Born in 1881 in New York City, Gemma La Guardia Gluck was the daughter of Italian immigrants, a mother of prestigious Italian Jewish lineage and a father who became a U.S. army bandleader. She was the sister of beloved New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia. Gemma and her Hungarian Jewish husband were living in Budapest in 1944 when Nazi troops stormed the city. Eichmann and Himmler ordered her arrest as a political hostage because she was La Guardia's sister. Gluck recounts the plight of Budapest's Jews, deportation to ...
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Born in 1881 in New York City, Gemma La Guardia Gluck was the daughter of Italian immigrants, a mother of prestigious Italian Jewish lineage and a father who became a U.S. army bandleader. She was the sister of beloved New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia. Gemma and her Hungarian Jewish husband were living in Budapest in 1944 when Nazi troops stormed the city. Eichmann and Himmler ordered her arrest as a political hostage because she was La Guardia's sister. Gluck recounts the plight of Budapest's Jews, deportation to Mauthausen with her husband, imprisonment at the notorious Ravensbriick women's concentration camp, and difficulties as a displaced person in postwar Berlin. With compassion and sensitivity she chronicles unspeakable evil, kindness at great risk, and courage among women in a prefeminist world. She also recalls her girlhood years spent in the Old West, native Americans befriended by her mother, her family's return to Europe, and her brother's ambitions and rise to success. Gemma's memoir is a story of a wise and strong woman who remained optimistic and resourceful, even when life was much less than fair. Her story, first published in 1961, has been out of print for decades. This revised edition contains a new prologue, epilogue, photos, annotated material, and recently discovered letters between Gemma and Fiorello.
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Seller's Description:
Good-Bumped and creased book with tears to the extremities, but not affecting the text block, may have remainder mark or previous owner's name-GOOD Very Good-Crisp, clean, unread book with some shelfwear/edgewear, may have a remainder mark-NICE PAPERBACK Standard-sized.
This memoir is unique in the sense that it chronicles the experiences of an American-born woman in the Nazi camp of Ravensbruck. It also should be noted that Gemma La Guardia was also the sister of Fiorello La Guardia, a former Mayor of New York City. Through unforeseen circumstances, Gemma is sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp, and her memoir recounts her life in the camp. Her memoir also discusses other pertinent issues of the time ,such as immigration into the US in the 1880s. All in all, this is an insightful look at the past and highly readable.