When Josef Zelkowicz was deported to Auschwitz in August 1944, the rich amount of research and copious notes that he took with him disappeared, but 27 notebooks remained behind in the Lodz Ghetto. Yiddishist, researcher, chronicler – his work is documentary and expressive. His personal diary and the variety of articles that he wrote reflected the diversity and richness of his writings under conditions of extreme physical deprivation.

“Deeply emotional short stories describe ‘what the eyes saw and the ears heard’ but mainly what the heart took in during the daily visits to apartments in the ghetto… As a survivor, I have read many testimonies and memoirs, but nothing like this… Highly recommended for teachers and educators, put this book in school libraries, and read selections out loud on Holocaust Remembrance Day in the schools…” [Yisrael Lichtenberg, Moreshet, May 2000]