Clara Kramer
Author of Clara's War
About the Author
Clara Kramer is the daughter of a Jewish factory owner who wrote the book Clara's War: One Girl's Story of Survival. The story is her rmemoir about the outbreak of war in Europe in 1939. It tells of how her hometown of Zolkiew is initially in the Russian occupied part of Poland and how she show more witnesses several friends and family being killed or deported by the Soviets. When the Russians switch sides and join with the Allies following Germany's invasion of Soviet Union, the Red Army retreats, and the town is occupied by the Nazis. Jews are stripped of their assets and told to relocate to the ghetto, but having heard stories of the treatment of Jews by the Nazis, Clara's family and some friends make the decision to go into hiding. With the help of Valentin Beck, an ethnic German, and his family, Clara, her family and others are hidden in a purpose-built bunker under Melman's house [ who also share the bunker with Clara's family] , which is no larger than a horse stall. Clara's mother urges her to begin writing a diary so that if they do not survive the war, the world will know what happened to them. This became her memoir - Clara's War: One Girl's Story of Survuval. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Works by Clara Kramer
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1927
- Gender
- female
- Occupations
- memoirist
Holocaust survivor - Short biography
- Clara Kramer, née Schwarz, was a teenager in Zolkiew, Poland, where her Polish Jewish family owned a factory, when the Soviets occupied Galicia, her part of the country, in 1939. They killed or deported to forced labor some of her friends and family members. The Nazis invaded in World War II in 1942 and forced the Jewish residents into a ghetto. Clara's family and their friends decided to go into hiding.With the help of Valentin Beck, an ethnic German, Clara, her family and others (up to 18 people) are hidden in an underground bunker under a house in the town of Zhovkva. Her mother urged her to keep a diary so that if they did not survive the war, there would be a record of what had happened to them. All but one of those in the bunker survived to be liberated by the Red Army. After the war, Clara spent four years in a displaced persons camp, where she met her future husband, Sol Kramer. They married and moved to Israel, where their two sons were born. In 1957, the family emigrated to the USA, settling in Brooklyn, New York and then Elizabeth, New Jersey. She became a founder of the Holocaust Resource Center at Kean University. Her memoir based on the diary, written with Stephen Glantz, Clara's War: One Girl's Story of Survival, was published in 2009.
- Nationality
- Poland
USA - Birthplace
- Zolkiew, Poland
- Places of residence
- Zolkiew, Poland
Elizabeth, New Jersey, USA
Brooklyn, New York, USA - Associated Place (for map)
- USA
Members
Reviews
I loved this book. It was an amazing account of this woman, her family, her community, and what happened during the Holocaust in her area.
At the beginning of the book is a family free and a floor plan of the hiding place. Both were very helpful and I frequently referred to both of them. There were a few pages in a bunch more toward the back of the book than the front of black and white photos of Clara, and some of the people important in her life. I wish there had been more but appreciated show more the ones included.
This story worked so well. It was the best kind of collaboration, written by a man, but using a girl’s diary and the story that grown woman relates to him. He used her input and often her words, and it works beautifully.
The immediacy of the story makes things feel so clear and so incredibly suspenseful. It might be the best non-fiction account I’ve read about Jews hiding from the Nazis.
While the family tree informs the reader of who lives and who dies during the Nazi occupation, I felt great tension not knowing details of what would happen and how re the lives/deaths of non-family members too.
Every single one of the people in this book is fascinating and it made reading Clara’s story completely riveting. Even without the Holocaust or other extreme times, this would have been an interesting looks into this family and their community.
It was such a grueling read that I was very glad there was some humor at times.
I did envy the extremely close extended families and the close neighbors/community, while it lasted.
I love how much Clara loved books and reading so much.
I was impressed that even the youngest children knew what was going on and what grave danger they were in.
I thought it was amazing that these people had such a strong will to survive. I guess I can understand it because of some of them having children to try to protect, but honestly the conditions and uncertainty were so terrible, I don’t think it would have been worth it to me sans children, and the strong family ties and community ties and their faith did help.
I had to read yet another moldy musty library copy but it was worth it.
Highly recommended to any reader interested in reading this type of book. show less
At the beginning of the book is a family free and a floor plan of the hiding place. Both were very helpful and I frequently referred to both of them. There were a few pages in a bunch more toward the back of the book than the front of black and white photos of Clara, and some of the people important in her life. I wish there had been more but appreciated show more the ones included.
This story worked so well. It was the best kind of collaboration, written by a man, but using a girl’s diary and the story that grown woman relates to him. He used her input and often her words, and it works beautifully.
The immediacy of the story makes things feel so clear and so incredibly suspenseful. It might be the best non-fiction account I’ve read about Jews hiding from the Nazis.
While the family tree informs the reader of who lives and who dies during the Nazi occupation, I felt great tension not knowing details of what would happen and how re the lives/deaths of non-family members too.
