Born Survivors: Three Young Mothers and Their Extraordinary Story of Courage, Defiance, and Hope

“With remarkable detail gleaned from a wealth of research, journalist and author Holden relates the three women’s unforgettable journey from their imprisonment in ghettos to their arrival at Auschwitz. . . . An astonishing and deeply moving work.” —Booklist (starred review)

The Nazis murdered their husbands but concentration camp prisoners Priska, Rachel, and Anka would not let evil take their unborn children too—a remarkable true story of survival that will appeal to readers of The Lost and The Nazi Officer’s Wife, Born Survivors celebrates three mothers who defied death to give their children life.

Eastern Europe, 1944: In this gripping piece of WWII history, 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 one of the most compelling Holocaust survivor stories ever told.

In April 1945, as the Allies close in, Priska gives birth. She and her baby, along with Anka, Rachel, and the remaining inmates, are sent to Mauthausen concentration camp on a hellish seventeen-day train journey. Rachel gives birth on the train, and Anka at the camp gates. All believe they will die, but 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.

On the seventieth anniversary of Mauthausen’s liberation from the Nazis by American soldiers, renowned biographer Wendy Holden recounts this extraordinary, inspirational story of hope and three children united by their mothers’ unbelievable—yet ultimately successful—fight for survival.

This unforgettable work of WWII nonfiction reveals:

• An Extraordinary True Story: Follow Priska, Rachel, and Anka, three women who defied death in the concentration camps to save their unborn children.
• Auschwitz Concentration Camp: Discover how they concealed their pregnancies from the infamous Nazi doctor Josef Mengele, living in daily fear of discovery by the SS.
• WWII History: Based on a wealth of research, this moving biography details their journey from the ghettos of Eastern Europe to a hellish, seventeen-day train journey to Mauthausen.
• Inspirational Story of Hope: Witness the unbelievable moments of their children’s births and the miracle that occurred as Allied troops neared, allowing the three mothers and their newborns to survive.

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“An astonishing and deeply moving work.”—Booklist (starred review)

“An engrossing, intense, and highly descriptive narrative chronicling the ghastly conditions three pregnant women suffered through at the hands of the Nazis.”—Kirkus Reviews

Among the millions of Holocaust victims sent to Auschwitz II-Birkenau in 1944, Priska, Rachel, and Anka each pass through the concentration camp’s infamous gates with a secret. Separated from their husbands and strangers to one another, they are pregnant and scared. After losing so many other loved ones to the Nazis, these women are determined to hold on to all they have left: their lives and those of their unborn babies.

Born Survivors follows them as, against all the odds, they give birth to their babies and go on to build new lives with their children after World War II. Theirs are stories of hardships and miracles as they narrowly escape the clutches of Dr. Josef Mengele at Auschwitz; conceal their condition after they are sent to a Nazi slave-labor camp, where they are half-starved and almost worked to death; and as the Allies close in, survive a seventeen-day train journey to Mauthausen in Austria. By the time they arrive, all three babies have been born—but because the camp has run out of Zyklon B, their lives and those of their mothers are saved. Sixty-five years later, the three “miracle babies” share a remarkable, inspirational story of three mothers who defied death at the hands of the Nazis to give their children life. |

“The incredible true story of three Jewish women who survived the Holocaust.... In this meticulously detailed account, Holden compiles an enormous amount of information from interviews, letters, historical records, and personal visits to the sites where this story unfolded. The graphic history places readers in the moment and provides a sense of the enduring power of love that Priska, Rachel, and Anka had for their unborn children and for the husbands they so desperately hoped to see after the war. Even though it occurred more than 70 years ago, the story’s truth is so chillingly portrayed that it seems as if it could have happened recently.... An engrossing, intense, and highly descriptive narrative chronicling the ghastly conditions three pregnant women suffered through at the hands of the Nazis.” - Kirkus Reviews

“Born Survivors is exceptionally fresh history, a work of prodigious original research, written with zealous empathy.” - New York Times

“Holden deftly weaves together the stories of three women—Priska, Rachel, and Anka—whose children were born in Nazi concentration camps during the last chaotic weeks of World War II. The author’s analysis of each woman’s experiences. . . provide[s] valuable insight into the stark choices faced by Jews during the Holocaust.” - Library Journal

“Even though it occurred more than 70 years ago, the story’s truth is so chillingly portrayed that it seems as if it could have happened recently.... An engrossing, intense, and highly descriptive narrative chronicling the ghastly conditions three pregnant women suffered through at the hands of the Nazis.” - Kirkus Reviews

“With remarkable detail gleaned from a wealth of research, journalist and author Holden relates the three women’s unforgettable journey from their imprisonment in ghettos to their arrival at Auschwitz, where the feared Dr. Josef Mengele inspected each woman to find out who was pregnant, through their forced labor at munitions factories and the final hellish transport to the Nazi concentration camp at Mauthausen.… An astonishing and deeply moving work.” - Booklist (starred review)

“It’s no surprise Born Survivors is gathering excellent reviews.” - Chicago Tribune

“Holden’s triple biography is packed with enough contextual information to qualify as a history lesson but makes its impression as a tale of undeniable courage and astonishing love in the face of incredible cruelty and evil.” - Contra Costa Times

“Packed with harrowing detail and impressively well-researched…. Intense, powerful, and moving, more than make up for this. Born Survivors is a worthy testament to these three women and the miraculous survival of their children.” - Jewish Chronicle

“Holden weaves. . . written, oral and recorded accounts, plus an array of historical records, into a spellbinding story of perseverance amid systematic abuse.” - American Jewish World

“A work of quite extraordinary investigative dedication…. A moving testament of faith.” - Sir Harold Evans