• Born Survivors

  • Three Young Mothers and Their Extraordinary Story of Courage, Defiance, and Hope
  • By: Wendy Holden
  • Narrated by: Elizabeth Wiley
  • Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (1,247 ratings)

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Born Survivors  By  cover art

Born Survivors

By: Wendy Holden
Narrated by: Elizabeth Wiley
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Publisher's summary

Eastern Europe, 1944: Three women believe they are pregnant, but are torn from their husbands before they can be certain. Rachel is sent to Auschwitz, unaware that her husband has been shot. Priska and her husband travel there together, but are immediately separated. Also at Auschwitz, Anka hopes in vain to be reunited with her husband. With the rest of their families gassed, these young wives are determined to hold on to all they have left-their lives, and those of their unborn babies. Having concealed their condition from infamous Nazi doctor Josef Mengele, they are forced to work and almost starved to death, living in daily fear of their pregnancies being detected by the SS.

In April 1945, Priska gives birth. She and her baby, along with Anka, Rachel, and the remaining inmates, are sent to Mauthausen concentration camp on a hellish train journey. Rachel gives birth on the train; Anka at the camp gates. All believe they will die-then a miracle occurs. The gas chamber runs out of Zyklon-B, and as the Allied troops near, the SS flee. Against all odds, the three mothers and their newborns survive their treacherous journey to freedom.

©2015 Wendy Holden (P)2017 Tantor

Critic reviews

"An astonishing and deeply moving work." ( Booklist, Starred Review)

What listeners say about Born Survivors

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Just an incredible story!

This book was incredible. All the details of how the three women ended up in concentration camps and how they came to give birth. It didn't seem possible that a baby could survive such an ordeal. As the story moves along you feel like you are a part of it. Sometimes joyful but often sad and tearful over what the Jews had to go through. Unimaginable. But the narrator brought this book to life like no book I have listened to before. I have the kindle book as well and expect to read through chapters now and then. The strongest three women I have ever heard about were the mothers giving birth in the true story.

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35 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Heartbreaking yet Heartwarming


This story is heartbreaking. It’s not a typical novel of fiction. In fact, it’s based on true stories and the actual events that took place during Hitler’s reign. It’s the intertwined survival of families that endured the Holocaust. It’s very graphic yet extremely educational. There were parts of the novel that physically made me ill. I actually dreamed about these events after listening and it also put me in a melancholy mood for a couple of days. What I THOUGHT was horrible from the facts I learned through textbooks, wasn’t even close to how terrible it really was for these innocent people.

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19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Remember Never to Forget

This book stands as an important contribution to the volumes of literature that remembers and commemorates the Holocaust. As we lose the last members of the generations that endured and witnessed the unspeakable hate, torture, and murder of their loved ones, and lived to remember, we must continue to tell of the lives, experiences, and memories so that the atrocities visited upon Europe by the Nazis NEVER happen again.

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

AMAZING

What a wonderful read! Anyone who has an interest in learning about the Holocaust should read this! Such a touching account of the struggles of three brave women.

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12 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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A beautifully told story

On such a difficult topic I thought this was beautifully told. It's like I knew the people personally. Very moving and a must listen.

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8 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • CL
  • 02-24-17

the best survival book

best survival book that I have read and I have listened to Manny of them.I have never written a review this is my first. to be the mothers that went through the camps you have to read it to find out what happened to the children. the best history. I injoyed the narrator's change of voices

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
  • HW
  • 02-27-20

Verbose

This book documents the horrendous atrocities that happened to Jews and other enemies of the reich during the Holocaust. It was informative and obviously well researched and this story should definitely be told. The performance was exceptional and hearing the different voices helped to follow along.
With that said, it was very difficult to get through. The book follows three women, but when their stories merge the author doesn’t merge the storyline, she just repeats characterizations and explanations multiple times. The book also skips from story to story and from story to historical references so it’s often hard to keep up. I stopped reading about 6 chapters from the end as I simply got bored of the chaotic cadence and confusing storyline.

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6 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Epic.

Heart breakingly beautiful. These stories should be shared in schools. There is so much to learn from.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

bookgirl

Amazing story. This book is a unique remembrance of a horrific chapter in human history. Hopefully never to be repeated. Well written with excellent narration.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Dry as dirt

Writing a biography and making it interesting is a difficult challenge. This author was not up to the challenge.
There was nothing new revealed about the concentration camps or the Holocaust if you know anything at all about either. The author was too specific about things that did not matter and too generalized about things that did.
The way the story is broke down between the three women is confusing. She gave so much history of their lives beforehand. Too much detail. So much that it was hard to differentiate between the three.
The end was probably the most unnecessary. Describing who each one married, what their occupation was, the names of relatives and how many grandkids, nieces and nephews made it a chore to finish.
This work could have been better if only one person's story was told without unnecessary details. It was like the author needed to express how much research she had done in the book.
With all the books about survivors, this would be my last to suggest to a person interested in the people who went through this hell.
No matter how many books I read on this subject, my heart breaks for all those who lived it and those who perished. This book is no different. The difference is this one is poorly written.

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5 people found this helpful