Holocaust

A gripping chronicle of the incredible mesirus nefesh of Jews in the Holocaust

Their questions will astound you ...

"Can I eat treif to avoid starvation?"

"Can I save my own life at the expense of another Jew’s life?"

"What brachah do I make before the Nazis kill me?"

Through the dark years in the Kovno Ghetto, Rav Ephraim Oshry, zt"l, was not just a witness to the German atrocities but also a foremost posek, entrusted with the profound responsibility of answering the heartbreaking shailos posed by his fellow Jews.

Responsa from the Holocaust chronicles the extraordinary, unwavering resilience of Jews facing unimaginable circumstances. Rav Oshry documented their heart-wrenching questions and his careful, considered responses. After liberation, he recovered his hidden writings, preserving the moral dilemmas of his fellow Jews as a testament to the strength of the Jewish spirit, and ensuring that their voices -- loyal to Hashem even in the most trying times -- would echo through the generations. Learn More

He started literally with nothing, and built an empire of business – and chesed.
He was a brilliant businessman whom Rabbi Moshe Sherer called “the malach of shalom.”
He was a man who blended startling financial acumen with mussar hashkafah – and made it work!
He was the unique, inimitable Reb Benny Fishoff. And this is his story, his wisdom, in his own words.

B’Ahavah, Benny – the story of Reb Benny Fishoff -- is not a typical “rags to riches” story. Rather, it’s a “riches to riches” story. The story of a young man, sole survivor of his family after the Holocaust, who took the riches of chassidic devotion, the riches of years of intense yeshivah learning, the riches of memories of his warm and loving family, and who used those riches to build, to listen, to counsel and to enrich others. It is a story of amazing business savvy combined with profound “mentschlichkeit,” a story filled with siyyata dishmaya and ultimate triumph.

Reb Benny’s story takes us from Lodz to Shanghai to the executive suites of New York City skyscrapers – and to the hearts of countless Jews whom he helped with money, advice, and overflowing love. His wise counsel – and, indeed, his life – will show us how to appreciate the riches of our own lives. Learn More

100 Rabbinical Tales of Courage & Inspiration

"Concise, deeply-researched, readable, and clearly-argued."
— Edward Shapiro, PhD, professor emeritus of history, Seton Hall University

"Elliot Resnick’s consideration of Sol Bloom in America First has forced me to reexamine my opinion of the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee…. I had previously all-too-easily accepted the cliché’s portrayal that he was too timid and meek, either afraid or unwilling to advance Jewish interests at the most important time in our people’s history. Resnick has proven these opinions wrong and Bloom emerges as a far more complex character, more deeply as a caring proud Jew."
— Michael Berenbaum, PhD, renowned historian, project director
overseeing the creation of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

He helped thousands. He even saved the Gerrer Rebbe's life. But he never berated President Roosevelt for failing to rescue more European Jews from the Nazi inferno.

Sol Bloom – a colorful character who introduced the Ferris Wheel to the world in 1893 – chaired the Foreign Affairs Committee in the House of Representatives during World War II and valiantly steered both Cash-and-Carry and Lend-Lease through Congress. Yet, he disappointed Jewish rescue activists. For while Bloom was a proud Jew, as a high-ranking congressman he felt obligated to put the interests of his country – as he understood them – above all else. And that meant supporting Roosevelt as he led America against the greatest threat mankind has perhaps ever known.

Bloom's life is a unique prism through which to examine the question that continues to haunt so many: Why didn't America do more to save Jews during the Holocaust? Learn More

Sara Yoheved Rigler has discovered a Secret Society. Qualifications for membership include Holocaust-related recurring dreams, panic attacks, fearsome flashbacks, and phobias in children born after 1945. The secret handshake of this society is a childhood obsession with the Holocaust by those unrelated to survivors, who never heard it discussed until after their dreams or phobias were already haunting their young lives.
This groundbreaking, meticulously researched book provides evidence that is as startling as it is mysteriously affirming.

