The words in this book are an eye witness account of a remarkable struggle for survival by a young polish Jew, during and shortly after the Holocaust. In the prime of life, on April 15th, 1942 -his twentieth birthday- Jacob Birnbaum was torn away from his family and put on one of the last trains sent to a labor camp from his hometown. In this biography, Jacob takes the reader with him, as he relives the incredible chain of events he encountered during his three years of captivity at six different labor camps and his subsequent struggle to regain a normal life amidst the post-war turmoil in Europe. Birnbaum's testimony represents the epitome of the phrase, "Truth is stranger than fiction."
Even though his epic began in 1942, Jacob's photographic memory has made it possible for him to recount his experiences as if they occurred only yesterday. As painful as it was to retrace his steps, the release of this narrative is helping fulfill a promise he made to his parents when they wrote: "Son, you may be the only survivor of our family. Never let the world forget what they did to us." He was the only survivor. And he will never let us forget.
Sadly, Jacob passed away suddenly on May 7th, 2007. He will be dearly missed.
"Jacob Birnbaum's autobiography is a survivor's important testimony. Read it. Make your friends read it. Written with pain and courage, it is his personal way of keeping his "promise" to the victims who perished in Hitler's nightmarish death-camps. To listen to a witness is to become a witness." Elie Wiesel, Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize of 1986, Recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal, author of more than 30 books and Professor of Humanities at Boston University.
"This incredible true story is about the mystery of survival during the Holocaust--a time when few survived to tell what happened to those closest to them. I KEPT MY PROMISE helps fill that black hole in history, without human faces. It also helps break part of the long dark silence that obscured a colossal failure of western civilization." Sylvia Rothchild, Author and Book Reviewer for the Jewish Advocate.
"Readers interested in the less familiar ordeal of Jews who were not deported to the well-publicized concentration and death camps will find much to appreciate in this volume." Lawrence L. Langer, Author and Professor of English Emeritus, Simmons College, Boston.
"I couldn't put this book down. It reads like a novel yet is a very honest painful testimony of a Holocaust survivor. A must for Holocaust collections and an important biography for school libraries. Grades 8 through adult, Highly Recommended." Diane C. Pozar, Library Media Specialist and Reviewer for The Journal for Junior and Senior High School Librarians.
"I won't go into too much detail about his actual experiences, because there is no way to do them justice. The story, being told from Jacob's point of view, tells itself impeccably. When I read it I saw through his eyes, felt what he felt and found myself stopping to catch my breath on several occasions. The power of the story is simply incredible! The primary goal of the book is to educate and inform people from junior high school through the college level. The first person perspective makes it as useful in understanding what happened to the persecuted Jews as 'The Diary of Anne Frank'." A twenty-year-old Bentley College freshman and Writer for the Vanguard student newspaper. Reprinted from the Lexington Minuteman.
"I Kept My Promise is a poignant account which recalls the horror of the Holocaust and the consequences of sanctioned prejudice and hate. In honoring those who have died, Mr. Birnbaum provides inspiration to the living." Massachusetts Governor, William F. Weld.
Even though his epic began in 1942, Jacob's photographic memory has made it possible for him to recount his experiences as if they occurred only yesterday. As painful as it was to retrace his steps, the release of this narrative is helping fulfill a promise he made to his parents when they wrote: "Son, you may be the only survivor of our family. Never let the world forget what they did to us." He was the only survivor. And he will never let us forget.
Sadly, Jacob passed away suddenly on May 7th, 2007. He will be dearly missed.
"Jacob Birnbaum's autobiography is a survivor's important testimony. Read it. Make your friends read it. Written with pain and courage, it is his personal way of keeping his "promise" to the victims who perished in Hitler's nightmarish death-camps. To listen to a witness is to become a witness." Elie Wiesel, Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize of 1986, Recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal, author of more than 30 books and Professor of Humanities at Boston University.
"This incredible true story is about the mystery of survival during the Holocaust--a time when few survived to tell what happened to those closest to them. I KEPT MY PROMISE helps fill that black hole in history, without human faces. It also helps break part of the long dark silence that obscured a colossal failure of western civilization." Sylvia Rothchild, Author and Book Reviewer for the Jewish Advocate.
"Readers interested in the less familiar ordeal of Jews who were not deported to the well-publicized concentration and death camps will find much to appreciate in this volume." Lawrence L. Langer, Author and Professor of English Emeritus, Simmons College, Boston.
"I couldn't put this book down. It reads like a novel yet is a very honest painful testimony of a Holocaust survivor. A must for Holocaust collections and an important biography for school libraries. Grades 8 through adult, Highly Recommended." Diane C. Pozar, Library Media Specialist and Reviewer for The Journal for Junior and Senior High School Librarians.
"I won't go into too much detail about his actual experiences, because there is no way to do them justice. The story, being told from Jacob's point of view, tells itself impeccably. When I read it I saw through his eyes, felt what he felt and found myself stopping to catch my breath on several occasions. The power of the story is simply incredible! The primary goal of the book is to educate and inform people from junior high school through the college level. The first person perspective makes it as useful in understanding what happened to the persecuted Jews as 'The Diary of Anne Frank'." A twenty-year-old Bentley College freshman and Writer for the Vanguard student newspaper. Reprinted from the Lexington Minuteman.
"I Kept My Promise is a poignant account which recalls the horror of the Holocaust and the consequences of sanctioned prejudice and hate. In honoring those who have died, Mr. Birnbaum provides inspiration to the living." Massachusetts Governor, William F. Weld.
