Worlds Torn Asunder: a Holocaust Survivor’s Memoir of Hope

More than a Holocaust survivor memoir. More than just a harrowing tale of survival and hope. What makes this story special is its unique three-dimensional depth. A retired Rabbi and educator, the author masterfully weaves personal memoir into historical context, with a deep appreciation for Jewish lore and tradition. Dov Beril Edelstein was Auschwitz inmate #A7868. He lost both parents, both grandparents and 2 brothers in the holocaust. But he survived... a twisting journey of incredible physical, emotional and spiritual endurance. But readers of all stripes will also gain a special glimpse into the full richness of Jewish life in Hungary in the years leading up to the war. Jewish faith, customs, community and ethics not only sponsored hope for survivors like Edelstein, these values continue to inspire the forgiveness and tolerance which define the Jewish perspective on this still surreal period of history. Originally published in the US and later in German by Bohlau Verlag Publishing, Worlds Torn Asunder has also been used for over a decade as a text at various schools and universities in religion courses with titles like "The Quest for Wholeness." This enduring memoir is celebrating its 27th year with the release of a new digital version. A retired rabbi, educator, and lecturer, Rabbi Dov Edelstein's memoir - Worlds Torn Asunder - chronicles how faith and religious values helped him survive the Holocaust despite the harshest conditions, privations, and degradations. It is a forceful and compelling narrative that seeks to educate and speak out against the inhumanity that mankind is capable of perpetrating.
Worlds Torn Asunder, which was also published in German, has been used as a textbook at various schools, including at the Department of Christianity at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. The school adopted it for ten consecutive years in a course for graduating seniors entitled "The Quest for Wholeness."
The Rabbi has shared his inspirational personal story and the book's message of tolerance with hundreds of mostly non-Jewish high school students and church audiences across the U.S. and in Canada. During these encounters the Rabbi opened eyes, minds, and hearts, and in the process left jaws agape with his riveting personal narrative of loss, determination, and recovery. Memoirs of a Jew born in 1932 in Bedek (near Szatmár) to a hasidic family. Pp. 101-241 discuss the Nazi period. In May 1944 Edelstein's family was transferred to the ghetto of Szatmár. Several weeks later they were deported to Auschwitz. Edelstein was sent for forced labor to the Buna factory. In January 1945 he was taken on a death march to Gleiwitz, from where he was transported to the Dora labor camp in Germany. He was evacuated three months later to Bergen-Belsen and liberated by the British army. Two of his brothers survived the Holocaust. After the war Edelstein immigrated to the U.S. (From the Bibliography of the Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism)