Lovers find each other in Auschwitz

LOVERS IN AUSCHWITZ
Keren Blankfeld
Penguin Random House
 

Much has been written about Auschwitz, the Nazi death camp, and this book delivers up horrendous details on page after page.

The lovers in Auschwitz were Zippi Spitzer and David Wisnia who, protected by their fellow inmates and favoured by sheer luck, were able to indulge in a love affair.

At war’s end, the two lovers were separated. Many years passed.

But remarkably, more than 70 years later, they met up again.

If Zippi had become pregnant in Auschwitz, the repercussions would have been catastrophic. The lovers did everything they could to avoid a pregnancy, but their methods were far from foolproof.

Babies born in Auschwitz were often poisoned, drowned or gassed. Some blond-haired, blue-eyed children — the lucky ones — were sent away for "Germanisation".

One critic has described this book as a story of hope in one of humanity’s most hopeless places.

By Clarke Issacs