Shards of War

On June 24, 1941, Michael, 16, and his sister, 19, leave their home in Dubno in Ukraine, just ahead of the advancing German armies. Fleeing by foot and train, deep into Ukraine and beyond, the teens spend a brutal winter in a town near Stalingrad, where they nearly perish from hunger and cold. In July of 1942, they escape again ahead of the Germans onslaught. The siblings saga of loss, courage, and endurance is interlaced with accounts of critical events of the war and of the annihilation of the Jews in Ukraine, offering an important historical narrative of the challenges wartime refugees faced in the Soviet Union. "Its very well-written and tells an extraordinary story with much passion, empathy and skill." - Omer Bartov, professor of history, Brown University "Michael portrays in shattering detail the improbable survival of most Polish Jews who eluded the Holocaust by fleeing to the Soviet Union. The memoir offers a novel, absolutely essential perspective on the catastrophic events of World War II." - Atina Grossmann, professor of history, Cooper Union, New York "This unbelievable, yet true, unique story will help teachers meet the NJ mandate that all students must learn about bias, prejudice and bigotry through the teaching of the Holocaust and genocide." -