Broken Birds - The Story of My Momila by Jeannette Katzir

"Broken Birds" by Jeannette Katzir is based on true events. It begins with the Holocaust stories of the author's parents, describes their meeting in New York and their life together raising Jeannette and her four siblings. When Jeanette's mother dies the destructive legacy of the Holocaust fractures her family.

Channa Perschowski was born in 1929 in Baranavichy a small town in what was then Poland. She had a happy childhood until World War II approached. The Jewish people were allowed less and less freedom and soon they couldn't leave the house without wearing a coat with a star on it. When Channa was eleven German soldiers came for her father. She never saw him again. The rest of the family was forced out of their home and sent to live in the ghetto. Channa and her brother became Partisan fighters. When they returned to their home her family was gone. Her brother Isaac remarried and Channa, Isaac and Leja migrated to America to start a new life in New York.

Nathan Polczer was born in 1926 in Uzhgorod in what was then Czechoslovakia. Nathan's family was forced out of their house and an abandoned brick factory became their new home. After two months they were put on cattle trains and taken to Auschwitz. Nathan was separated from his family and never saw them again. Eventually he was moved to Dachau. Towards the end of the war the Germans held the prisoners in box cars while they decided what to do with them. When some of the Nazis abandoned their posts Nathan and the others escaped. With his family dead he decided to start a new life in America. On January 29, 1948 he sailed into New York harbor.

Jeanette Kazir's parents lost everything in the Holocaust. With much spirit and courage they survived unspeakable horrors. The author goes on to tell how they met in New York, married and raised five children - Shlomo, Jaclyn (the author,) Shirley, Steven and Nina. When Kazir's mother died the family was shocked to discover she had bypassed her husband and left their house to their son. The family, which Channa had once held together, was now divided.

Through the author's powerful writing I was drawn into the history of Channa and Nathan and their children. It's a riveting memoir and one that took courage to write. Kazir talks frankly about the strain between survivors in their marriages and with their children. How their childhood experiences affect the rest of their lives and future generations. This is a story of family, of parent and child relationships and sibling rivalry. The vivid scenes capture the time frame more effectively than any history book. It's a story that will remain with you long after you read the last page.