INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER One of the oldest living Holocaust survivors recounts her family’s imprisonment at Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen—and the extraordinary bond with her mother that ultimately saved her life—in this moving memoir of love, loss, courage, and hope.“I only survived because of my mother's love.” When German soldiers invaded Poland in September 1939, a six-year journey began for then ten-year-old Renee Salt and her mother, Sala. Until their liberation in 1945, Renee and Sala were imprisoned in ghettos and concentration camps, including Auschwitz-Birkenau and Bergen-Belsen. The only light in the darkness and brutality for Renee was the unwavering grasp of her mother’s hand in hers—enduring, against all odds. It was this unbreakable bond, along with a few miracles, that kept Renee alive. Sala’s staggering courage to defy the will of SS guards saved both her and her daughter from the gas chambers, and the pair survived the deadliest days in Auschwitz’s history. After suffering the nightmarish conditions at Bergen-Belsen, Renee and her mother were liberated in April 1945. To this day, Renee attributes her survival to the love and bravery of her beloved mother. Do Not Cry When I Die is an incredibly moving and deeply crucial book that tells the shocking story of one of the oldest Auschwitz-Birkenau and Bergen-Belsen survivors—and the mother’s love that saved her life.
