September, 1939. The six Zaks siblings watch in silent horror as the Wehrmacht marches int their quiet hometown in southern Poland. Concerned for their survival, Ysirael Zaks leads his wife Haiya and his brothers Wolf and Avraham towards the Russian border. But their escape does not go unhindered; and as they are captured by the invading German forces, they can hear their father's last commandment still echoing behind them: "Never break the family apart. And whatever you do: never, ever leave any of your siblings behind." Thus begins the Zaks family's saga of survival under some of the worst conditions imaginable. Reunions and tragedies follow as the Zaks brothers: Yisrael and his wife Hayia, Volf, Yossef and Avraham, and their sisters Miriam and Batya witness firsthand the horrors of Auschwitz IV, Buchenwald, and Bergen-Belsen, with only each other to protect them from the greatest evils man has ever know.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.