Holocaust survivors narrate personal memoirs in audiobook collection

Ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Jan. 27, a new collection of memoirs is recounting the tragic and heroic tales of Holocaust survivors.

Jody Spiegel, the director of the Holocaust Survivor Memoirs Program at the Azrieli Foundation, says sharing the stories of survivors helps to honour the legacies of those who died. 

“Our hope is that people recognize that the Holocaust is not just one story,” said Spiegel. “We know hearing from Holocaust survivors can be transformative.” 

With survivors ageing, the Azrieli Foundation and Penguin Random House Canada have captured first-person accounts in a way that have never been done before. 

A series of five audiobook memoirs have been released highlighting the stories of Holocaust survivors who came to Canada - told in their own voices. 

“To allow future generations to listen to the bravery and also the sadness is really important to us,” Spiegel said. “As well as the courage that these people brought with them to be resilient and live on to tell what they witnessed.” 

Pinchas Gutter was just 10-years-old when he was separated from his parents and twin sister when they were deported from the Warsaw ghetto to the Majdanek Concentration Camp in Poland.

“It is very important for me that young people get a glimpse of what happened and what can happen,” explained Gutter in a video recollection. “The only way they can do that is by getting it from the word-of-mouth of a Holocaust survivor.”

Spiegel hopes listeners will reflect, remember the past and prevent history from repeating itself.

“It has been 78 years since the end of the Holocaust and regrettably, things like anti-Semitism and hatred are on the rise,” said Spiegel. “Our legacy and our duty to those who had the courage to share their stories is to have the courage to listen, to talk about it, and to stand up against hate.”

The "Holocaust Survivor Memoirs Collection" audiobooks have been made available for free to public listeners from Jan. 23 until Feb. 6.

Alternatively, podcast versions can be downloaded by searching “Holocaust Survivor Memoirs Collection” on all streaming platforms.