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Tenuous Threads/One of the Lucky Ones

Two Jewish girls born six months apart — Judit Grünfeld (Judy Abrams) in Hungary and Eva Felsenburg (Marx) in Czechoslovakia — are only children when they are thrown into the turmoil and terror of World War II. At seven, Judy’s mother leaves her at a convent where she must adopt a new Christian identity. Eva is first sent away at two, then again at six, in disguise and tearful. Separated from their parents, forced to “pass” as Christian children, coping with dangers they barely understand, these evocative and lyrical memoirs describe childhoods irrevocably marked by the Holocaust. Tenuous Threads and One of the Lucky Ones tell us the parallel but unique stories of two children who were able to survive when so many others perished.

Introduction by Mia Spiro

At a Glance
Judy Abrams:
Hungary
Hidden child
Passing/false identity
Arrived in Canada in 1949
Adjusting to life in Canada
Educational materials available: Hidden Children
Judy Abrams Activity
Eva Felsenburg Marx:
Czechoslovakia; Slovakia
Hiding
Passing/false identity
Arrived in Canada in 1949
Adjusting to life in Canada

224 pages, including index

Recommended Ages
11+
Language
English

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Photo of Judy Abrams

About the author

Judy Abrams, born in Budapest, Hungary, on April 28, 1937, immigrated to Montreal in 1949 and later taught French at the UN International School in New York City. Judy and her husband live in Montreal.

Explore this story in Re:Collection

Photo of Eva Felsenburg Marx

About the author

Eva Marx was born in Brno, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic), on October 21, 1937. She immigrated to Montreal in 1949, where she became an elementary school teacher. Eva Marx lives in Montreal.

I had always liked to play make-believe, but somehow they made me understand that this game was real. I never gave away my secret.