Rena's Promise cover art

Rena's Promise

A Story of Sisters in Auschwitz

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Rena's Promise

By: Rena Kornreich Gelissen, Heather Dune Macadam
Narrated by: Heather Dune Macadam
Try Premium Plus free

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $25.99

Buy Now for $25.99

About this listen

"I do not hate. To hate is to let Hitler win." - Rena Kornreich Gelissen.

On March 26, 1942, the first mass transport of Jews - 999 young women - arrived in Auschwitz. Among them was Rena Kornreich, the 716th woman numbered in camp. A few days later, her sister Danka arrives and so begins a trial of love and courage that will last three years and 41 days, from the beginning Auschwitz death camp to the end of the war.

Rena's Promise stands out from other memoirs not only for the mere length of time she spent in the camps (no other survivor from the first transport has ever written about her experience) but for her dedication to honoring the bonds between mothers, daughters, and sisters, prisoners, and even guards. From her escape from Dr. Mengele's experiment detail to her surreal meetings with SS woman Irma Grese, Rena tells a dynamic tale of courage and compassion that reminds us of the resiliency of the human spirit, and the power of people to help one another in unimaginable circumstances, be they Gentile or Jew, German or Pole, kapo or prisoner.

©1994 Heather Dune Macadan and Rena Kornreich Gelissen (P)2013 Heather Dune Macadam and Rena Kornreich Gelissen 20th Century Americas Europe Historical Jewish Heritage Military Modern United States Women War Survival
All stars
Most relevant  
I am lucky to work from home as I could not press stop! Aghhhr my heart!

Beautiful and heart breaking

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The love of a blood relative, two sisters, to survive is incredible for over three years in these death camps when so many others fell. This is a remarkable story that had to be told. The research and footnotes add so much weight to the story. Highly recommended.

The will to survive is incredible and the love of Rena and her sister to do it together!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Good story. Not as amazing as The Nine Hundred but still good. Narrator was good for the most part but unsure if she repeated the sentences or it wasn't edited right. Only happened a few times and didn't take you out of the book to much. Definitely worth the listen.

Good compelling story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.