a very gripping story!!! it made me feel all the emotions from very sad and angry to happy! I would recommend this book to everyone because its so important to never forget what happened in ww2 especially the jews and how our society is sadly evolving backwards so we need to be reminded of all the gruesome things even more!!!

(thank you netgalley for this arc-copy!)

5 inspirational stars for Becoming Janet: Finding Myself in the Holocaust by Janet Singer Applefield. The author of this incredibly compelling memoir was encouraged by her own children to tell her story as a child survivor of the Holocaust. She was born Gustawa Singer and earned the nickname of Dzidzia (baby) in Polish from her entire extended family including her grandparents, aunts and uncles. Gustawa was born on June 4, 1935 in Nowy Targ, Poland. Her family was quite well off and respected. Her grandfather Emanuel owned The Singer Hardware Store which sold lumber, sewing machines, seeds, fertilizers, housewares, tools, and construction and farming equipment. Gustawa was an idyllic child who was often compared to Shirley Temple. She had blond ringlets, green eyes, a small button of a nose and a fair complexion. Gustawa lived in a very comfortable and spacious apartment with her parents and younger sister, Sarah. She led a charmed and carefree life. She was spoiled and doted on by her entire family. All that changed on September 1, 1939 when the Nazis invaded Poland.

For the first few years of the Nazi occupation, Gustawa remained with her parents. Gustawa and her mother and baby sister had gone to live with her grandparents in Wadowice where it was believed to be safer until it wasn’t. From there there they sought refuge in Russia but were forced to return to Poland. On the trip from Russia back to Poland, Gustawa’s baby sister died. She was only eighteen months old. After that Gustawa’s family was forced to live in ghetto. Her family tried once again to escape but were forced back by the Polish police.

In the summer of 1942, Gustawa’s departure journey from her parents was about to begin. Out of unconditional parental love and devotion, Gustawa’s father and mother explained to her that she was not able to go with them but instead was going to go away with Maria, her cousin’s nanny. It was the most agonizing decision her parents had ever had to make. All Gustawa had left of her mother and father were her young memories and her mother’s handkerchief. Gustawa was all of seven years old when this occurred. Over the course of the war, her name changed several times. She was passed from person to person and was rarely shown love, affection or kindness. When Gustawa’s cousin took over caring for her, Gustawa Singer became Krystyna Antoszkiewicz, Krysta for short. Then in May 1943, Krysta finally was taken in by loving caregivers, the Golab family. Krysta stayed with them from 1943 to 1945 on their farm. She was safe and loved for the first time since leaving her parents.

When the war ended, one of Krysta’s cousins showed up at the farm to take her. His intentions were totally selfish and self serving. He left Krysta at the Jewish Committee Center’s third floor orphanage. Krysta was all alone again even though there were sixty-eight other Jewish children that lived there. The orphans ranged from six years old to fourteen years old. These children survivors suffered from coughs, lice, rickets and malnutrition. They all suffered from one form of emotional trauma or the other. These children were known as the sierota or the upstairs orphans. The future of these Jewish orphans was unclear until Lena Kuchler took charge of the orphanage. Lena changed these children’s lives for the better. It was there that Krysta’s father found her and was reunited with her. Alexander Singer, Gustawa’s father, had spent the years of the war in a forced labor camp.

The day Krysta was reunited with her father should have been the happiest day of her life. It had been so many years since she had last seen her father. The man that she was told was her father was a frail looking man with the hint of what had been red hair and very sunken gray eyes. He was a mal- nourished and sad looking man. It wasn’t until her father called her by her childhood nickname, Dzidzia, that memories came flooding back to her. Krystia or Gustawa was one of the lucky ones. She had survived and was reunited with her father. Her father got better and they returned to Nowy Targ together. Even though the war was over and the Nazis were long gone, they were still met with antisemitism, all the same. The Poles did not want Jews living in their towns. They were as bad as the Nazis had been or worse if that was possible. Gustawa and her father learned that only two hundred twenty four Jewish people survived the war from their town of Nowy Targ out of 2,762. Gustawa’s father had a brother that lived in America. Living in Poland was no longer safe. Jews were being attacked and even murdered. Dzidzia and her father had a choice to make. They could go to Palestine or to America to live. Both places were an option since they had family in each place. Dzidzia chose America without any hesitation. It was in America the Gustawa (Dzidzia) Singer became Janet Singer.

