Hidden Gold: A True Story of the Holocaust
This is the story of the Gold family’s suffering in Nazi-occupied Poland. It is a first-hand account, as Burakowski is the daughter of one of the surviving members of the family, which allows for a unique perspective – though it’s not always used to its best advantage.
The Golds are an affluent, influential Jewish family in the Polish town of Pinczow. Hana and Leib and their children – Shoshana, Esther, and the youngest child, David – seem close, naïve, and ostensibly prepared as the Germans invade and occupy their city, rounding up Jews and conveying them to the Treblinka concentration camp. Leib Gold separates from his family to locate a suitable hiding place, and when he doesn’t return, Hana is forced to deal with terrifying situations, mistrust and constant trepidation and panic as she and her family survive two years in hiding.
The story is a remarkable one. It takes the mind where it does not want to go, and where unspeakable things happen based on basic abuse of human rights. However, it disappoints in its stiff, lifeless writing style and an absence of flow throughout the story. This tale deserved more vitality. For 12 plus