Carved in Stone: Holocaust Years - A Boy's Tale

The title of this book is taken from Primo Levi's words about survivors of the Holocaust: 'The survivors are divided into two well-defined groups: those who repress their past en bloc, and those whose memory of the offence persists, as though carved in stone.' The memories of Manny Drukier are indelibly inscribed on his mind, and in Carved in Stone he recounts them with honesty and precision. In 1939, at the age of eleven, Drukier was forced by the Nazis to leave his native city of Lodz, in Poland. His narrative, prompted by his first visit back to Poland after fifty years, begins with his childhood, follows him in and out of various hiding places and to the labour camps, and describes his day of liberation and his later emigration to North America. But this is also the story of the day-to-day life of Jews both before and during the war, providing a detailed account of Drukier's friends and family, and their love, wit, and will to survive.

About the Author :
Manny Drukier settled in Toronto in 1948. He was the publisher of the Idler and A la Carte magazines, and his business interests have included manufacturing, importing and real estate. At present he operates the Idler Pub in Toronto.

Review :
"Drukier never presents himself as a hero. He has no time for introspection during the war; the daily search for food is what occupies his thoughts, and the ingenuity he displays in getting an extra portion … is what carries much of the narrative forward. His final moments with his mother and sister, and his father (with whom he was in touch until the elder Drukier’s death from starvation) are numbingly, achingly beautiful. Drukier does not write sentimentally about these things – he simply recounts them, and the effect is almost unbearable." "Seldom have I read a manuscript that has moved me like Manny Drukier’s Carved in Stone: Holocaust Years - A Boy’s Tale." "This account by a successful publisher and businessman should be widely read. It is by a survivor of rare sensitivity who assures us as did Walt Whitman in a different context, "I know, I suffered, I was there."" "He has two stories to tell and does so remarkably well in this book of memoirs. Masterfully, he moves the narrative from the past to the present and back again, incorporating the sad and horrific recollections of the war years with those of his (and his wife Freda’s) travels through Poland in the fall of 1991." `Drukier is sustained by the memory of sustenance, and his ability to feel it so intensely is charming. In fact, the intelligent and restrained way in which he shares his tale gives us a portrait of the survivor as a truly admirable person. He is frank about his suffering without being maudlin, intelligent in his analysis of the social forces at play in Europe, generous with the details that brings his world to life. The superior abilities that enabled him to survive are now put to the task of testimony, and serve him and the reader well.’