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“As a son of Holocaust survivors, I learned that long after the years of my parents’ suffering, the nightmares lingered on. In this monumental work, Sara Rigler documents…the nightmares of so many born after the Holocaust.… This is an incredibly eye-opening and inspiring journey into one of the greatest mysteries of our times.”
—Rabbi Moshe Weinberger, Rabbi of Aish Kodesh Congregation, Woodmere, NY

“This book is an astounding work… The many personal accounts of those who have recollections of past lives linked to Holocaust victims are not only fascinating and inspiring, but can also strengthen one’s belief in the soul and afterlife.”
—Rabbi Zev Leff, Rabbi of Moshav Mattityahu, Israel

“Sara Rigler has written a powerful and gripping narrative…. The stories make for fascinating reading.”
—Rabbi Yitzchak A. Breitowitz, Rabbi of Kehillat Ohr Somayach

“This book is not only credible, it is important.”
—Rebbetzin Tziporah (Heller) Gottlieb, author and lecturer Learn More

The Odyssey of a Jewish Family during the Holocaust

As a little girl growing up under the fast-darkening skies of wartime Europe, Sylvia (Sarah) Laufer looked to her parents and extended family for a way to make sense of the chaos and horror surrounding her world. For some time her loving family did indeed manage to cushion the blows, but then they were forced into hiding, and Sylvia's own little world filled with darkness too. It wasn't long before, one by one, Sylvia's grandparents, aunts, uncles, and finally her father disappeared, never to be heard from again... Soon it was just Sylvia and her little brother, together with their very young but valiant mother, alone in their fight for survival.

With incredible strength and courage, Sylvia's mother, Mrs. Frieda Laufer-David, refused to give up hope, and she singlehandedly raised her children amid these squalid and depressing conditions. Their challenges did not end at liberation, either. The new era ushered in struggles of a different nature, as Sylvia's mother sought to find stability for her small children in a world still reeling from years of death and destruction.

In Silent Childhood, Sylvia (Laufer) Richter relives her tumultuous childhood years spent in hiding and deprivation, as well as the period of rebuilding which followed the family's liberation. Written from the perspective of a young child, her memoirs are at once heart-wrenching, warm, and poignant. Learn More

Courage amid Destruction
Faith amid Devastation
Thirteen Stories of Survival and Renewal

To Tell the Story: Memoirs of Hope, Faith, and Courage

Each Holocaust survivor, a world unto him- or herself. Entire books can be written about each one, the countless miracles they experienced...the near-death episodes...the incredible rescues...

In To Tell the Story, popular author Rachel Stein presents the true stories of emunah, courage, and miracles experienced by more than fifteen Holocaust survivors. Whether they grew up in Lithuania, Czechoslovakia, or Poland; whether they spent the war years on the run, trying desperately to stay one step ahead of the Nazis; hiding out in bunkers or Catholic convents; or suffering unimaginable torture in a death camp, the common denominator uniting these special heroes is the thread of faith that bound them to their Creator - something that no German official, or anyone else, could ever take away from them.

Glimpse these survivors' awe-inspiring stories in this book. Be astounded at the clear yad Hashem that accompanied each one throughout all the trials and tribulations of their lives. Learn More

“There is a secret panel beneath the carpet in my bedroom. Under a hidden floorboard, there is money and a cache of diamonds, for emergencies like this. If you see that I am delayed returning, you will take Mamme and the rest of the family, along with the hidden valuables, and cross the river to find me.”

Amidst falling bombs and enemy approach, Tatte leaves Reginna with a mission to bring Mamme and the family across the San River to the relative safety of the Soviet side. She promises Tatte she will do it. She is sixteen years old.

Following Tatte’s instructions, she bundles her family away from the German invasion and crosses the river that now designates the border between Germany and Soviet Russia. She leaves her hometown of Yaroslav far behind. Withstanding loss and years of enforced imprisonment in Siberia, she is relentless in her quest of finding her beloved Tatte, of protecting her ill Mamme, and of keeping her family together. Never losing faith, she holds tight to her belief that the Aibeshter is with her. And that she and her family will survive.

Based on the true story of Rivkah bas Moshe Yosef Learn More

The Escape series provides readers with compelling, true narratives of Jewish heroism and survival. Each book includes engaging photographs, a timeline, and a glossary. Learn More