In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer Reviews

• Hope for a Cynical World

  
  By A1P45ZB60ZQDSY on 2001-04-23
  Engrossing! I read this book in one sitting, because I could not bear to put it down. I'm not easily moved, but Ms. Opdyke's story of life as a young woman in Nazi occupied Poland moved me. I don't easily cry, but I shamelessly cried several times while reading this book.

  This is an inspiring tale of courage and resistence in the face of unambiguous evil. It is also the hope-filled story of grace found among the most surprising of individuals: two Soviet physicians consipring to help a young prisoner of war to escape; a Wehrmacht Officer's Club manager blithely feeding slave laborers with luxuries intended for the "master race;" a simple Ukranian priest openly preaching resistence; a Nazi officer sheltering Jews in the basement of his villa!

  Above all, this is a story of choices: a story of ordinary people immersed in a living hell, who chose to keep faith with each other, their ideals, their country, and their God.

  In a time when too many among us seek to avoid responsibility, here we find the story of a young woman who willingly took responsibility for herself and dozens of others. In a time when politicians conveniently twist "values education" to their own advantage, here we find the story of a woman whose religious and ethical heritage repeatedly demanded the best of her, even under the most dangerous of circumstances. Here we find a heroine on the order of Oscar Schindler or Raul Wallenburg. This life-affirming tale demonstrates that even under the most extreme circumstances, one righteous person can still change the world for the better. For that reason alone, this book is worth reading.

  If you have been wounded too often, and have become just a little too cynical about the world, read this book. If you enjoy a thrilling adventure story, laced with romance, read this book. If you want to inspire a child (especially a girl) to greater moral courage, read this book with her. If you wish to remember that glimmers of light shone through the darkness that engulfed the world from 1939 to 1945, read this book.

  Read this book.
  
  

• A True "Profile of Courage"

  
  By A2DSVRD3RXSVEU on 2000-05-27
  I am so grateful for having read this book. It was deeply moving. I am a seventeen year old girl, as Irene was when the war began, and I cannot even imagine having to experience all of things she did....being raped, a mistress, etc. I admire this woman so much, her courage and determination are one in a billion. It's incomprehensible to know what she went through during those dreadful years, yet through it all her faith is what helped her to survive. I will never forget this book for as long as live...I've read so many books, and I have to admit that I think this one has truly moved me the most. I've read many Holocaust stories as well, but this had a profound effect on me. Please read this book--you'll gain not only a better insight of World War II and the Holocaust, but also how to appreciate life more and realize how much you take for granted.
  
  

• Breathtakingly intense from cover to cover!

  
  By on 1999-10-27
  I have read World War Two novels before. I have read intense novels before. I don't know if any of them compare with this one. This is one of those novels that is so real it gives you goosebumps both while and after you read it. Given in a first person narrative, Irene Gut Opdyke's story is so amazing you would swear it is the work of a popular fiction author, but having the knowledge that it is absolutely 100% true gives it a sharp edge that no fiction novel can attempt. Showing the type of courage and self-sacrifices anybody could only hope to have in such circumstances, Irene unwittingly made herself into a true hero for all people, young and old. Love for your fellow man will triumph over all.
  
  

• courageous, defiant Holocaust rescuer serves as moral model

  
  By AX724J32HPG1J on 2001-12-13
  Set in the howling abyss of the Holocaust, Irene Gut Opdyke's stirring memoir, "In My Hands," serves as a beacon of light when the world's moral compass pointed to darkness. When the history of the twentieth century is fully comprehended, I have little doubt that this remarkable woman will emerge as one of the most signficant models of honor, decency, morality and personal responsibility. Ripped from her family and her own personal innocence, Irene Gut never flinched from her private outrage over the evil of genocide; instead, despite the most profound personal outrages committed against her (cruelties which would cause most of us to withdraw from social contact and the ability to feel tenderness), Irene elected to become a savior, personally shouldering the enormous responsibility of hiding Jews, the intended victims of Nazi brutality.

  Told in a quiet, unassuming voice, "In My Hands" chronicles Irene's "lilac time," a near idyllic childhood spent in the embrace of a loving, supportive family. World War II shattered not only her family's coherence, but it irrevocably altered Irene's perception of humanity. Never wavering in her astounding faith, Irene refused fatalism as a personal philosophy. Recovering from the most brutal sexual assault imaginable, Irene observes Nazi depradations against Polish Jewry and resolves to stand against it.

