Jews in the Garden: A Holocaust Survivor, the Fate of His Family, and the Secret History of Poland in World War II

Written by Judy Rakowsky

Narrated by Judy Rakowsky

Villages of Poland hide the lost secrets of World War II

1944: Heavy footfalls thud on the road on a rainy May night. A band of gunmen scour a hilltop farm, acting on rumors that it harbors a Jewish family. For 18 months, the Rozeneks have been hiding safely, but their luck is about to run out. Only one from the family of six will live to see the sunrise. Sixteen-year-old Hena Rozenek shelters in the woods until morning . . . and then she runs.

Forty years later: Holocaust survivor Sam Rakowski Ron has lived in the United States for decades, never thinking he could return to the Polish village he fled as a teenager. But now he's ready to talk about what he heard, what he saw, and what he knows about two separate families of cousins who were his neighbors, and presumably were killed during the war. The story Poland presents to the world is that Poles saved more Jews than citizens of any other nation, that any murders in Poland were committed by Nazis and Nazis alone. But Sam, while defending his countrymen, suspects a painful truth. The stories he shares with his younger cousin, Judy, an investigative journalist, send them off on a decades-long journey unlike any other to find out what happened to the Rozenek family and ultimately reveal the secrets the Polish government is still desperate to keep.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Highbridge Company
• Release date: Jul 11, 2023
• ISBN: 9781696612098

Reviews for Jews in the Garden

[Paul Hortobagyi · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It made SO (SO) sad that after so many years prejudice is live and well in Poland. While I’m well aware that it is ingrained into people’s DNA the same way like white people just hate black folks even in 2023 it is just SAD that they have not inquired enough intelligence to become enlightened and overcome their narrow mindedness. I loved how the author was narrating the book it came across much better than if an actor would have read it.

[Jessica Ashdown-Hyde · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An essential introduction for those unfamiliar with the history of Polish-Jewish relations before, during and after WWII. This is a highly politicized, sensitive topic within Poland today. I thank the author for her dogged persistence and for crafting a rich, riveting, impactful narrative.