Currently, in her eighties, Janet Singer Applefield, tells her story to students at the Furnace Brook Junior High School every year. She does this so that the current generation can understand the atrocities that occurred during the war. Most of the students in the audience have been learning about the Holocaust but Janet’s mission has been to teach them “what can happen when a government gets so powerful that people stop thinking about what is right and what is wrong. What is logical and illogical. What is sane and insane.” Her hope was that by telling her story, it would educate these young students in a way that history books could not and prevent another Holocaust from ever happening again. She tells her captive audience of young and impressionable students that, “Everyone has a story. I share mine with you as a reminder that when you see prejudice or injustice or bullying, you have a choice to make. You can choose to do something, and that choice can have a ripple effect that changes your friends, your school, your community, and potentially the world. I hope that you will think about those who chose to show me kindness and how their actions changed my life and my children’s lives and their children’s lives. You all have that same power.”

Janet Singer Applefield’s words are so powerful and impactful. Not all Holocaust survivors were able to recount the atrocities they endured. I am imagining that it probably was not an easy task for Janet to relive those days with the students she addressed. The talks she delivered were so important, though. It was her intention to make an impactful impression on the students she was addressing. Her hope was that these students and the ones before them and the ones after them would use the powers they possess to exhibit kindness rather than hate, racism, prejudice, antisemitism or bullying. That was why Janet visited this junior high school year after year. Becoming Janet: Finding Myself in the Holocaust was about survival mostly, but it was also about resilience, making the best decisions at the time and the difference between hate and kindness and how those actions can change the outcome of life. It was inspired by the unconditional love Janet’s parents leaned on to save their daughter’s life, the love for her parents that Janet never forgot, the existence of kindness among a sea of hatred and the rare yet welcomed signs of compassion when most were ready and willing to point a finger to promote capture and hate. Becoming Janet was a moving memoir that I highly recommend.

Thank you to Cypress House for allowing me to read Becoming Janet: Finding Myself in the Holocaust by Janet Singer Applefield through Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Janet was born into the kind of family we all want to be born into: loving, kind, and caring. She has a wonderful life in Poland, until Hitler regime takes over. The majority of people in her small town are murdered, and Janet is taken in by a kindhearted woman, at great risk to herself. Janet’s name is changed many times, as does the place she calls home. Eventually, after the war, she is reunited with her father. She then grows up to tell her story to middle and high school students. This book is basically an extended version of her presentation. It is touching, riveting, and a must read!

✨ Becoming Janet: Finding Myself In The Holocaust ✨

Author: @janetapplefield
Publisher: Cypress House
Release Date: May 7th

⁉️: As a child, what was one of your favorite memories growing up?

Children’s stories always tend to leave the most impact for me, especially testimonies and survivor stories. Reading Janet Applefield’s memoir reminded me of Clementine Warmariya’s The Girl Who Smiles Beads and Zlata’s Diary. Children who face unimaginable traumatic situations at such a tender age give us an insight into how political conflicts often render human beings to become monsters. Yet, children will view the world with a lens that is not colored with hate or prejudice.

Born as Gustawa Singer in Poland with blond hair and green eyes, she was 4 years old when her life was shattered after the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939. As circumstances became dire and unforgiving, her parents made an unimaginable choice to give their daughter to a reluctant nanny while they parted ways to ensure the highest possibilities of survival. For the next few years, Gustawa became Janet and learned to live a clandestine life harboring a secret that she was Jewish as she hid in plaint sight.

In this powerful account, Becoming Janet shares an account of a young girl who has to learn to survive as she faces terrifying situations with only the identity papers of a dead Polish girl and a well-rehearsed cover story as her support. Paradoxically, not her relatives but strangers came to her aid during the most scary time of her life. It was only after the war that her father who had been imprisoned in Theresienstadt emerged and found her as she became his only reason to survive. Ultimately, the family found itself in America.

Having grown up in MA, it was so good to feel connected with Janet through this book! I love that the message her testimony has is to combat hate and prejudice. Testimonies such as hers give us an insight into the complexities and nuances of survivorship and how it operates. For instance, like Janet who was forced to change and find a new identity to survive, Henry Oster (from Stable Boy of Auschwitz) had a hard time believing that the war was over because he had become so accustomed to the cruelty and hatred he experienced during the Holocaust.

Thank you cypress press for the gifted arc.

