About the Book
The incredible true story of one of the youngest survivors of Auschwitz—an accessible, inspirational Holocaust memoir for middle-grade readers.
In 1945, in a now-famous piece of archival footage, four-year-old Michael Bornstein was filmed by Soviet soldiers being led out of Auschwitz in his grandmother’s arms. Here is the unforgettable story of how a father’s courageous wit, a mother’s fierce love, and one perfectly timed illness saved his life. And this is not just Michael’s story, but the story of a family that dodged and deceived death time and again with incredible deftness. Working from his own recollections as well as extensive interviews with other family members and survivors who knew the family, Michael relates his inspirational story with the help of his daughter, Debbie Bornstein Holinstat. Shocking, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting, this is an indelible depiction of what happened in one Polish village in the wake of the German invasion in 1939.
Survivors Club goes on sale March 7, 2017
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Michael Bornstein survived for seven months inside Auschwitz, where the average lifespan of a child was just two weeks. After the war, Michael reunited with his mother, who had been deported to an Austrian labor camp. Together, they immigrated to New York City in 1951. Michael earned his Ph.D. and worked in pharmaceutical research and development for more than forty years. Now retired, Michael lives with his wife in New York City and in New Jersey, and visits middle schools and high schools in the tri-state area, telling of his experiences in the Holocaust.
Debbie Bornstein Holinstat is Michael Bornstein’s third of four children. A producer for NBC and MSNBC News, she lives in North Caldwell, New Jersey. She also visits schools with her father, and has been working with him for two years, helping him research and write his memoir, Survivor's Club, although she has grown up hearing many of the stories in the book her entire life.
© 2016 Macmillan Publishers