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“Frau Müller was rarely affectionate, but she rushed to my mother and gave her a big hug, congratulating us both on the news. Our landlady would miss us, the Jews she eyed suspiciously at first but had grown to like.”

This was before one of the greatest things ever for Michael and his Mamishu. This was them saying goodbye to their landlady in their home before America. The landlady who first acted strange towards the Jews, Michael and Sophie, had grown to be very good friends with them. The landlady is wishing them well and sadly, but at the same time happily, saying farewell.

I truly believe this part of the story sends off a central idea of the chapter. The landlady had really grown to like Michael and Sophie, beside the fact that they were Jewish. The landlady even tucked her swastika necklace under her shirt while around them. They had gained respect towards each other, even after the Holocaust which is somewhat wild to think about. Most thought of Jewish people as dirty pigs or people who should not be allowed any rights. However, when the hurt comes so does the happiness; and they were welcomed into an apartment with someone usually against them, and grew to have a strong relationship and the landlady even took care of Michael.

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“Cecia just kept on singing. Moments passed and, suddenly, Ruth spun around. She saw Cecia, and her stonelike  demeanor melted into happiness. Smiling and crying at once, she launched herself into her mothers arms.”

In this quote/scene, Ruth is at the orphanage and her parents come to get her. However, Ruth can chose to go or stay with her family. Ruth does not recognize her father at this point in the story because they had been separated for a very long time. But, Ruth’s mothers comes and Ruth doesn’t react until the memory of her mothers singing comes back and they are happily reunited.

This quote stood out to me because I feel sorrow for Ruth and I could tell she was scared. I understood how she could not trust her father after she had been surrounded by such different things. It is important that the memory came back to Ruth or she may have not gone back with her family. Just like Michael reuniting with his mother, Ruth was very happy and felt relieved.

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“Most prisoners who arrived after my family were taken straight to the killing chambers. So at Auschwitz, we were among the lucky ones: chosen— at least for the day.”

Michael and his Bobeshi were extremely lucky with how everything turned out for them. Their survival was tied in with luck, which they were very grateful for. Clearly, nothing about the Holocaust was “easy.” Michael came close to death a countless amount of times. He thinks of himself as a lucky one.

I selected this quote because it is something that Michael emphasizes he still believes today. That he got a lot of luck during the war. He was very lucky, and that is important. It’s important because it also talks about how most of the prisoners were not lucky enough and were killed for no reason. If this happened to Michael, his story would have never existed fully.

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“But then came the part of the story I didn’t like. She told me Bobeshi would not be coming with us. My heart breaks again just thinking about saying goodbye to the woman who kept me safe inside Auschwitz and brought me back home to Żarki. We shared a bed in a death camp, and now in a Żarki chicken coop we shared a mattress of straw.”

When Michael figured out he would have to say goodbye to his grandmother, his heart broke. Michael and his mother were leaving Żarki and their final destination would be in America. Of course, Michael was excited at this point, but his grandmother was not in condition to travel along. It hurt Michael because they had gone through thick and thin together.

I think this quote is a really touching scene from the book because it is overall just an emotional part. I am sure Michael was feeling many mixed emotions at that time; he wanted to leave and go to freedom, but the fact of leaving was also very hard. I also think this quote is important because it highlights a few of the many struggles they went through together and how close to Michaels heart Bobeshi is.

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“Thirty-four hundred Jews lived and worked in Żarki before the Holocaust. Less than thirty returned. My family accounted for almost all of them. We were an elite club of survivors, with luck that had conquered all odds.”

What is happening in the story during this quote is the remainder of the Borenstein family returning to their original home, Żarki, and realizing that the Holocaust not only destroyed some of their family, but their home town as well. Żarki was a mess, with only about 30 Jews left to live there after the war, and their home was even taken over. The family realized how much of an affect the Holocaust really had on everything and everyone and how much everything, including Żarki had changed.

I selected this quote because it is some information along with one of the scenes of the story, when they see Żarki again. It shows how horrendous the Holocaust truly was. I think this is important because it is a very large change in Jews, and that most likely means very very many did not survive, and it made the Borenstein family even more aware and thankful. This quote stuck out to me.

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“What I felt when Mamishu enveloped me in her arms was too much joy for words. I don’t know how to explain it. If we had both seen more sorrow than the world knew it could hold—then this moment was the opposite of that. This was the opposite of despair.”

This is from one of the best moments of Michaels life. Michaels mother came back after being gone and there was questioning if she was even still alive. Michael and his grandmother were by the market when Michaels mother spotted them and ran and Michael and his mother were finally reunited. He knew they would never be apart again. This was a time of pure bliss for Michael, his mother, and his grandmother. They were all together at last.

