Clara's War: One Girl's Story of Survival

This true story of Clara and her family, along with other Jewish families, is one to be remembered . The terror and hardships of living in a 4-foot tall underground bunker for 18 months during WWII—starved, dehydrated, dirty, diseased—while Nazi soldiers and trainmen lived in the house above along with the family who hid and protected them is almost unbelievable. But it is true. Heartless murderers contrast sharply with the courage of the Beck family who put their own lives in jeopardy to save 18 human beings. A must read!

I have read many Holocaust memoirs but this is definitely amongst the best. I was totally absorbed in this book from the first page and devoured it in 2 days. Clara and the 17 other Jews' (who hid in the bunker under the Beck home) ordeal is vividly described over the course of the book in the most minuscule detail so that you cannot but be transported there with them. I honestly cannot imagine how these Jews survived in that hole in the ground, amidst such terrible fear and deprivation, for as long as they did. It is truly remarkable.I have read some criticism of the book online regarding inconsistencies in the story e.g. over the mother selling her wedding ring in the first chapter as a ransom for the community leader's freedom and later to pay for food in the bunker. That doesn't really worry me. What I did feel was missing in the book was what became of the "bunker" inhabitants after their freedom. The author summarized the post bunker lives in very few pages which left me feeling let down and disappointed. I understand that perhaps the author only wanted to write about the period of captivity in that it echoed her diaries - but I was so engaged with the story and the key figures that I hungered to know what became of them. Most importantly - I wanted to know the psychological after effects of their captivity. The details of their experiences going to Israel and going to the USA made everything sound so normal. Clara got married, they opened a luncheonette, they had kids etc...What of her parents? No mention is made of them or what happened to them? What became of the Melmans and the Patrontrach families? Did they ever hear from the cold-hearted pharmacist and his wife again? How did the two children, Zosia and Zygbush cope after the war for surely they were the most scarred of all? And though we heard something about the Becks, it was not much at all.I felt I had grown to know all these people intimately and I was let down not knowing what became of them and how they coped after leaving Poland.Despite my disappointment with the end of the book - I highly recommend this memoir as one of the best I've read in this genre.

This was a great book and a fast read. I can't imagine being Clara's age and living in an underground bunker for 18months with 17 other human beings. After all that's what is so stark and surreal about this book at times.... These were human beings that were having to live in deplorable conditions to survive. They dependedon someone else for all of the basic human needs for 18 months, all the while with the realization that they could be killed any day. I can't imagine living as theydid for that long, not being able to walk upright, not being able to walk around,breathe fresh air, see sunlight, bathe when I am dirty or the simple act of goingto the restroom when I needed. They went days without food or water. I am a medical missionary and I have seen some horrible living conditions and starvationand I think this book rates right up there with what I have seen. I visited awoman's prison camp a couple of years ago that was in an old concentration campstill with the razor wire around the top, the guards with the rifles and thebig german shepards lunging at us when ever they came close. It was an eeriefeeling handing over my passport to be able to go in and minister to these prisoners. I wasn't able to take a deep breathe of air until we walked out ofthe prison 10hrs. later with my passport in my hand and in the car back to town.I kept thinking of all the people that had come through that camp at one time oranother. I am glad I read this book, it flowed very well together and I did not want to put it down once I started reading. I also can't believe the house and thebunker were still there when Clara went back in 2005.

Most of us are familiar with Anne Frank’s diary and I certainly wouldn’t take anything away from what those people endured. True, Anne lost her life and this little girl didn’t but the conditions in which she lived were deplorable. Imagine not being able to stand up for eighteen months, in a dirt hole with eighteen other people. Stuck in a dugout space under a house, they had to rely on one German couple and their daughter to take care of all their food and needs. Meanwhile, Nazi soldiers, high commanders, and other German neighbors lived, danced and had parties right above the Jewish people’s heads. If you read this amazing account you will be ashamed to think of the petty inconveniences that we gripe about today. This book certainly puts things in perspective. A great read.

not sure how i feel about as 1 reviewer said readin a book u know is going to be sad but well written and dies give a nother side of things