  Her defiance began, as she reminds us, with "small steps." Smuggling food through a fence into a ghetto evolves into secreting Jews in a forest. This action emboldens Irene to risk both personal autonomy and safety into actually hiding twelve Jews in the basement of a German major's villa. Never seeking praise or affirmation for her work, cut off from both friends and family, Irene Gut operated in a moral universe solely of her own doing. Her moral code, "I must take the right path, or I would no longer be myself," stands as an affirmation of what it means to be human -- even more crucial to the understanding of this noble human being is that so few, so very few people adopted her tenacious will to assist the brutalized.

  Capably assisted by the children's author Jennifer Armstrong, Irene Gut Opdyke reaches the widest audience with "In My Hands." Recognized by Israel as one of the "Righteous Among the Nations" and honored by our United States Holocaust Memorial Museum as a permanent contributor to the study of the Holocaust, Irene Gut Opdyke stands as a moral model. Her wrenching but deeply instructive memoir tells much more than a life's story; it educates our heart and inspires moral vision.
  
  

• An extraordinary display of heroism and courage in adversity

  
  By on 1999-09-20
  This short book is one of the more remarkable books on the Holocaust I have ever read. It details the life of one seemingly ordinary nursing student, thrown into adversity, who demonstrates extraordinary courage and heroism and humanity responding to the needs of a group of Jewish prisoners in her care. Against extraordinary odds, she manages to harbor the group in the basement of a house occupied by a Wehrmacht officer for whom she serves as housekeeper. The book is an easy read, written in a warm and direct style, very personal, and at the same time very intense. Reading this book helps answer some of the eternal questions about the survival of humanity in Nazi-occupied Europe, and is a must-read for students of the subject.
  
  
• An unforgetable story
  By on 2000-02-29
  I have to say that I came upon this book by accident. I am an avid reader of WWII. I was completely impressed by the life of Irene. I could not put this book down and when I was done it made me yearn for more. The reason for the 4 star review, is that I felt that the book rushed to an ending and could have elaborated more on her partisan days. I could have read another 300 pages. This story had to be told and should be used as a teaching tool in all highschools. I would love to have a sequel to this compelling book. To the author, please bring us more of this lady's fascinating life. These stories must never be forgotten.
  
  
• A World of War
  By on 2001-03-13
  Reading this Holocaust book made me feel, more than see. The description was that good. Vividly described events and scenes drew me in and made me interact with it. The feelings coursed through the book but could only be felt, not seen. The lead, with its great writing, intrigued me. An excerpt from the book, it was a prologue that captivated my attention. Dangerous situations and my hope for the best kept me turning the pages. Irene's courage lit up the situations. The scary part was it was all true. I would recommend this five star book to persons of age 16 and older and anybody interested in historical accounts. I feel that there are some events in the auto-biography that happened to Irene that may shock younger readers. If you do want your younger child to read this true story, please read it to them, editing out parts as you go. However, without the full story, I don't think that it can be felt. Younger children might be frightened by the all-to-realistic war scenes and shocked at some other events. It might be too slow-paced for their attention span and they won't understand her motives. I believe that teenagers who know, or knew, someone who lived through the Holocaust would find this extremly informative and helpful, especially if that person won't, or wouldn't, talk about it, which I don't blame them for. Lastly, the shock value of the war won't surprise as many teenagers as it will little kids. Overall, I enjoyed this book, not the things that happened to the victims, but how it made me experience and live through the Holocaust, though my experience can never come close to the pain, emotionally and physically, the victims, and survivors, felt.
  
  
• Truth is beauty
  By A2E5XBL5WVX39N on 2001-09-01
  I have read many books about the Second World War, and the Holocaust. This is one of the best.For those who ever read Diary of A Young Girl by Anne Frank, and wondered what life might be like for a Gentile girl at the same time, this book answers that question.Irene Gut's strong faith, and loving family led her to make the right, if very difficult, choices.The contributions by Jennifer Armstrong are seamless, the true voice of Irene never falters.I have only a few slight quibbles. I wish that there had been more followup on Irene's post-war life, and on the post-war lives of those she saved.Irene Gut Opdyke's faith is as clearly presented as the late Corrie Ten Boom's (The Hiding Place), however, I found In My Hands to be a much more gratifying book.I deeply hope that this book becomes part of the standard curriculum in schools worldwide.However, adults who have any interest in the Second World War and the Holocaust will find this to be a well-written, encouraging book.
  
