Although an extensive literature exists on the Nazi death camps and Einsatzgruppen massacres in Eastern Europe, much less well-known is how the Holocaust unfolded in the Romanian-administered Transnistria Governate established in German-occupied Soviet Ukraine. Julie Masis has written a very readable account that seamlessly weaves together the horrific but surprisingly inspiring experiences of her deported Moldovan Jewish family members supplemented with details that she gathered from archival sources and on research trips to the region. In the process of making sense of fragmentary stories while marveling how her paternal grandparents managed to survive the war when thousands of fellow Jews perished from hunger, exploitation, and exposure, she has created a memorable narrative that is at once intimate and remarkably unsentimentalcapturing how instances of barbaric cruelty, as well as unexpected acts of kindness, often made the difference between life and death.
Jars Balan, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, University of Alberta
An unforgettable, beautifully written memoir. With the eye of an artist and precision of a seasoned journalist, Julie Masis takes us into Ukraine and Moldova under Romanian occupation during World War II. At the center of the story is her grandfather, Shlomo Masis, who as a young man survived the horrors of the Jewish ghetto and saved others with his courage, kindness, and grit. He lived to 102 to tell the story to his granddaughter. The book is an invaluable addition to Holocaust literature, shedding light on little-known events in Eastern Europe. Yet the book is much more than a historical record. It is about the creation of oral history and its transfer from one generation to the next: the gift of sharing and the art of listening. Julie Masis weaves her grandfathers stories into a nuanced, layered, sensitive interpretation, informed by her bilingual, bicultural background and her remarkable talent to speak from the heart. Family photos and the images by Soviet artist Felix Lembersky add a rich context to the narrative. This outstanding book will reverberate for years to come
Yelena Lembersky, author of Like a Drop of Ink in a Downpour
A poignant and unexpected journey through memory and survival, Julie Masis's remarkable book unravels a deeply personal family narrative that transcends the typical Holocaust memoir. With delicate prose and remarkable honesty, Masis offers a rare and invaluable local Bessarabian perspectivea lens seldom explored in Holocaust literaturerevealing the unique experiences of Jewish communities in this often-overlooked region. The book transforms her grandfather's extraordinary story of survival, centered around a single stolen shoe, into a profound meditation on resilience, human dignity, and the small, sometimes absurd moments of hope that punctuate human suffering. This intimate family story is both heartbreaking and unexpectedly humorous, providing readers with a nuanced, localized understanding of survival and remembrance that enriches our broader historical comprehension.
Irina IHOVA, PhD Jewish History Museum of the Republic of Moldova, Director
