From invasion to liberation, September 1939 to April 1945, as Renee was marched from ghetto to camp, there was one constant. One hand that clutched hers – her mother’s.
Every day for nearly six years, mother and daughter were bound together in hell. From Auschwitz-Birkenau to Bergen-Belsen, they were a powerful source of solace and hope for one another.
The strength of Sala’s love gave them both something fragile yet beautiful to cling to in an ugly, depraved world.
It was her mother who hid Renee, lied to the SS, went right when she was directed left — whose small actions had life-saving consequences.
Now, for Renee, the need to share has finally overcome the desire to forget.
This is a love letter to a mother 80 years in the making.
A Mother’s Promise: My true story of surviving Auschwitz and the horrors of the Holocaust by Kate Thompson and Renee Salt is published on 7 February, 2025.
There are many more ideas for historical reading in our list of over 130 books published this year.