  
• Little-Known Polish Aid to Jews During the Holocaust
  By A3Q04XXGGED746 on 2006-06-14
  There is an unfortunate and unfair stereotype about Poles not doing enough for Jews during World War II. This book helps set the record straight by first showing that Poles were also victims of the Germans. In addition, unlike in other German-occupied countries, Poles were given the death penalty for the slightest aid to Jews. Despite all this, the heroine of this historical account risked her life every day to hide a group of Jews right under the nose of a German officer whom she was forced to serve. Absolutely thrilling!
  
  
  
• Not just for kids: In My Hands by Irene Gut Opdyke
  By A1TR52OCYQICT1 on 2000-05-29
  You can read any of the reviews already posted to Amazon.com for a good idea of the storyline of this amazing book. I have only this to say: adult readers, please do not be put off because In My Hands is categorized as Young Adult Fiction. It is outstanding reading for adults as well, and will give you a new perspective on courage.

  As echoed by others who have read In My Hands, I simply could not put it down, and yes, it would make a marvelous movie.

  I do have one suggestion: the authors have included two helpful guides--one about the Polish and German languages, and the other showing maps. Both are oddly located at the very end of the book. You might want to read this informative material before you start the book.

  I'm torn between sharing this book by donating it to my local library, and keeping it to cherish!
  
  

• The most wonderful, sad book...
  By A2FO5LBIIY1X14 on 2000-03-18
  I'm in eighth grade, and our teacher is reading this book to our class. It's the greatest book! You should hear our class plead with our teacher to read one more chapter--- Please! And it's not even because they want to miss class, either. You should hear the discussions we have about it later. Even though we are advanced students, Irene is a remarkable person. Her book is very sad. I started crying in the middle of one chapter when I thought Irene's friends would be discovered by the major, which was a bit embarrasing (in the least! ) It's a really great book to read, especially because it's from a different point of veiw. Those concentration camp stories do get a bit stale after a while. Even though it got a little mixed up in my mind with Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Macbeth, it was a fabulous book that almost everyone would enjoy. READ IT! Thanks!
  
  
• --A Riveting and True Story--
  By A2EMP366TTS6E1 on 2002-06-20
  This is probably one of the most remarkable stories that I've ever encountered and I don't understand why it hasn't received more attention. My husband and I listened to the audio tape which was beautifully read by Hope David.

  IN MY HANDS is the autobiography of Irene Gut, a 17 year old Polish Catholic girl. The book begins with lovely recollections that Irene had of her early life in Czestochowa, Poland, where she was surrounded by her four sisters and loving parents. When the Nazi's invaded Poland in 1939, Irene was living away from her family in Radom where she was studying to become a nurse. When Radom was bombed, the Polish Army had to retreat and asked that some of the medical staff come with them to help take care of the wounded. Irene volunteered to go, and eventually ended up on the other side of Poland which was under Russian rule. Many miles away from her family, and eventually separated from the other hospital staff, Irene faced life alone, and saw the country that she loved controlled by brutes and killers.

  At first this young woman saw the worst in the Russian soldiers and later she also met the German invaders who showed her another side of brutality. Despite the threat to her own life, Irene risked everything so that many others had the chance to live. This very inspiring memoir compares to HIDING PLACE the story of Corrie Ten Boom and her family.
  
  

