The Ninth Candle - Jenny Harrison

No other occupied country in Europe suffered from German depredation as Poland did and no other population was as traumatised and brutalised as the Poles, both Jews and Gentiles.

This is the story of one family and what happened to them during the Holocaust. The invasion of Poland by Germany in September 1939 is the traumatic background to their ordeals.

Each of the Bender siblings made a decision based on love; Marysia for her son, Piotr, Josef for his fiancée, Rachel, and Adam, the paediatrician, for his love of the children in his care. Each one acted out of love and each one faced a different destiny.

This is a story of immense bravery and sacrifice, of love and loss, of humanity at its worst and at its best. A story that is a dedication to all those who love deeply enough to pay the ultimate price.

Lamplighter Press 2020, paperback