Signs of Survival: A Memoir of the Holocaust by Renee Hartman (review)

In alternating voices, sisters Renee and Herta recount their youths as Jews in Czechoslovakia during the Holocaust. From the time that the Nazis occupy the capitol in 1939, their story progresses through an unfortunately familiar route—the girls are forced to wear the yellow Star of David, then moved to the ghettoes, then taken in by families that eventually push them out. After discovering that their parents have been transported away, the girls turn themselves into the police and are taken to Bergen-Belsen, which is eventually liberated, and they subsequently spend a stint in Sweden until American relatives come to get them. This setup is factual and concise with a small page count; the women describe events and use anecdotes to relay the conditions they faced, and the books lays outs a clear timeline. Herta is treated even more poorly than Renee because she is deaf, and heartbreak is added by Herta’s frustrations at not being able to comprehend the full picture and Renee’s frustrations with being Herta’s only source of communication. This would make an accessible, intimate addition to read alongside the usual textbook discussions of the Holocaust. An epilogue by Greene goes into further detail about the political background of the Holocaust and explains that the two stories are transcriptions of video testimony; photos of Renee and Herta are included.