Rescued from the Ashes

The Diary of Leokadia Schmidt, Survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto

By: Leokadia Schmidt, Oscar E. Swan - translator

Narrated by: Rebecca Gibel

The diary of a young Jewish housewife who, together with her husband and five-month-old baby, fled the Warsaw ghetto at the last possible moment, and survived the Holocaust hidden on the "Aryan" side of town in the loft of a run-down tinsmith's shed.

Rescued from the Ashes documents the incredible life story of Leokadia Schmidt and her small family and their daily struggle to survive the Warsaw Ghetto. Her memoir brings to life the vilest and most righteous qualities that people are capable of as she depicts the horrific living conditions in the ghetto and her family's harrowing escapes from the Nazi furnaces.

©2018 Heirs of Leokadia Schmidt (P)2022 Tantor

Heartbreaking story

I had this as an audio book and stopped at about chapter 9. Although I was interested in the story I could not listen any longer. Being read by a woman with a solid American accent took away from the story.

I think I heard “my husband” 500 times!!
Give the husband a name. It was annoying.

Great Story and Good Narrating.

I enjoyed this story and the narrating immensely. Sometimes narrators can ruin the story with their intonations or syllable emphasis. But this narrator did not disappoint. And the story was interesting.

The story is captivating

The narration wasn't good and made it hard to listen to the book especially in the beginning. The story is captivating and detailed. It's really sad for human life to be lost in unnecessary war.

The determination of the characters

WAY TOOooo MUCH descriptions of the street names and addresses. What does a ST Name have to do with the ability to buy a needed food? Also I grew tired of her always saying “My husband” instead of just speaking his name! Her reading as a cadence that always ended on a slight up note and had not much Polish accent until she spoke the names of a street or a business and then ‘over exaggerated’ the polish pronunciation. Not my favorite book regarding the plight of the Jewish people during the war! Listen to another author and stay away from this reader!

Amazing details

I have listened to many accounts of the Holocaust and this is the most detailed account by survivors of the horrific experience during the war in Poland.