In this riveting memoir, author and professor Seymour (Momentum) presents the remarkable experiences of two brave sisters during and after the Holocaust. Manci and Ruthie Grunberger lived with their family in a bustling village in the former Czechoslovakia, where daily life revolved around school, friends, and Orthodox Jewish traditions—until German forces took over in 1944. After the Grunbergers were transported to Poland’s Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, the 18- and 16-year-old sisters were separated from their family. Together, they endured the unendurable: internment at Auschwitz and a grueling death march afterwards. Once the sisters were at last liberated, their aunt brought them to the United States, where they created remarkable lives for themselves. While Ruthie had shared her story, Manci’s silence about it, even with family, inspired Seymour, her son-in-law, to record her memories. At the start of each chapter, he establishes the political and cultural context before transcribing the sisters’ testimonies as witnesses, survivors, and Americans. The emphasis on the women’s post-Holocaust lives, and their interpretations of the past, distinguish this memoir. For example, Manci distances herself from her memories, whereas Ruthie chooses to educate the next generation through writings and speeches. Details about leisure time in retirement support the overall message of finding joy in life. Seymour’s research shows in his skillful contextualization of the sisters’ stories, and their dialogue flows smoothly without the interviewer getting in the way. They provide accounts that are often absent from school textbooks—sharing stories, for example, of how Auschwitz captives were drugged to ensure submission, or the brave unit of workers who smuggled in gunpowder and blew up a crematorium. This urgent memoir offers new light on one of history’s darkest moments and stands firmly against deniers’ rejections of documented history. Seymour gives voice to Manci’s and Ruthie’s courage and survival as well as their incredible bond that testifies to the strength of the human spirit. Takeaway: A riveting firsthand account of two sisters’ survival of the Holocaust and Auschwitz. Great for fans of: Judy Batalion’s The Light of Days, Viktor Frankl.

This inspiring memoir of two sisters' survival, devotion, success, and love is an authentic and an important contribution to giving women their voices. Daniel Seymour used their own words to write this book, which also includes his own short but scholarly background texts that give the sisters' testimony historical context. From Auschwitz with Love is, indeed, a love story between Manci and Ruth Grunberger.

From Auschwitz with Love is written with and for two sisters loving care by Daniel Seymour. Written in the first-person voice, the reader is transcended to their locale, witnessing the horrors of the Holocaust through their young eyes. Interwoven between the juxtaposing chapters is accurate historical information, so that the reader can put their experiences in context. What unfolds is an immersive read, and a real page-turner as the reader relives their hopes, dreams and fears.

From Auschwitz with Love is a fascinating book about the life stories of Manci and Ruth Grunberger. It is the story of the Holocaust, survival and rescue. At the same time, this is also the story of infinite love between two sisters. The love shapes who they become as individuals and gives them the strength to survive Auschwitz, cope with the rescue and temporary stay in Sweden, and with challenges of building new lives in the US. This well-written book is both captivating and insightful, and, as such, it is an important new contribution to Holocaust studies.

From Auschwitz with Love is the story of the love between two sisters that emerged from a realm in which everything conspired against any such love. It is introspective and penetrating, taking the reader into the souls of the survivors of the Event and its aftermath, into the souls that were themselves the target of the Nazi evil. While the book's historical detail alone marks it as an invaluable contribution to Holocaust studies, its testimony to the dearness of human life threatened by the Holocaust makes it even more so. Indeed, with his elegance of style Daniel Seymour weaves a personal tale that transcends the history to take us into the depth dimension of the Shoah.