene Gut was when the nightmare of WWII began and her life was changed forever. Stories of Holocaust survival abound but you will never read a memoir like this. I cried at the end. Hard. For what she went through and for all those she could not save. To say she had courage tells but a fraction of the story. She was only a girl but she risked her life over and over again to help people she didn't even know. Unforgettable. I don't think she will ever leave my mind.

Goodreads review by Laura on December 30, 2008

"There was a bird flushed up from the wheat fields, disappearing in a blur of wings against the sun, and then a gunshot and it fell to the earth. But it was not a bird. It was not a bird, and it was not in a wheat field, but you can't understand what it was yet." When I understood what the bird was,......more

Goodreads review by Patrick on February 02, 2013

I think this paragraph is the most eloquent description of why speaking about the Holocaust was/is so difficult for the survivors. "We did not speak of what we had seen. At the time, to speak of it seemed worse than sacrilege: We had witnessed a thing so terrible that it acquired a dreadful holiness......more

Goodreads review by Sharon on October 06, 2022

I have read many WW II memoirs and will continue to do so. The grit, determination, perseverance, and sheer will to live and to help others survive is educational and inspirational....and we always hope to break the cycle that history does not repeat itself by learning about historical events. Irene......more

Goodreads review by Emily on January 08, 2011

This is the first Holocaust memoir I had read from a Polish point of view, and I was truly captivated. I have never read a story about one person having so much good fortune and bad luck all at the same time, it was almost like it was straight out of Hollywood. The things she was subjected to do, th......more

Goodreads review by NILTON on February 14, 2020

3 stars for the writing. 5 stars for the remarkable story. This is not a work of fiction. And it is a heartbreaking one. This is a recount of the author’s experience, who as a young Polish girl, hid and saved Jews during the Holocaust. This is the first time that I read a story from a rescuer and not......more


Quotes

"Powerful and life-affirming, this is the kind of exciting memoir that marks a reader forever." -- The Plain Dealer

"Even among WWII memoirs--a genre studded with extraordinary stories--this autobiography looms large, a work of exceptional substance and style." --Publishers Weekly, starred

"Opdyke uses simple direct language to demystify the concept of heroism and depict courage as a matter of basic human decency well within the capabilities of ordinary humans." -- The Washington Post Book World 


Awards

  • ALA Best Books for Young Adults
  • Maine Student Book Master List
  • Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Award
  • Texas TAYSHAS High School Reading List