When a young German guide walked through the barrack, reciting her script about this “work camp” to a group of English-speaking tourists, Dad could not contain his anguish.
“Why are you lying to these people?” he asked loudly.
“Excuse me?” she answered with a German accent.
He held out his papers. “I was here in barrack number seven. I am a survivor of this camp, and what you are showing and telling these people is a lie!”
(from Broken Birds, page 328)
Broken Birds: The Story of My Momila is Jeannette Katzir’s emotionally charged memoir about growing up as one of five children of Holocaust survivors. The book opens after Jaclyn’s mother, Channa, dies and the siblings are preparing to go to court for a matter concerning her estate. (Jaclyn is Jeannette; she changed the names of the people in the book for reasons that become obvious as you are reading.) From there, Katzir brings readers back to the very beginning, describing in great detail her mother’s experiences as a young Polish partisan hiding in the forest with her older brother to escape the Nazis during World War II and her father’s experiences in the concentration camps. The horror and losses the two witnessed as young adults would stay with them as they meet, fall in love, start a family, and amass a sizable nest egg that ultimately turns siblings into enemies.
Katzir devotes much of the book to her relationship with her siblings — Shlomo, Shirley, Steven, and Nina — as they grow up, start careers and families, and try to stay close. Channa always told her children that family members can depend on one another, but strangers are not to be trusted. Thus, when Shirley, her husband Eric, and Steven turn to Jaclyn and her husband for help on the business front, Jaclyn finds it difficult to turn her siblings away. However, time and again they take advantage of her and her husband, and whenever Jaclyn stands up for her husband and what she believes to be right, the sibling bond is strained.
The arguments about money and failed business deals grow tiresome, and if I found it hard to read without becoming angry and having to shut the book and take a deep breath, I can only imagine how hard it must have been for Jaclyn to have to constantly choose between doing what is right and being loyal to her siblings and the bonds created by blood. When the siblings discover that Channa altered her will to leave the family home to Steven alone, the real battle begins.
Katzir writes with an obvious love for her family, although she doesn’t sugar-coat the events that have transpired over the years. She talks about her mother’s distrust of her father, how Channa constantly worried that Nathan would leave her, and Channa’s belief that a little abuse is a normal part of marriage. She lays bare the hurt of Steven and Shirley’s numerous betrayals, and I believe it takes a great deal of courage to write something so honest about people so close to you.
Katzir also includes details about her trip to Europe with Shlomo, Steven, and their father to see the places their father lived before and after the war and get a better idea of how he managed to survive. The scene in which they visit the Dachau concentration camp was heartbreaking. It took them a while to find a cab driver who would even admit that the camp existed, and once there, Nathan learns that the barrack on display to the public does not begin to show the deplorable conditions the prisoners endured. There are toilets and well constructed beds where Nathan remembers holes in the floor and beds that collapsed under the weight of many men. Thankfully, a few tourists take notice when he confronts the tour guide with these inaccuracies and stop to listen to the truth as lived by Nathan.
To be honest, I didn’t expect to like Broken Birds as much as I did. I’m always a little hesitant about memoirs, but Katzir’s writing is so full of feeling, and she doesn’t skirt the issues affecting her family. She dives right in and pulls you along with her. I finished the book sad and emotionally drained, but a bit hopeful, as it became obvious that writing the book was part of the journey on Katzir’s road to healing. Some of the lessons learned: nobody is perfect, some people are infuriating, and sometimes we have to learn to let go.
Disclosure: I received a copy of Broken Birds from the author for review purposes. I am an Amazon associate.
© 2010 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.
Sounds like a very emotional read. Glad you enjoyed it.
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It was very emotional, and in a different way that I expected. I’d thought it would be more about the Holocaust, but of course, it was always there hovering over their lives.
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Wow, this sounds like an amazing book. I enjoy (though that might not be the right word) these types of books, and especially non-fiction detailing how Holocaust survivors’ children “inherit” the loss and trauma of that situation.
And on a completely aesthetic level, the cover is spectacular.
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I know exactly what you mean, Andi. Enjoy isn’t the write word. Maybe we find them fascinating, moving, important?
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What an interesting book this sounds like as the events of the Holocaust impacted how they lived the remainder of their lives. Sounds like it would be quite a frustrating book to read.
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It was frustrating, and it made me thankful that I have only one sibling and nothing to inherit from my parents, so she and I certainly will never fight over money!
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How awful, why do they not show the truth there?! But, well I did visit Terezinstadt, even if that was only a transit station it still looked, well not too bad. Very strange. I do wonder
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It didn’t surprise me at all, but it made me very sad. And it underscores the importance of Holocaust memoirs.
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It says a lot when a non-memoir reader enjoys one so much. I bet I’d love this one.
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Kathy, I know how much you enjoy memoirs, so I think you should give this one a try. I’m just really picky about the ones I read because the person’s life has to be really interesting and not a big whine-fest.
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Sounds like an intriguing though sad read.
And i know this might sound inapropriate, but I love the cover of the book!
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The cover is very catching and appropriate. The artwork is very good.
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Holocaust books are always very sad and emotional but all of them contain a real story – its just how the author does the story that makes it different and so good reading. This sounds intriguing and again as usual I go for the cover.
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I couldn’t agree with you more, Mystica.
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Anna, as usual you’ve written a thoughtful interview. I am adding this one to my TBR wishlist!
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Thanks, Suko! I do hope you read it some time.
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This sounds fascinating. I have always wondered about how surviving the Holocaust affects family dynamics and shapes the experiences of future generations.
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If you’re interested in that topic, another good one to check out would be “Bending Toward the Sun” by Leslie Gilbert-Lurie with Rita Lurie. It’s written by the daughter of a Holocaust survivor and includes a detailed account of her mother’s struggle to survive and how it affected her and even her daughter. Fascinating.
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This sounds like a very sad, but thoughtful story. It is sad that the reverberations of the Holocaust continues on for generations.
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It is sad. I wish there was something that could be done to erase all the pain.
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Sounds like you really liked it. The lessons learned are good ones. Thanks for this splendid review. I have heard of this book and I am happy to read your recommendation. I will keep it in my radar.
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I hope you get a chance to read it, Wisteria!
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Great review Anna, I enjoyed this one too. I agree, the arguements over money were just awful!
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Thanks, Naida. The book made me so angry and sad, but it was a very gripping story.
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[…] Feet Over Hell by Jim Hooper 52. The Famous Nini by Mary Nethery, illustrated by John Manders 53. Broken Birds by Jeannette Katzir 54. The Visibles by Sara Shepard 55. Glorious by Bernice L. McFadden 56. The […]
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Wow I’m excited to be included in your list Anna.
Jeannette Katzir
Broken Birds, The Story of My Momila.
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[…] below)! I’ve been eagerly anticipating this novel since reading Jeannette’s memoir, Broken Birds, which is about her experiences as the child of a Holocaust […]
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