Description
Oy Mame! Oy Mame! is the story of Holocaust survivor
Abraham Gutreiman and is based on his oral recollections captured during a series of video interviews when he was 90 years old. It includes many stories that he told multiple times over the years to everyone he came across. This time, knowing his end was near, he intended they should be recorded for future generations. The final chapters of this book were recorded later and continue his experiences until his departure from this world aged 95.
Abraham's story beings with his earliest memories as a young Orthodox Jewish boy living in Parysow, located some 50 kilometers southeast of Warsaw, Poland. His family was poor but hard-working. Looking to secure a better future for his family, his father had made a down payment on a house in the nearby town of Garwolin, an act that led to his betrayal and death.
The family, stunned by this tragic loss, were forced to recover through the endeavors of the children until September 1939, when Nazi Germany invaded and occupied the western half of Poland, which included Parysow. A Judenrat and Ghetto were established, leading to the eventual deportation of the region's Jews to the Treblinka death camp in 1942.
During the journey, a fellow deportee used a smuggled hacksaw to cut through the iron bars in the window of the cattle car. People were pushed out of the small opening, many dying from the fall, but Abraham survived and made his way to a house owned by a sympathetic Polish gentile known to the family. After an anxious 9-day wait, his elder brother Yankel (Jacobo) arrived at the house. Due to Yankel's indiscrete behavior in locating the house, the two brothers spent the remainder of the war on the run.
Surviving the war and its immediate aftermath, Abraham met and married Frieda, who understood Yankel would remain with them for some time. The three refugees made their way through Germany, Italy, Brazil to settle for some years in Bolivia before finally reaching Costa Rica. Abraham and Frieda built a family, which included Yankel until his death at the age of 101.
Oy Mame! Oy Mame! explores Abraham's battles with poverty, evil, adversity, and his relationship with God.
Reviews
"I loved the poetry in this book. I learned more of the pain and the resilience of this man Abraham and his family through this indirect method than I would have from many pages of direct description of horrors. I want to meet them in heaven and talk together about our great Creator and Redeemer." Tamara Randolph
"This is a must read for so many reasons. It's a story of survival, it is written so beautifully and artfully. The poetry is haunting and brilliantly interjected throughout. I felt like I was there and yet, I was safe as an observer. Reading this was an all or nothing experience. I read it in one sitting and I was transformed into a witness and a beneficiary of invaluable wisdom. This is a story of survival, loyalty and love. I sent this to my children so they can see the infinite nature of sibling love. Highly recommended." Maine Bound
"I highly recommend this book. Having decided to read it aloud so Steve and I could experience the Holocaust survivor's story together, I choked up early on and could not see the words through my tears. So I read it alone and stopped frequently to weep and reflect along the way. Brothers Abraham and Yankel living and thriving through so many years after suffering unspeakable losses, I found to be inspirational beyond measure. Also I was intrigued to read how differently each brother took his experience forward, into his future. It seems fortuitous to me that the resulting children Chana and Max Gutreiman benefitted from the balance their Father and Uncle together must have contributed to their lives."
MM in Costa Rica
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