Ann S. Epstein writes novels, short stories, memoir, essays, and poems. Please use the links or site menu to go to the HOME PAGE; learn about her NOVELS, SHORT STORIES, MEMOIR, ESSAYS, and POEMS; find interesting facts in BEHIND THE STORY; read REFLECTIONS on writing; check NEWS for updates on publications and related events; see REVIEWS; learn about her END-OF-LIFE DOULA credentials and services; and CONTACT US to send webmail.
“As a child, I survived the Holocaust in Poland and was adopted by an Israeli couple, who knew only that I’d been found near a railroad station. I didn’t look for my biological family until 1996.” Read about two Holocaust survivors, German Jewish newlyweds sent to America by their parents to have children to “save our people,” in One Person’s Loss. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.
“Each day, when I returned to camp from a work detail in the cement factory or on the railroad, I was sprayed with so-called bug poison, the likely reason I later had chronic skin cancer.” Read about two Holocaust survivors, German Jewish newlyweds sent to America by their parents to have children to “save our people,” in One Person’s Loss. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.
“Many people, desperate to end it all, chose to ‘touch the wire.’ They lay there dead, electrocuted, looking beautiful. When my sister and I got scarlet fever. and were selected to go to the gas chamber, we wanted to ‘touch the wire.’ We were almost there when our block leader pulled us back so we could continue to work for her.” Read about two Holocaust survivors, German Jewish newlyweds sent to America by their parents to have children to “save our people,” in One Person’s Loss. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.
“On my 17th birthday, I was transported to Auschwitz. When the selection officer asked how old I was, I stood on tiptoe and lied that I was 19. He let me join my brother, age 20, who was already with the workers.” Read about two Holocaust survivors, German Jewish newlyweds sent to America by their parents to have children to “save our people,” in One Person’s Loss. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.
“‘When will I see my mother?’ one woman asked Dr. Mengele. ‘In a few weeks,’ he answered pleasantly. ‘When will I see my little girl?’ another asked and got the same answer. We almost believed him. He looked so elegant and civilized, like a God. He really meant we’d see our loved ones in a few weeks, going up to heaven in smoke from the crematorium.” Read about two Holocaust survivors, German Jewish newlyweds sent to America by their parents to have children to “save our people,” in One Person’s Loss. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.
“After Germany occupied northern Italy, my father, his friends, and I fled to the mountains to cross the Alps into Switzerland. A guide, descended from famous mountaineers, helped us across a steep rock face. Then he stopped, pointed straight ahead at a glacier, and said, ‘That’s the border. I can’t go farther. Now you must go alone.’” Read about two Holocaust survivors, German Jewish newlyweds sent to America by their parents to have children to “save our people,” in One Person’s Loss. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.
“The summer I turned 13, I was sent to a labor camp. We were dressed in furs, boots, hats, and gloves — confiscated from Jewish victims — and made to run for hours. A cross-eyed SS man punished us if we stopped. In winter, we had only a thin rag dress to wear.” Read about two Holocaust survivors, German Jewish newlyweds sent to America by their parents to have children to “save our people,” in One Person’s Loss. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.
“We were herded onto boxcars bearing a Nazi sign “Räder müssen rollen für den Sieg” (Rails Must Roll for the Victory). Our trip, typically 10 hours, took three days because Slovenian partisans destroyed the tracks at junctions in Austria.” Read about two Holocaust survivors, German Jewish newlyweds sent to America by their parents to have children to “save our people,” in One Person’s Loss. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.
“My sister was ill and weak. I told her, ‘You must try to walk, you must.’ I stood her up and put one foot in front of the other, twice a day, until she was able to walk on her own again. To this day, she swears that without me, she wouldn’t have survived.” Read about two Holocaust survivors, German Jewish newlyweds sent to America by their parents to have children to “save our people,” in One Person’s Loss. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.
“When asked our line of work, I answered carpenter; my father replied bricklayer. Carpenters were transferred to another camp. My father told me, ‘Though I must stay here, you have an obligation to go and save yourself.’ I never saw him again.” Read about two Holocaust survivors, German Jewish newlyweds sent to America by their parents to have children to “save our people,” in One Person’s Loss. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.