Every single one of the people in this book is fascinating and it made reading Clara’s story completely riveting. Even without the Holocaust or other extreme times, this would have been an interesting looks into this family and their community.
It was such a grueling read that I was very glad there was some humor at times.
I did envy the extremely close extended families and the close neighbors/community, while it lasted.
I love how much Clara loved books and reading so much.
I was impressed that even the youngest children knew what was going on and what grave danger they were in.
I thought it was amazing that these people had such a strong will to survive. I guess I can understand it because of some of them having children to try to protect, but honestly the conditions and uncertainty were so terrible, I don’t think it would have been worth it to me sans children, and the strong family ties and community ties and their faith did help.
I had to read yet another moldy musty library copy but it was worth it.
Highly recommended to any reader interested in reading this type of book. show less
I ofte question why I read so many memoirs by Holocaust survivors; I'm not longer ensconced in the academic world (therefore no longer required to read books that are often depressing and intellectual), my family has been out of Europe since the late 1800s (and therefore not involved in the War efforts), and we're not at all Jewish (at least not to my knowledge). But in reading this story of a family's miraculous survival I finally found my answer laid out in front of me; I read for the same show more reason that Clara wrote hre diary in the first place: for her story (and that of her people) to be remembered and for these attrocities to never happen again. Of course other racial genocides occured after the Holocaust (most memorably in Sarajevo and Rwanda), but eventually the message of the survivors must sink in that we must all learn to get along on a global and multi-ethnic scale. show less
I try to read as much Holocaust literature as I can, especially diaries and first-person accounts of those alive at the time, so I looked forward to this book immensely. I was not disappointed. This is the story of Clara Schwarz, a Polish Jew, one of 5000 Jews in the town of Zolkiew at the time of the Nazi invasion of Poland. Clara was hidden by a Polish couple in a bunker with 17 other Jews, and because of their bravery she lived to tell her story.
What I enjoyed most was seeing how the show more families that were hidden together and the family that hid them truly became bonded to each other not only during the Holocaust but throughout the remainder of their lives. I enjoyed Clara's portrayal of Beck, the man who not only hid 18 Jews, but remained behind in Zolkiew at great risk to his family's safety rather than abandon these 18 Jews. Clara idolizes beck, but even as a young teen is able to distinguish that while he is an amazing and generous man as a rescuer, he is a far different person as a husband and father.
I found this story especially touching because the author familiarizes the reader with the names of so many loved ones who perished in the Holocaust. While many tomes refer to the 6 million, or in this case, the 5000 Jews in Zolkiew, Clara talks about her Aunts, Uncles, neighbors, and others who are killed. And as in every Holocaust memoir, the brutality and hatred displayed by both German soldiers and citizens alike is hard to understand and endure. When Clara describes hearing a german policeman describe with pride how many Jews he had killed, not knowing that 18 Jews were hidden under the floor beneath him, my stomach clenched for Clara and all Jews in Poland at the time.
I highly recommend this book to all interested in Holocaust memoirs and literature. Clara's diary, which she wrote while in hiding, is part of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum now, and my only regret about this book is that it did not include many more excerpts from her diary. show less
What I enjoyed most was seeing how the show more families that were hidden together and the family that hid them truly became bonded to each other not only during the Holocaust but throughout the remainder of their lives. I enjoyed Clara's portrayal of Beck, the man who not only hid 18 Jews, but remained behind in Zolkiew at great risk to his family's safety rather than abandon these 18 Jews. Clara idolizes beck, but even as a young teen is able to distinguish that while he is an amazing and generous man as a rescuer, he is a far different person as a husband and father.
I found this story especially touching because the author familiarizes the reader with the names of so many loved ones who perished in the Holocaust. While many tomes refer to the 6 million, or in this case, the 5000 Jews in Zolkiew, Clara talks about her Aunts, Uncles, neighbors, and others who are killed. And as in every Holocaust memoir, the brutality and hatred displayed by both German soldiers and citizens alike is hard to understand and endure. When Clara describes hearing a german policeman describe with pride how many Jews he had killed, not knowing that 18 Jews were hidden under the floor beneath him, my stomach clenched for Clara and all Jews in Poland at the time.
I highly recommend this book to all interested in Holocaust memoirs and literature. Clara's diary, which she wrote while in hiding, is part of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum now, and my only regret about this book is that it did not include many more excerpts from her diary. show less
A piece that can stand with other great holocaust literature. Clara describes her life and Polish town a bit before Sept. 1, 1939, but most of the book describes her Jewish family's struggle to survive for the next 6 years. Some members of her family and neighbors end up spending nearly 2 years below the floor of a house. Clara records much of what is going on during this time in a diary, which is the basis for the book. I like the fact that there isn't a lot of "day XX, same as day YY," show more kind of daily descriptions of their horrible situation. She does spend a lot of time discussing her feelings with the reader, and lauding the family who is protecting them, as well as giving us descriptions of the challenges they are facing. Worth reading for anyone interested in the holocaust. show less
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