Gertruda's oath
Subtitle: a child, a promise, and a heroic escape during World War II
By: Ram Oren ; consultation by Mike Stolowitzky ; translation by Barbara Harshav.
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: Doubleday
Published: 2009
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 308
ISBN-13: 9780385527187
Subjects: Sṭolovitsḳi, Mikhaʼel, -- 1936-; Babilinsḳah, Gerṭrudah, -- 1902-1995; Jews -- Poland -- Biography; Righteous Gentiles in the Holocaust -- Biography; Holocaust survivors -- Biography; Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Poland -- Biography; Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Germany -- Biography; World War, 1939-1945 -- Jews -- Rescue -- Poland
Genres: Biography.
Work titles: Shevuʻah.
Description: Michael Stolowitzky, the only son of a wealthy Jewish family in Poland, was just three years old when war broke out and the family lost everything. His father, desperate to settle his business affairs, traveled to France, leaving Michael in the care of his mother and Gertruda Bablinska, the family's devoted Catholic nanny. When Michael's mother had a stroke, Gertruda promised the dying woman that she would make her way to Palestine and raise him as her own son. Written with the assistance of Michael, now 72, this book re-creates Michael and Gertruda's amazing journey. Vignettes bring to life the people who helped ensure their survival, including SS officer Karl Rink, who made it his mission to save Jews after his own Jewish wife was murdered. This is a story of extraordinary courage and moral strength in the face of horrific events.--From publisher description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.