From Darkness to Light: Testimonies of Six Holocaust Survivors

by Ronald J. Diller

Overview

From Darkness to Light is a compilation of personal testimonies of six Holocaust survivors, written in a short story format. The book walks readers through their life experiences before and during the Holocaust, their liberation, and their new life in Israel. Each story is told in their own words, culled from hours of personal interviews with them and their children, so the world can have first-hand knowledge of what happened during that darkest time of our history.
These survivors came from different parts of Europe, and not one story is like the other. Now in their eighties and nineties, they still recall in detail their darkest memories. Amid immense pain and suffering, they managed to overcome every hurdle they encountered under the Nazi regime. When these stalwart individuals were liberated, no matter what further anguish and obstacles they faced, they realized their dream to make aliya to Israel. They settled in the Holy Land as visionaries and pioneers to build the Jewish state, which itself was undergoing conflict and difficult economic times. Their love for the Jewish homeland and their creation of families with children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren exemplify how Hitler’s aim to annihilate the Jews was nullified.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781644695081
Publisher:	Cherry Orchard Books
Publication date:	02/02/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	136
File size:	7 MB

About the Author

Ronald J. Diller was born and raised in San Francisco and moved to Israel in 1993. He graduated in Communications and Business Administration from San Francisco State University. He was previously the CEO and founder of Yondan Publishing. He edits his own blog on the Times of Israel website, and has contributed business articles to the Jerusalem Post and Globes Business Newspaper in Israel. He is married and has four children.
Ronald J. Diller was born and raised in San Francisco and moved to Israel in 1993. He has a BA in Communications and a minor in Business Administration from San Francisco State University. He was previously the CEO and sole shareholder of Yondan Publishing. He currently has his own blog on the Times of Israel and has contributed business articles to the Jerusalem Post and Globes Business Newspaper in Israel. He is married and has four children.

Table of Contents

PREFACE
Ronald J. Diller

FOREWORD
Tragedy and Triumph: The Life and Legacy of Am Yisrael
By Rabbi Stewart M. Weiss

CHAPTER ONE
Arising from the Warsaw Ghetto
Lilian Ronen              

CHAPTER TWO
Salvation: Like a Needle in a Haystack
Miriam Wadislavki

CHAPTER THREE
Building on a Dream
Mordechai Mark        

CHAPTER FOUR
Walking Tall
Frida Solomon Katz              

CHAPTER FIVE
From Hungary to Haifa: A Harrowing Journey
Chana Friedman Fishlovitch  

CHAPTER SIX
Denmark Rallies to Protect its Jews
Robert (Reuven) Fischermann          

FURTHER READING
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“There are horrors in this world that words simply cannot capture, tragedies that defy comprehension. Those who witnessed the Holocaust firsthand offer our best window to the past, a glimpse into otherwise unimaginable acts of cruelty and suffering. In this forthright collection of six survivor testimonies, Ronald Diller sketches a path from humanity's darkest moments to the gift of life in the present day. These memories lend color to the faded pages of history by revealing the human costs of war.”

—Elisa Rapaport, PhD, Senior Fellow, Anne Frank Center

“From Darkness to Light brings to vivid life the stories of six individuals who survived the Holocaust. Diller honors the multitude of life-affirming connections tying these individuals to their families and communities. The survivors' different ways of expressing their strength and resilience are unforgettably represented here. The Holocaust's scale and scope can feel almost impossible to envision. The atrocities committed against millions of people can only be understood through exploring individuals' lived experiences. The engaging narrative style of the stories of the six individuals who share their lives in this book is very accessible. The stories are vibrant and detailed, and supported by meticulous historical and social research that contextualizes relatable human experiences within the unimaginable destruction of the Holocaust and its aftermath. The book offers an up-close look at the individual and social cost of the Holocaust's crimes against humanity, and offers universal lessons to be learned from the ways in which the survivors dealt with their experiences. Teachers seeking a way to humanize the broad, difficult concepts of the Holocaust would be well-served to read these individuals' stories with their students.”

—Alison Dobrick, Ed.D., Director, William Paterson UniversityCenter for Holocaust and Genocide Studies

“From Darkness to Light captures the voices of six Holocaust survivors and takes the reader though their lives, describing the struggles they endeavored to survive the Nazi regime, and their efforts to reach their goal of living in Israel and creating a legacy for their children and grandchildren. Their voices will not be heard in future years; therefore, capturing their stories is of utmost importance. [Through these accounts], From Darkness to Light [challenges our] understanding of antisemitism, bigotry, hatred, and discrimination.”

—Dr. Grace Donoho, founder of the Arkansas Holocaust Education Committee

“Evil never rests, and stories are one way that we confront evil. In From Darkness to Light, Ronald Diller has done so through the stories of six Holocaust survivors whose lives were shattered by Nazi evil. These stories chronicle the perseverance and survival during the dark years of the war, but also, as the title suggests, how these survivors emerged from the Shoah to build new, successful lives in Israel after liberation. Diller’s engaging collection adds to the vast tapestry of survivors’ voices that show not just their confrontation of Nazi evil, but ultimately how they triumphed over it.”

—Dan J. Puckett, Chair, Alabama Holocaust Commission