• In My Hands
  By A1EJRHAMIIH5YA on 2001-12-11
  I read the book In My Hands by Irene Gut Opdyke with Jennifer Armstrong for a school project in reading class. At first I did not think I would like this book because the holocaust is such a horrible thing. As I read on though I could not set the book down. It kept me turning the pages. Irene Gutowna is a seventeen-year-old, gentile, Polish girl who gets dragged into the war and separated from her family. Irene could not even image what would go on over the next five years of her life. Everything would change.
  One day she goes outside past curfew and is raped and beaten by Nazi officers. She devotes herself to doing anything she can to get back at the Nazis for this horrible act against her, and for taking over her beloved Poland. While in recovery she learns and teaches herself the German language. She ends up working for a German Nazi cafeteria that is located right next to a concentration camp.
  She starts off small by putting food under a fence, in hope that someone in the horrible camp will get the food. This was just one small step in Irene�s great journey. Eventually it leads up to hiding ten Jewish people in a German major�s villa and feeding them food. When the major finds out Irene is hiding and feeding the Jews in his basement of his house, he is infuriated. Forces her to become his mistress. If she had denied, he would have had to turn her and the others in. This would mean the sentence of death for all. These are just a couple of things Irene does to corrupt the Nazi party. This book was very inspiring to me. To know that someone would be so willing to risk so much, even his or her own life and for fighting for what they believe in.
  
  
• A Holocaust Hero
  By A26X6QZYYVT2JQ on 2001-12-13
  The book IN MY HANDS, is about a woman named Irene Gut. She is a strong-willed and intelligent girl. When the book starts, it is the beginning of World War II. Irene is seventeen at the time and is going to nursing school in Radom. When the German's attack Poland, Radom is bombed. She escapes and lives in the woods with others that are on the run. One night some soldiers saw her and raped her then left Irene in the snow to die. Thankfully, some other soldiers come and found her. Taking her to the hospital, was the best thing for Irene. She met a doctor that helped her escape. From then on she was on her on. She went on to serve German officials food and learned of what horrible things were being done to the Jews. She felt that this was wrong and Irene had to do something about it. The beginning of her rescue mission was leaving buckets of food underneath the fence of one of the ghetto's. It progressed into harboring Jews in the basement of a German major that Irene was a house-keeper to. She has to become the major's mistress because he walked in and saw what Irene was doing. It took unbelievable strength for her to make it through all that had been done to her. She was one of those people that the worse things get the stronger Irene got. The book was put together very well. It told the story of Irene Gut very vividly that you could actually hear and see it happening. The another good thing was the vocabulary was very extensive. This book is a solid book that everyone needs to read because it is a first hand experience of the Holocaust.
  
  
• A heart-wrenching and inspiriational story
  By A2W3HIU2RHUS0N on 2005-03-19
  I guess I didn't realize that this book was written for the younger audience. I picked it up because it sounded like an interesting story and I wanted to hear a personal account of the Nazi treatment of Jews during WWII.
  
  This book had me completely enveloped in its story. I could not put it down because I wanted to know what would happen next. The story is about a Polish girl and her experiences during WWII. Although she was not a Jew, she witnessed firsthand the horrors of what happened to them. She saw that they were rounded up and baricaded into the ghettos. She could have looked the other way or closed her eyes to the nightmares, but she decided to help some Jews that she met. You won't believe what she did to try to save them.
  
  Reading the story from someone who was there really made it real to me. I couldn't put the book down and found myself reading it over lunch at work. There were times I had to put it away because it was just overwhelming. And there were times that I wept with the author over the horrible things that happened.
  
  This is a such a moving book. I highly recommend it to others who want to hear a first-hand account of what it was really like in Poland during the time of the German Nazis. I think I like this book better than the Diary of Anne Frank, although both are good.
  
  
• The difference one person can make
  By A62G4QX6XQVLP on 2005-07-22
  Although Poland was a fiercely anti-Semitic country, the nation which lost the highest percentage of its prewar Jewish population, and the nation where at least half of the murdered were from, ironically the largest number of people recognised by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations also came from Poland. Irena Gutowna (Irene Gut) is one of those people. The foundations for her heroic actions were laid in her childhood, when she and her four younger sisters would often rescue injured or abandoned animals and tend them back to life and health, as well as frequently showing kindness to less fortunate people as well. She was very angry and resentful that her beloved homeland of Poland had to suffer so much under the hands of both the Nazis and the Soviets, and knew she had to do all she could to fight both forces. At both the beginning and the end of the war, she fought with the Polish partisans in the woods; both times her partisan activities were brought to a grinding halt when she was captured and arrested by the Soviets, but both times she also managed to escape. After her first escape, she was found by other Russians and taken in her unconscious bruised and battered state to a nearby hospital in what is now the Ukraine, and after her recovery she was put to work as a nurse, having been a student nurse before the war. After escaping there when the new head doctor tried to attack her, she worked in a small Soviet village for a year, posing as the cousin of a female doctor and being her assistant, before she was able to go back home to Poland, eventually ending up in Ternopol, the city she had been in before she'd escaped the hospital where she was also a prisoner. After this she began to see more and more signs of anti-Semitism and cruelty around her, and knew these things to be wrong and that she couldn't live with herself if she didn't do something to help. It began in small gestures, like hiding food under a fence daily, and eventually culminated in smuggling people to the forest and hiding them in the villa where she was housekeeper to a Nazi Major, whom she had also served in a nearby hotel. She was able to use her high-ranking position to get away with hiding people and smuggling them food, knowing no one would ever suspect her.
  
