Daring to Hope

When Rachel and her husband, Avrumeh, escape from the Siemiatycze ghetto in Poland one cold winter night in 1942 with their four-year-old daughter, Chana, they are desperate for refuge. Turned away by their closest friends, they are forced to wander the countryside looking for places to hide and asking for help from strangers and acquaintances. For close to two years, every day is filled with uncertainty for them and for the courageous farmers who eventually hide them. Throughout, young Chana is fiercely protected by her parents, who teach her not to cry, not to even make a sound. After liberation, Chana’s childhood truly begins, and decades later, she finally has the opportunity to honour those who res­cued her family. Told from the perspective of both mother and daughter, Daring to Hope reflects on the darkness of wartime and the love that held a family together.

Introduction by Barbara Engelking

At a Glance
Poland
Ghetto
Hiding
Postwar Italy, displaced persons camp
Arrived in Canada in 1948
Adjusting to life in Canada
Arrived in Israel in 1972 (Chana) and 1985 (Rachel)
Adjusting to life in Israel

248 pages, including index

Recommended Ages
14+
Language
English

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Photo of Chana Broder

About the author

Chana Broder was born in Siemiatycze, Poland, in 1938. After the war, she lived in a displaced persons camp in Italy before immigrating to Montreal in 1948. In Montreal, she continued her education, married and raised a family. In 1972, Chana and her family moved to Israel, where Chana became an ESL teacher. In 2013, she reunited with the descendants of her wartime rescuers and had them recognized as Righteous Among the Nations. Chana lives in Israel.

Photo of Rachel Lisogurski

About the author

Rachel Lisogurski was born in Grodzisk, Poland, in 1911. After the war, she and her family lived in a displaced per­sons camp in Italy before immigrating to Montreal in 1948. Rachel first wrote her memoir in 1967 as a way to improve her English. In 1985, she moved to Israel to join her daughter and family there. Rachel Lisogurski passed away in Israel in 1998.

I often wonder now how I could even have thought of running away. Where did I get my faith in the future?