Book Review: 'The Girl Who Survived, A True Story of the Holocaust' by Bronia Brandman and Carol Bierman
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Bierman met the subject of her new book nine years ago. She was teaching at Orange-Ulster BOCES high school and asked her principal if she could take some of her fellow teachers to the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City. Brandman was the group's docent for a tour of the museum. "I fell in love with her instantly and knew that there was a story there worth writing," said Bierman. Her subject was skeptical. "It was totally my idea to do this book. Bronia did not ask. In fact, she did not think it was possible since so many of her friends had tried unsuccessfully to publish a book."
The result of their partnership is an easy-to-read and compelling book, even for older readers, and a legacy for the two women's families. "I have a grandson, and his whole class will be the exact age for reading the book (when it comes out)," said Bierman, 63, who added "No one read the book in advance except the editors, Michael (my husband), and Bronia's children and grandchildren, who
are teens."
Carol Bierman currently teaches History of the Holocaust and English Skills at SUNY Rockland. She is also the author of Journey to Ellis Island, published by Hyperion/ Madison Press Books, which tells the story of how her own father came to America from Russia. "I have had the pleasure of speaking before audiences all over the U.S., once in England and Israel about the book," Bierman said. "I still get letters from kids from everywhere in the U.S., as it is used in the curriculum to teach immigration."
