A Lucky Child: A Memoir of Surviving Auschwitz as a Young Boy

Thomas Buergenthal

Apr 2009 · Sold by Little, Brown Spark

About this ebook

Thomas Buergenthal, now a Judge in the International Court of Justice in The Hague, tells his astonishing experiences as a young boy in his memoir A Lucky Child. He arrived at Auschwitz at age 10 after surviving two ghettos and a labor camp. Separated first from his mother and then his father, Buergenthal managed by his wits and some remarkable strokes of luck to survive on his own. Almost two years after his liberation, Buergenthal was miraculously reunited with his mother and in 1951 arrived in the U.S. to start a new life.

Now dedicated to helping those subjected to tyranny throughout the world, Buergenthal writes his story with a simple clarity that highlights the stark details of unimaginable hardship. A Lucky Child is a book that demands to be read by all.

Ratings and reviews

This little boy didn't only miraculously survive the Polish Ghettos; his journey is important history for his traveling account of experiences through labor camps and finally Auschwitz from which his liberation was rejoiced and rewarded in military honor by a wonderful Polish army. Readers will learn not only from Thomas but because of his courageous determined character; from his unusually gifted parents and other kind hearted people. I will read this book again and frame his face that says a 1,000 words.

Today, as in right now there is persecution going on. Our Muslim friends and family as well with our Latino friends and family are being singled out and not welcome in "The Land of the Free". This book opens your mind to the horrors of his Honor Thomas Buergenthal's childhood. It's ultimately his tale of survival that teaches us, hate and anger destroys all in its path. Very educational and enlightening.

This book was very good and so very sad. It is hard to believe that someone could survive hell on earth and still want to help others.

About the author

Considered one of the world's leading international human rights law experts, Thomas Buergenthal served as a judge at the International Court of Justice and prior thereto as judge and president of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. He is the Lobingier Professor of Comparative Law & Jurisprudence at the George Washington University Law School, and the recipient of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's 2015 Elie Wiesel Award.