  It's a nice change of perspective to read a memoir from the pov of a rescuer as opposed to a survivor; both suffered and took risks in different ways. Irena knew what the penalty was for helping Jews but continued to risk her life doing so anyway, even eventually having to become the mistress of the Major for whom she kept house so he would keep her secret, despite how much shame and humiliation that brought this good Catholic girl who had never even had a boyfriend before the war (she had already been raped by the Russians who captured her). A lot of people also don't know the suffering the Polish people had to go through as well during WWII; they weren't herded into ghettoes and camps, but a lot of them had to go through starvation, fear, terror, and labor camps as well.
  
  
• "God Has Big Plans for your Daughter"
  By A2O9HU1K7TCF7B on 2005-08-24
  This quote begins Irene Gut Opdyke's tale of heroism and courage. The quote comes from the local minister after he learned the story of the family dog saving a young Irene from falling into the river. The priest's proclamation could not have come more true.
  
  As a young adult in Poland, Irene's childhood ended with the Nazi invasion. Relocated from her family for her nursing skill, Irene was well traveled by the war's end. In the most unlikley of circumstances, Irene found herself as the housekeeper of a German officer. Just before this promotion, she had begun illegally sending food to the Jewish ghetto. So while working in the German officer's house, she took a bolder step. She hid several Jews in the cellar of the house. If she was caught, her execution would have been certain. She sacrificed dignity and humiliation in order to preserve the lives of those she protected. In a twist of fate, it was many of the same Jews that she helped survive the war that helped her to settle after the war.
  
  It is often forgotten that many Germans and Europeans did not support the Nazis. With this in mind, many Christians were hiding Jews and helping them to survive until the fall of the Nazi regime. Because my own grandmother kept several Jews on her farm during the war in Poland, this book struck a personal chord in me. This is a side of the Holocaust and World War II that is not often told. For her bravery and her book, I commend Irene Gut Opdyke. Her story is so good, it is almost beyond belief.
  
  
• Great Book!
  By A24IET5X783HD2 on 2000-02-06
  This book is one of the best books I have ever read. It tells the story of Irene Gutowna, who was seventeen at the beginning of WW Two, and chronicles her experiences as she is raped by Russian soldiers, begins a crusader for Jews, even going so far as to hide ten in the basement of a German Major she is housekeeper to's villa, and becoming his mistress in cooperation for his silence. This book shows the true duration of the human spirit.
  
  
• A Heroic Tale
  By AVVP80QX9KVIM on 2000-07-09
  After hearing Irene Gut Opdyke interviewed on National Public Radio in 1999, I resolved to read her book. I was surprised to find it in the "juvenile" section of the library, because it deserves to take a space on the shelf next to any wartime memoir. Her story left me with my mouth hanging open, as first one and then another close call resulted in her finding ever more courage and resourcefulness. Her story also illustrates the absurdities and complexities of war, making this a book I could scarcely put down until the last page.
  
  
• Great Book About A Sad Tragedy
  By A17BMZJPUFFQVQ on 2005-11-28
  This book was assigned in one of my classes by my professor. She told us all it would be real easy to read once you started, and would be hard to put down. She was absolutely right. This book is full of the horrors of World War II, but also the compassion of people during the war. Based on the life of Irene Gut as a teen and woman in her early 20s, we learn of her efforts to hide a dozen people who would surely be executed by the Germans if they were found. She risks her life to protect these people, and sees the senseless violence that takes away the lives of so many others. The book had some graphic details, but they showed the reality and tragedies that occurred in WWII. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the Holocaust and WWII, or anyone looking for an interesting look into one person's life.
  
