Decades after the Nazis annihilated the Jewish community of Tomaszow-Mazowiecki, Poland, comes a gripping eyewitness narrative told through the eyes of one of the youngest survivors of the Holocaust, as well as through first-hand accounts of other Tomaszow survivors. This unique communal memoir and history presents a rare view inside the extinguished society of Eastern European Jewry, before, during, and after World War II. It is both the memoir of a child and of a lost Jewish community, an unvarnished story in which disputes, controversy, and scandal all play a role in capturing the true flavor of life in this lost community.
A history and memoir of Polish Jews
The book’s narrator, Rena Margulies Chernoff, shares her memories of a beautiful childhood, the outbreak of World War II, ghetto life under Nazi occupation, and survival in the infamous Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. Rena was among the very few children to emerge alive from Auschwitz.
The Tailors of Tomaszow is the story of an extinguished Jewish community told through the eyes of those who lived its history, and then survived and thrived to find new life after the Holocaust.
Engaging and highly accessible, The Tailors of Tomaszow is a powerful resource for educators and a compelling read for anyone wishing to gain a deeper, more personal understanding of Eastern European Jewry and the Holocaust.
Praise for The Tailors of Tomaszow
–Wolf Blitzer, CNN Anchor
“…truly an amazing and powerful read. The Tailors of Tomaszow is a critically important work of history.”
Reviews and coverage
Tomaszow-Mazowiecki, Poland
Tomaszow-Mazowiecki is located in Central Poland, 70 miles southwest of Warsaw. Just prior to World War II, approximately 14,000 Jews lived in Tomaszow, about 1/3 of the town's residents. Most of Tomaszow's Jews were killed by the Nazis at the Treblinka death camp. Only 250 of Tomaszow's Jews survived the Holocaust.
A Polish website created by Tomaszowers documenting the town's history
