| Missing Pieces: My Life as a Child Survivor of the Holocaust Contributor(s): Verrall, Olga (Author) |
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ISBN: 1552382206 ISBN-13: 9781552382202 Publisher: University of Calgary Press OUR PRICE: $27.50 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: June 2007 Annotation: Until age seven, Olga Barsony lived an idyllic life in Szarvas, a small town in Hungary, surrounded by her doting, observant Jewish family. In spring 1944. Olga and most of her family were interned in the Auspitz labor camp shortly after the Nazi occupation of Hungary. Eventually reunited after the war, the family moved back to Szarvas, only to face harsh repression at the hands of the Communists a few short years later. In 1957, the Barsonys immigrated to Winnipeg, where Olga met and married her husband Orland Verrall, the cantor at the local synagogue. Olga and Orland's love for each other, the birth of their two daughters, and the promise of a peaceful, contented life together helped to build the foundation of a new start in Canada--a seemingly happy ending to an otherwise traumatic number of years. Sadly for Olga Verral, she would have to endure many more tribulations as she undertook the painful process of re-living the horror of the Holocaust as a child, while at the same time wrestling with the ghosts that had been haunting her life ever since. Anger, sadness, and a deep sense of emptiness would be a recurring theme and source of frustration as Olga undertook rebuilding her life in the aftermath of such intensely excruciating events. After the death of her husband and subsequent emotional breakdown, doctors encouraged her to write her memoirs as a form of therapy. In this way Olga Verral takes her first steps on the long journey towards recovery and tries finally to write a genuinely triumphant ending to her life story. Missing Pieces makes a significant contribution to the growing genre of writing by child survivors of the Holocaust, and is the first Holocaust memoir to exposethe little-known Auspitz labor camp. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Biography & Autobiography | Historical - History | Holocaust - Biography & Autobiography | Personal Memoirs |
| Dewey: B |
| Series: Legacies Shared |
| Physical Information: 0.69" H x 5.23" W x 7.46" (0.63 lbs) 272 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Eastern Europe - Topical - Holocaust - Chronological Period - 1940's |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Until age seven, Olga Barsony Verrall lived an idyllic life in Szarvas, a small town in Hungary, surrounded by her doting, observant Jewish family. After the Nazi invasion in 1944, Olga found herself, along with most of her family, interned in the Auspitz (Hustopece) labour camp. Eventually reunited after the war, the family returned to Szarvas, only to face a different kind of oppression at the hands of the new Communist government. After immigrating to Winnipeg in 1957, Olga met and married Orland Verrall, the cantor at Rosh Pina synagogue. Together they built a new life in Canada and soon welcomed two daughters, Judy and Lesley. Yet Olga continued to be haunted by her past. Though she was very young during her time in the camp, Olga had vivid and painful memories of the horrifying things she had seen and experienced there. A nagging sense of emptiness and anger stayed with her all her life. After her beloved husband Orland passed away, her emotional state became increasingly fragile, and she became dependent on prescription drugs to numb her pain. A long journey of physical and mental healing, along with the support of her family, helped Olga piece her life back together. For Olga, writing her memoir was a catharsis. For her readers, it will be an inspiration. |
Contributor Bio(s): Verrall, Olga: - Olga Verrall was born in Szarvas, Hungary in 1936. She immigrated to Winnipeg and married in 1957. She has two daughters and two grandsons and currently lives in Toronto. |