  
• Thrilling autobiography!
  By on 2000-05-07
  In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer by Irene Gut Opdyke is a remarkable autobiography about the life of a Polish woman who risked her life in order to save her Jewish friends. When World War II began, Irene was only seventeen years old; she was a devoted nursing student and an innocent Catholic girl. As Germany took over her country Poland, Irene volunteered to accompany the Polish army as part of the Red Cross. Separated from her family, she was forced to endure harsh living conditions while aiding hundreds of wounded soldiers. A few weeks later, she was seized and raped by Russian soldiers who then left her for dead in the snow. Irene would have frozen to death if a kind woman named Dr. Miriam had not found her and nursed her back to health. When Irene had finally regained her strength, she was allowed to return to Poland, now a part of Germany, to be reunited with her family. It was a joyful reunion, but Irene was stunned by the changes in her hometown, Radom. The Jews had been forced to move into ghettos while the Poles had to live by strict rules. Only one week had passed since Irene had come to Poland when she and her sister were captured and transported to Germany to work for the Reich. She became a domestic worker in a Nazi hotel; there, she witnessed the cruel, monstrous acts that were being committed against the Jews in the nearby ghetto. Overwhelmed with horror, Irene began sneaking food and blankets to the ghetto, as well as transporting runaway Jews in a wagon to a nearby forest. She had also befriended the ten Jewish workers she supervised at the hotel. When she was released from her hotel duties to work in a German major's villa as a live-in housekeeper, she found a way to smuggle and hide her Jewish friends in the basement of the villa. When he discovered them, Irene became his mistress in cooperation for his silence; later, she and her friends managed to escape from him during the Germans' retreat. In 1949, through the acquaintance of an old rabbi, Irene was interviewed by a delegate from the United Nations, and she was accepted to be a citizen of the United States, which is where she lives to this day. Irene Gut Opdyke is the courageous hero of this amazing autobiography. She had started out as a seemingly ordinary nursing student, but she had been separated from her family at 17 and forced to work for her enemies. She was determined to do all that she could to help the Jews after she had witnessed the abominable suffering inflicted on the local Jews. Being sensitive to her Jewish friends' needs, she always put their safety ahead of her well being. She demonstrated extraordinary bravery and heroism throughout her life.
  
  
• It is not what we say, but what we do that counts.
  By A2MRWF1CB5ESEZ on 2001-03-01
  This book is for all age groups. It was not just the Jews who were scheduled for removal by Germany during WWII. The Poles were destined to be eliminated as well under a policy called Lebersraum, or living space, as Germany needed more room for growth. Irene Gut was a young nursing student away from home when the Germans flooded into Poland. She survived to fight and try to find a way to get back to her family. She starts helping others by using a spoon to dig a hole under the fence of the Glinice ghetto to leave kitchen scraps for the Jews. Her job lets her hear the current German news, which she passes along to help warn the people in the ghetto. She is able to create jobs to get people out of the ghetto. She rescues ten people by hiding them in a cellar. She gets caught several times and is questioned. In turn, at the end of the war, she is helped by those she helped. This is a very well written story of the life of a young adult who acted on her convictions at a time when fear kept so many from lifting a hand to help another human. I wish more people of this caliber would write their personal stories. A must read!!
  
  
• In My Hands
  By on 2000-04-29
  5 stars is an understatement for this true-life page-turner. How "just a girl" mustered up the courage to fly in the face of monstrous evil, when mere survival was a full-time job, is an amazing story unusual in these character-free times. The words the author uses are simple, but the pictures she paints with them are vivid and unforgettable. You can't put this book down. It will fascinate all who read it.
  
  
• In My Hands- My Favorite Book
  By on 2000-10-18
  In My Hands is probably one of the best books you can find about true heroism during the darkest part of history. Irene Gut Opdyke's struggle to save the lives of over a dozen Jewish friends by giving of herself (being raped, used as a mistress, separation from her family) is dispicted in this fantastic book. As a Jewish young woman, I cannot stop but feel gratitude for this woman, who save part of my people. Here is a book, where good finally triumphs over evil, and makes you proud to have such a person in our species. Thank you to Mrs. Opdyke for all that you have done.
  