#BecomingJanet #JanetSingerApplefield #CypressPress #shnidhi

Becoming Janet is a sad story, but also one that showcases the human spirit and our incredible ability to survive the unimaginable. The book starts out with Janet getting ready to speak to a group of students. Although we know from the beginning that she survives, as the pages start turning and we learn about the fact she survived because she was passed from place to place and person to person, it is easy to get caught up in the moment and horror of those times, praying that she makes it and doesn't get caught. Yet another incredible book sharing the experience of a survivor of the Holocaust.

[I received a review copy of this book via Netgalley from the publisher.]

In the opening pages of <I><B>Becoming Janet: Finding Myself in the Holocaust</B></I>, Janet Singer Applefield, born Gustawa Singer, recalls her feelings looking out into an auditorium of students waiting to hear her speak about her experience during the Holocaust:

<I>"The auditorium is a sea of bobbing heads, full of life and delightful adolescent energy. I absorb the healthy chatter of the kids. Sometimes I try to put myself in heir shoes, to imagine what it would be like to have lived a childhood like theirs, but I can never quite do it. Instead I see the 1,500,000 children whose lives were snuffed out, who were never able to know what it means to become an adult, to fall in love, to have families of their own. Every time I speak, it's like those children come back to listen.</I>"

What follows--what Janet tells the students and all of us reading her newly published written memoir--is a sweetened blissful childhood that soon becomes swiped away with the sudden impact of Hitler's invasion of Poland. The family flees time and time again, and soon finds themselves living in a world where they can never be sure of security, housing, belongings, food--or even life.

As time passes, members of the family begin to be wiped out. Two uncles are told to report for a work detail and marched, with countless other men, to a field where they are shot into an open pit. Other family members remain in or flee various refuges, with each decision often meaning the difference between life and death.

Eventually, Janet's parents decide it is no longer safe for everyone to stay together. The young Janet is shifted from caregiver to caregiver, all of whom risk their lives to help her yet do not always act with kindness or love. One of her caregivers viciously beats her and tells her that her mother is dead. Another leaves her alone for hours at night. She does find solace in a loving family who keeps her until the end of the war, but afterward, she is once again shuffled into a new situation: an orphanage.

Yet even the orphanage is not safe. The orphanage is targeted by Antisemitic Polish groups that threaten to kill the children and adults living inside. The orphanage is forced to relocate to the countryside where again, the children living inside are threatened with execution by locals who don't want Jewish people living in their own.

Miraculously, Janet is reunited with her father, now emaciated and ill from his time spent imprisoned in a concentration camp. The experience, Janet tells us, left her feeling conflicted and confused. Her memories of her father were vague. She had been forced to change identities in hiding several times, forced herself to forget her old "her," in order to survive. And here she was, again, being expected to take on a different identity--one that, through war and suffering, did not exist in the same way it once did.

The section describing her experience in the orphanage and her reunion with her father were painful to read, but they describe something I think is often swept aside when it comes to the popular imagination of surviving the Holocaust. Survival is not the ending, nor was it a happy fairy tale.

The children who were forced into hiding, who lived for years under floorboards, who were beaten or abused by their caretakers, who had to learn to be silent for days to avoid being killed; who joined with partisans and saw death firsthand, who endured and escaped camps; who, in many cases, were the sole survivors of their family... they suffered physical and emotional damage that did not vanish the instant that the war was declared over.

This part of the memoir contains harrowing descriptions of children who curl into balls and hide under tables, or who find themselves terrified of change as it always meant new risks and terror, or who cling to any adults who give them attention due to years of neglect.

Life after the war is no easier, and I think this may be the section of the memoir that is most critical for readers, young and old alike. Antisemitism did not vanish with the defeat of Nazi Germany, nor was Antisemitism only present in ardent German Nazis.

Janet and her father, the only surviving members of her primary family, were not welcomed home with open arms. Instead, they found their apartment ransacked of everything--furniture, appliances, sentimental items, and even wiring. They found the family business cruelly sold by a neighbor that had once been on good terms with them. They find threats of 'HITLER DIDN'T FINISH THE JOB' pinned to their door. Threats were not just threats: Jewish people began to be targeted and murdered.

Eventually, Janet and her father decided to leave for America; they were able to stay with an uncle (who tells her that his American name is "Jack") and her father soon decides to marry an American woman in order to keep his family in America.

The book ends by recounting questions commonly asked by students at her presentations, including following up on acclimating to America, thoughts about her stepmother, what happened to her mother, and more. Janet's recounting of the search to find out what really happened to her mother gives emotional depth to the years-long research required to uncover what happened to the millions of people murdered during the Holocaust.

