In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer [Paperback]

Irene Gut Opdyke was just 17 when the Nazis invaded her native Poland. From that moment she was wrenched away from her family and forced --literally--to run for her life. Eventually, while bearing witness to and falling victim to the brutality of war, she was forced to work as housekeeper to a Nazi officer. It was there that she took her life in her hands and committed the most audacious of acts in the name of humanity: she hid 12 Jewish people in the basement of her Nazi employer's house.

In In My Hands Irene recounts her extraordinary history, leaving no stone unturned as she takes the reader through time from the moment of Nazi invasion to her eventual departure for America. But the most remarkable thing about this book is the matter-of-fact tone in which it is written, which somehow allows readers to observe the events of Irene's life without forcing them to wallow in any kind of sentimentality. And although there is no doubt as to how Irene thought, felt and reacted, readers are required only to observe and draw their own conclusions.

This is by no means an easy read: the effects of war on the lives of ordinary people are surfaced to the point where it is impossible to not feel pain, and although it is ultimately a story of hope and inspiration, the spoils of the human condition are laid bare in a no-holds-barred manner that sometimes takes the breath away.

Jennifer Armstrong, who interpreted Irene's story to form the narrative of In My Hands says: "I was afraid to write this book, to put my self into her past." Irene's past is indeed frightening, and being forced to confront evil in this way is certainly uncomfortable. But if nothing else, it serves as a reminder that there are some things we should never, ever forget. --Susan Harrison

An utterly amazing, true, first-person account of one girl's experience in wartime. Irene Gut Opdyke was a Catholic Polish nursing student when WWII broke out. She soon became mired in the horrors of central Europe as, at various times, a partisan, a refugee, a housekeeper to the Nazis and, over all, as a heroine. She singlehandedly saved the lives of at least 16 Jewish people from the Holocaust.

Now living in America and aged 77, Irene, with the help of a respected historical novelist, has told her story with all the power and passion that such a remarkable history can inspire.

'I knew I could only be killed once... I might as well be hanged for a sheep as for a lamb.'

Irene was a seventeen-year-old nursing student when the Nazis invaded Poland. They took over her country and her life. Nothing in her innocent girlhood could have prepared her for the horrors she was to witness. However, instinctively, Irene knew she had to resist the evil in any way possible. Standing by was not an option. Eventually forced to work as a housekeeper to a Nazi officer, Irene carried out her most audacious and heroic act. She hid twelve Jewish people in the basement of the officer's villa and protected them even through the loss of her own freedom, and at the risk of her life.

An utterly remarkable true story of one young woman's courage and humanity, which will fascinate and inspire readers of all ages.

Irene Gut Opdyke has spoken to hundreds of school, church and other community groups about her momentous wartime experiences. She has been honoured in both the US and in Israel, at the Avenue of the Righteous Gentiles in the Holocaust Memorial Yad Vashem. She has now collected her memories together in this autobiography of her girlhood, with the help of a respected American novelist.

Author lives: USA