Stories of Hope from Auschwitz by Petra Stevenson

Stories of Hope From Auschwitz

by Petra Stevenson

Stories of Hope From Auschwitz was published on 26th March 2026 by Summersdale.

Thankyou to Random Things Tours for inviting me onto the tour.

About the Book

An uplifting collection of real-life stories of the rebels, resistance fighters, saboteurs, escapees and survivors who held on to hope through the horrors of the Holocaust When Auschwitz was liberated in 1945, after the horror of one of history's greatest atrocities, the world rejoiced. Although seven thousand people had survived this ordeal, the camp had also been witness to countless others who had resisted, sabotaged and even escaped from their captors. Some fought for their freedom or against injustice, and others disrupted Nazi operations. Then there were those who found ways to hold on to hope and positivity and spread it to their fellow inmates - a source of light in one of the world's darkest places. Stories of Hope from Auschwitz celebrates those heroes of Auschwitz, telling the inspiring true stories of the ordinary prisoners who became symbols of hope and defiance. At turns touching and uplifting, these stories show the best of humankind and are testament to the incredible resilience and bravery that shines through even in the toughest times. While naturally dealing with a sombre topic, this book reminds us that there was still hope among the horrors of Auschwitz. “And these are stories we must continue to tell, to remind ourselves not only of the evil in humans, but of the good, and to remind ourselves that good can triumph, but only if it is treasured, nurtured and made real. Hope is the engine of this.”

My Thoughts

 

This is not an easy read and it is one that must not be rushed as each true story deserves the time to be thought about . Each survivor has a story of hope, love, defiance and above all else survival which is important to remember as you read the short accounts of what they went through and what they did to help others where they could as well as ensure that they either escaped or were freed at the end.

The vast majority of the stories are only very short, and that is all that is needed  as each one is powerful in its own right. Each sentence enables you to understand what each of them went through in order to survive and in some cases the effect it had.

I cannot say much more about the book and the stories as each reader will , quite rightly, take away their own thoughts to think about.

I totally agree that this is a book that needs publishing as we have all learnt about the horrors that took place , however we also need to know about the stories of the rebels, resistance fighters, escapees and survivors who lived to tell their stories.