Telling the stories of those who survived the Holocaust is more essential than ever. <I>Becoming Janet</I> is a thoughtful, moving account of what happened to one of the millions of children impacted by the Holocaust, and its publication will ensure that her story--and the story of the family members she recalls in her memoir--will be remembered.

I would recommend this book if you are looking to add to your knowledge of Holocaust survival stories; if you are looking for books that younger readers can benefit from; or if you are simply interested in this time period and want to read an emotional, thoughtful account written by someone who has bravely decided to share her story with the world.

Becoming Janet' is an incredibly powerful and riveting story about Janet Singer, a young child who survives the Holocaust in Poland by being passed from one place to another. When the war starts, Janet doesn't really understand why she's being taken away from her family, and this separation drags on for years. People tell her that Gustawa, is dead, which only adds to her confusion and heartbreak.

Despite the sadness, I couldn't put the book down. I read it in just two days, completely caught up in Janet's journey. Her resilience and the kindness (and not so kindness) of the strangers who help her are both inspiring and heartbreaking. The author does an amazing job of bringing her life experiences to the page, making you feel every bit of her fear, hope, and determination.

The story doesn't end with the war; it also explores Janet's psyche afterwards and how she slowly rebuilds relationships after such a long and terrible separation. It's fascinating to see how she heals and reconnects with her family and herself. As a history teacher, I was shocked to read about the treatment Janet and her family faced in Poland after the war. The war may have ended, but the hatred remained, and their struggles continued.

Even though it's a sad story, it's also a testament to the strength of the human spirit and the will to survive. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in personal stories of survival and history. Janet's story is both heartbreaking and inspiring, and it offers a deep and moving look at the lasting impact of war on a child's mind and heart.

An amazing story of a young girl’s survival and resilience during the Holocaust in Poland.
I’m continually amazed at stories like this because of the hardship and trauma a child endured but now educates others.
Although Applefield was very fortunate her losses are still immeasurable. I felt so bad for the little girl being plunked from place to place and having to constantly adjust.
Her message is a powerful one.

Becoming Janet provides a uniquely different account of the Holocaust. It tells the events from the viewpoint of a young girl who must demonstrate a maturity and courage far beyond her age. This memoir shares Janet’s story of survival and courage. It tells of lost love, lost identities, and lost emotions. More than that, this work tells of the kindness and protection Janet encountered throughout her years of being separated from her mother, father, and family. We learn about the difficult decisions that so many families had to make in hopes of one day returning to each other. Janet tells her story without trepidation so that the horrors she and so many others, adults and children, faced due to prejudice can be remembered and learned from. Once Janet begins her story, an instant connection is born between Janet and the audience. We are carried back in time to walk with her through the experiences she faced; we are able to see how she had to disconnect herself from emotions in order to survive and how she had to remind herself to be good, just as her parents told her, in order to move forward in each circumstance and remain alive. Janet tells of being reunited with her father after the war has ended, learning about the fate of family members, discovering the lingering prejudice toward Jewish people, and the ultimate decision to journey with her father to America. Once here, she has to again take on another name, another identity, but this time, Janet is able to take on her new identity with a hopeful outlook for her future as well as the future of those surrounding her.
Janet survived and chose to tell her story; it is imperative that we, her audience of both young and old, carefully listen and truly learn so that we can all make better choices in how we treat each other.

Well-written and engaging. This is one book for the history books. I only wish more books about the Holocaust were as well-written as this one is.

One of the best books that I have read in July so far. In my opinion this book should be read in Junior/Senior year of highschool or in Freshman/Sophomore years in college.

Thanks to NetGalley, publishing company and or the author for giving me the opportunity to read and review Becoming Janet.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. These opinion are completely my own. I feel like this book hit hard. Do the facts that we saw the smiling faces of the victims as we read it. Seeing the love the family had and while w Reading the the disgusting murders was a lot of times. I think this is a wonderful book to help kids connect to the victims and understand the reality of war in general.

Wow. Just, wow. I have never read a memoir like this, especially about World War 2 and the effects it had/has on families. I'm trying to collect my thoughts because I am blown away by how powerful this memoir is,

I received this book from NetGalley for free to give a fair review.

A heartbreaking yet powerful memoir of a girl who survived the Holocausts. We see the world through the eyes of a child as she goes through her childhood with us.

