The Redhead of Auschwitz: A True Story

By Nechama Birnbaum

Book Overview

Rosie was always told her red hair was a curse, but she never believed it. She often dreamed what it would look like under a white veil with the man of her dreams by her side. However, her life takes a harrowing turn in 1944 when she is forced out of her home and sent to the most gruesome of places: Auschwitz.

Upon arrival, Rosie's head is shaved and along with the loss of her beautiful hair, she loses the life she once cherished. Among the chaos and surrounded by hopelessness, Rosie realizes the only thing the Nazis cannot take away from her is the fierce redhead resilience in her spirit. When all of her friends conclude they are going to heaven from Auschwitz, she remains determined to get home. She summons all of her courage, through death camps and death marches to do just that.

This victorious biography, written by Nechama Birnbaum in honor of her grandmother, is as full of life as it is of death. It is about the intricacies of Jewish culture that still exist today and the tender experiences that are universal to all humanity: family, coming of age, and first love. It is a story that celebrates believing in yourself no matter the odds. This is a story about the little redheaded girl who thought she could, and so she did.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9493231798
• ISBN13: 9789493231795
• Release Date: November 2021
• Publisher: Amsterdam Publishers
• Length: 282 Pages
• Weight: 0.94 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 13 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 8 to 12

Customer Reviews

Never Ever Forget

I requested my library purchase this book, because they didn't have it and I had seen the author and her grandmother (the Redhead) speak about it on TikTok. I finished it in less than 24 hours and bought it on here. But I cannot speak... I cannot find words to describe this book. I've now read several books on the Holocaust, and on survivors, as an adult. I can't tell you why this one hit me differently. It just did. So here's some quotes instead: "I am going home, I will not die here." "The greatest revenge we can inflict is to have tolerance and kindness for ALL peoples, all those that Hitler are so strongly stood against. Hitler, who did not kill 6 million Jews by himself. Evil does not only happen when a person is abnormally bad. Evil happens when good people do not see the good and other people. Evil happens when we judge each other. Evil happens when we put ourselves higher than others. Evil happens when we stand by someone else's evil and do not speak up." "My grandmother wants you to know what she went through so you can change the way our future looks. She wants you to know you can never let this happen again. She wants you to know that it doesn't matter what race you are, or the color of your skin, or what religion you practice; we are all one. She wants you to treat others with respect and she wants you to stand up for those who are being treated unjustly no matter who you are. She wants you to remember so you can stand up for peace."