  
• In My Hands Review
  By AH523S9BNXUI3 on 2001-06-09
  I thought that In My Hands was a wonderful story about a young woman who set out just to be a nurse but ended up saving more people than just soldiers. It was a well written and moving story. The story is about young Irene who goes off to study to be a nurse but then gets captured and works for a man in a kitchen. She sees many people mistreated and decides to help some escape. This story is thouroghly engrossing and I reccomend it to anyone who likes World War II stories.
  
  
• In My Hands
  By A1DSGT0FH8VO6L on 2001-11-25
  In reading class, we were required to read a book about the Holocaust. I had read a few before, but I thought that they were boring and uninteresting. I thought that I would have to read another boring, uninteresting book.
  This book totally surprised me. It was the first Holocaust book I had read that actually had me feeling the emotions of the main character. This book kept me turning pages until the very last word. This person's true emotions were brought to life throughout this book by colorful language and interesting similes and metaphors.
  In My Hands is the story of Irene Gutowna, a Polish, Gentile girl, 17 years of age, who starts to work for a restaurant, which is run by Nazis. She never thought of becoming a resistance fighter. But she started small. The restaurant was located right next to the ghetto. Irene began to hide food under a hole in the fence.
  Then she eventually did bigger things, leading up to hiding 10 Jews in the basement of a German sergeant's house. He finds out, but keeps quiet. In return, Irene must be his mistress.
  This book was very good, and even made me cry. I think that everyone should read it.
  
  
• Mind-blowing
  By A11969FGOFVOK3 on 2004-11-16
  In My Hands in one of the best Holocaust books I have read and I have read about 50. The way she describes the events in her life and with such vivid details. I really did feel like I was there. It takes you into the life of girl who had no idea what was going on to this women who was captured and helping people who were being discrimnated against. If you like to read or learn about the Holocaust this book is a must read for everyone.
  
  
• If only there were others like Irene!
  By A303U1MOXG5R1F on 2007-01-28
  Irene writes about her experiences during World War II and the Holocaust where she witnessed the atrocities against the Jews and others. My parents were children in Poland at the time. People I think wonder why they survived. Yes, they were Catholic and so am I. What most people don't understand about Poland during the war is that the Nazis killed entire Polish families if they had saved a Jew. Imagine saving one person or losing your entire family, that was the scenario not to mention that Poles always thought that they were next in line too even my parents thought they were going to be next to the gas chambers. While I am grateful that Irene has told her story, she does offer insight as to why so many were brutally murdered for whatever reason. My aunt's boyfriend was killed for delivering newspapers. If you go to Warsaw, you will learn that 90 percent of the city itself was destroyed and rebuilt. Of course, Poland was never the same after the war. It went from fascism to communism to democracy. Sure, it would have been nice to have saved others but Irene does detail the problems and the circumstances of saving Jews from slaughter. We must not forget that the Poles suffered too under the Nazi regime but not as nearly as their Jewish neighbors, friends, and relatives were. The psychological effects of that war still haunt people to this day. Poland was terribly abandoned by the world as well as a sacrifice to the slaughter of millions of innocent people but at least there are people like Irene who can show us that humanity and angels are still with us.
  
  
• An extremely important work: Read It.
  By A4L80WGTOXJBL on 2000-07-26
  I'm not sure why this book has been aimed primarily at a young audience because it is such a compelling and vitally important book on many levels concerning the subject of WWII and the Holocaust. Any study of WWII in Europe that does not include this book is an incomplete one. I heartily encourage all to pick it up. This book, along with the work of Elie Wiesel, has certainly made a permanent impression on the way I see history from this time period.
  
  
• The Best Holocaust Book
  By ATYN67WMBMS76 on 2000-07-20
  I love to read all sorts of memoirs written by people who survived the holocaust. Those people were all Jewish and were victims of the holocaust. In this book, Irene has survived the holocaust too, but in a different way. She survived the risk of helping Jewish people.

  This book gave me a new perspective on the holocaust. In every other holocaust memoir, we often wonder where are the Christian people? Why aren't they helping? Well, this book showed that many people DID try to help. They were taking a huge risk by helping thee Jewish, but did it anyway. This book showed that even such horrors were seen during WW2, there were still many people who cared.
  
  

• I Have Lived A Thousand Years: Growing Up In The Holocaust
• The Seamstress
• All But My Life
• Rena's Promise
• The Cage