A Moving Memoir of WWII
Written: May 11 '07 (Updated May 11 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: a true account rich in detail; extraordinarily moving; beautifully written poems interspersed throughout narrative
Cons: a harrowing read in places; will move you to tears
The Bottom Line: A WWII survivor's account of her life before, during, and after her incarceration in Auschwitz. Her moving account will stay with you long after you've read the last page.
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| jc_hall's Full Review: Lilka Croydon-Trzcinska - The Labyrinth Of Dangero... |
Still in high school when Germany invaded Poland during WWII, Lilka and her two sisters, Marina and Zosia, and their eldest brother Tytus, became active in the Home Army, the Resistance movement in Warsaw. For their part in the Resistance, Lilka and her family, like many of their friends and acquaintances, were arrested and sent to Auschwitz. Lilka and her family narrowly escaped being sent to the gas chambers because the ‘rules’ had just changed, and political prisoners, unlike the Jews, were no longer gassed upon arrival.
But conditions were atrocious— Auschwitz was a nightmare of disease, hunger, vermin, filth and cold. The men were separated from the women upon arrival, and they were tormented by not knowing each other’s fate. Coupled with this anguish of separation was imminent tragedy: their mother soon died, and Zosia, the youngest girl, was sent away to an unknown destination. So that left only Marina and Lilka together. The two girls cared diligently for each other when one became ill (typhus was a daily killer in the camp), and gave emotional sustenance to one another. They also found work within the camp, Marina as an architectural assistant and Lilka as a draughtsman, and later on in a herb-gathering party, augmenting their meagre rations with fruit found in the fields.
After barely surviving almost two years in the infamous concentration camp, the two sisters were forced to walk to Breslau in the winter, a 3-day march where many prisoners perished. Lilka only survived due to Marina’s determination and strength of spirit. Soon after their arrival in Breslau, they were sent by cattle-train to Ravensbruck where they found Zosia, before being moved on to Bergen-Belsen where, on April 15, 1945, they were finally liberated by the British Army.
Throughout her ordeal, Lilka sought to escape her daily misery by day-dreaming of the past, her happy childhood, her beloved blind aunt Lucia, as well as her future. The love of her young life, Jerzy, was also in Auschwitz, in the men’s camp. She fantasized about reuniting with Jerzy after the war and their future life together. These fantasies sustained her emotionally and no doubt contributed to her survival.
The book title, The Labyrinth of Dangerous Hours, is a line taken from a poem, one of many that the author was inspired to write by her experiences during WWII. These poems are seamlessly integrated within the narrative, and serve as an emotional conduit into the heart and mind of the author.
The narrative is not chronological, and often the account of their experiences in Auschwitz is interrupted by flashbacks to the times before the war, when Lilka and her sisters and friends were still happy and free. The transitions are well handled, and perfectly placed, as when a certain person appears in the camp, someone whose history and relationship to the sisters need to be explored and explained.
The poems are all beautifully written, many infused with characters from Greek mythology. Even though some deal with war-time atrocities, hope and beauty somehow prevail, filtered through Lilka’s innocent young eyes and mind. Throughout their horrendous ordeal, the sisters’ bond held them together, both in body and in spirit. Their survival is a testament to their love and devotion to one another, and the triumph of innocence, dignity, and inner beauty over the unspeakable atrocities and depravities perpetrated by human beings upon each other in the name of war.
The Labyrinth of Dangerous Hours is a chronicle of a young girl’s living nightmare as she takes on the part of Ariadne, trying to find her way out of ‘this labyrinth of dangerous hours’ that were the years of horror during WWII.
Here is an excerpt from one of the many poems:
Dark years, take me.
Lead me in
and out of months full of passion,
nights streaked with terror,
days filled with hope.
Here’s another, written after the war was over, when Lilka and her sisters were able to continue their education in Italy:
Take me back
soft sienna of Assisi churches,
Palm Sunday bells of Gubbio,
warm nights on the sea
where fireflies’ elusive brilliance
competed with the stars
and stars—liquid jewels
Skipped on jet-black waves.
The author (who now lives in Canada) closes with a poem in honour of her beloved Jerzy; an excerpt recalls his last words to her in the camp of Auschwitz:
I brought [our love] to the other shore of an ocean
where I’ve pitied the sun the moon the stars
that shone on the world without you
…
I unpetal stars for you
they know your mystery
where and when it was
and under what skies
you felt your last heartbeat
as you whispered
I love you I love you I love you
these words breathed life into me…
*I met the author, Lilka Trzcinska-Croydon, at the CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind) where I volunteer several hours a week in the basement studio, transcribing printed books into audio-CDs. She had come to record her own book, and told me a little of what it was about. Fascinated by this gracious, unassuming yet dignified elderly lady and her story, I went home and ordered a copy of her book. Fortunately for me, the book arrived in time for me to ask her for an autograph on her last day at the studio. She had finished her last recording and the staff had come to shake her hand and bid farewell. She asked for my name and good-naturedly signed my copy, apologizing for her shaky handwriting. She's in her 80's now, and one of the last survivors of the Holocaust. I felt honoured just to be in her presence.*
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
jc_hall
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Member: JC Hall
Location: Toronto, Canada
Reviews written: 199
Trusted by: 54 members
About Me:
Going back to Vancouver for Christmas! Happy Holidays, everyone!!
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