I think this is one of the best scenes from the story. I say this because I knew how much Michael missed his mom at that time in the story and he always expressed to the readers how hard it was and how he prayed a lot for his mother’s presence. It was an important moment for the main characters in the story and they were reunited after they all survived.

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“We did celebrate. In every bunkhouse there was dancing and singing. The pots and pans and spoons we coveted like gold in the camp were indulgently being used for drumming. The Soviets shared their vodka with the male prisoners. And people would spontaneously shout, “We are free! We are free! We are free!”

Where this quote is in the story, the survivors had just been freed by the Soviet Soldiers. The soldiers had come and saved all the survivors and started taking care of them. Clearly, the people were ecstatic and celebrated and spread joy all around them. The survivors found hope again and were thankful the soldiers came to their rescue.

This is by far one of the top most important and special parts of the story. It was the moment survivors experienced their first step of a better future. I picked this as one of my quotes not only because of that, but because it also is an example of how freedom must have felt. They danced and sang when they had no energy after the camp.

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"I don’t know what it was— a hunch, maybe, a gut feeling. But as the maid and Ruth walked away, Ruth’s cousin Eli suddenly felt certain that something was amiss. He convinced his uncle to follow the woman. It wasn’t safe to stay in town much longer, but Eli was insistent. Keeping their distance, they watched as the young woman ducked in and out of the crowd, pulling Ruth along by the hand. The maid didn’t appear to be looking for anyone. Instead, it seemed as though she was trying to disappear from view. Finally, when she thought she was safely out of sight, the women pulled Ruth to the side of the road, plunked her down in a small bank of soft white snow, and walked away.”

The quote shown above, is from the scene where Ruth’s family had to find someone to watch Ruth for some time. The family struggled, but thought they finally found someone who was willing to keep Ruth safe in their home, and paid her to take Ruth. One of Ruth’s cousins, Eli, had a gut feeling the moment Ruth left with the lady. Eli was very worried about Ruth and had an instinct that something was wrong. Eli and Uncle Sam discreetly followed Ruth and the lady only to discover that Eli was right. The lady abandoned Ruth on the side of the road, left alone and crying.

This is an extremely impactful scene/quote from survivors club. I say this because it emphasizes how dangerous of a time period they were in, not only the war, but it was hard to trust anyone but your family. It shows how Ruth could have died because of the women who took the family’s money and lied. Not only that, i think that it highlights Eli and Ruth’s relationship. It is important to watch out for the people in your life, and Eli would not say no to not following up on his little cousin. Without Eli’s instinct, Ruth could have been in a lot of trouble.

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“I can’t describe the instant feeling of betrayal that left my insides numb. I felt robbed of a moment. I felt tricked. I had no clue who aunt hilda was. I guess Bobeshi had mentioned her once or twice in stories, but this woman was a stranger to me.”

This scene from Survivors Club is the aftermath of Michael realizing who he thought was his mother, was actually his aunt he has never met. This was hard for Michael because he was feeling so much in that moment and he could never even explain the hurt he felt after he realized his mother was still gone.

I believe this quote expresses who Michael is and how much he treasures his mothers presence. It is an important part of the story for the main reason of showing emotion among characters such as confusion, heart break, remembrance, trauma, and much more. I think this was one of the saddest parts in the book because it was hard to read about Michael and his mothers relationship, and me as a reader knew based on other events how much he missed her. It is understandable, feeling hurt and numb after being wrong and disappointed about something important.

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“Mamishu! I screamed wildly. “Mamishu, Mamishu!” I was crying and shouting at the same time. Bobeshi tried to squeeze my hand tighter, but I ripped it away from her and started running. The whole family turned around to see my flying down sosnowa street. The women turned. Only— her face wasn’t right. I mean, it looked like my mothers, with a soft rounded chin and deep set eyes. Her eyebrows were dark, though, like a frame that was never there before. She was like a ghost of my mother.”

During this scene in the novel, Michael is with Bobeshi meeting their family when something changes. Michael sees a women who’s side profile and whole figure is almost exactly similar to his mothers. Michael is overflowed with joy running towards this lady and has so much hope, only to find out that, it’s someone else. The woman Michael saw was his aunt Hilda, who looked exactly like his mother.

I think this is a very powerful quote/scene from Survivors Club because it shows how fast emotions can change and how things don’t always work out the way they are expected to. I think it really shows how much love Michael had for his mother and how much he missed her at that time.

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Book Snaps - Olivia Connors