Becoming Janet is a powerful memoir that chronicles the harrowing journey of a young Jewish girl named Gustawa Singer during the Holocaust. Applefield, now Janet, recounts her experiences in Nazi-occupied Poland, where she was forced to live a hidden life under a new identity.

The book's strength lies in its unflinching portrayal of Gustawa's childhood. We see the world through the eyes of a young girl, experiencing the constant fear and uncertainty of hiding in plain sight. Applefield doesn't shy away from the harsh realities of war, but her narrative is surprisingly devoid of bitterness. Instead, it pulsates with a quiet resilience that underscores Gustawa's remarkable will to survive.

One of the most captivating aspects of the story is the constant shifting of identities. Gustawa sheds her true self, becoming Janet, a Catholic girl, a transformation that blurs the lines between reality and performance. This constant reinvention adds a layer of psychological tension, making the reader acutely aware of the fragility of Gustawa's fabricated life.

Becoming Janet is more than just a survival story. It's a testament to the kindness of strangers. While the book portrays the horrors of war, it also sheds light on the bravery of those who risked their lives to protect a young girl. These moments of compassion offer a glimmer of hope amidst the darkness.

The book is not without its drawbacks. Some readers might find the writing style a bit straightforward at times. However, this simplicity allows the raw power of Gustawa's story to shine through.

Overall, Becoming Janet is a must-read for anyone interested in the Holocaust or stories of resilience in the face of unimaginable adversity. It's a harrowing yet inspiring account that serves as a powerful reminder of the human spirit's capacity for courage and survival.

"Becoming Janet" by Janet Singer Applefield is a memoir of the author's experience as a child survivor of the Holocaust. Growing up in a small town in Poland surrounded by her extended family, the book opens with vignettes from the few years of idyllic happiness before Hitler's invasion in 1939 when she was just 4 years old. The book goes on to chronicle her experiences through the duration of the war including how her parents made the difficult decision to leave her in the care of a Polish nanny while they split up to try to ensure at least one parent would survive to find her after the war. Her fair complexion allowed her to pass convincingly as non-Jewish, and there were a number of different families that cared for her over the years while she kept her true identity a secret. After the war ended she was placed in an orphanage for Jewish children that was frequently attacked and forced to change locations. Eventually her father was miraculously reunited with her and found a way to immigrate to America and begin a new chapter of their lives together.

The story of her wartime experiences are bookended by a first and last chapter describing her experience giving talks to students at middle/high schools. Since this is an expanded version of the author's school presentation, it is suitable reading for older middle schoolers or high school age teens, as well as worthwhile reading for any adult audience. I read the whole book in one day because I found the story so gripping and powerfully told.

As the years run out on having living Holocaust survivors, it is so important that their stories are recorded for future generations in books like this for future generations to read and learn from. Now more than ever it is critical that the insidious lies of anti-semitism are exposed and dismantled.

*DISCLAIMER: I received an eARC of this book from Cypress House/Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) through NetGalley for the purposes of providing an unbiased review.*

This is a superbly written firsthand account of the Holocaust as experienced by a child.

I appreciated that the author wrote her experiences in a way that made sense with regards to the age she was at the time she experienced them. It's common to look about on our life and allow our adult knowledge color our experiences - Janet didn't do that. It adds to the confusion/terror that the Holocaust brought upon her.

It's a book I'll have my daughter read soon.

(Thanks NetGalley for the ARC and thank you, Janet, for sharing your life with us.)

The author writes about the horrors of the Holocaust in a matter-of-fact style that is engaging and easy to read. Students will be caught up in this autobiography of a Holocaust survivor while learning about a different aspect of the Holocaust - one that takes place outside the concentration camps but is no less horrifying.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

As a Jew, I read a lot of Holocaust non-fiction. Every experience is different and it’s important to me to learn what happened to my people and to hear their stories. I really loved this story b/c there were more happy moments than sad. These Righteous Gentiles knew the risk they were taking by hiding a Jewish child in plain sight, but they risked it anyways, b/c they knew what evil awaited the Jewish people and were determined to fight back. The kindhearted people that helped hide her during the war were so loving and gentle, just absolutely the purest souls. Those who weren’t kind, well… maybe they took their own anger and frustration out on a small child, which was wrong, but people don’t always act right. It’s heartbreaking to see how many people in her family don’t come back after the war, but you’re grateful she doesn’t lose everyone, like some people did. This is a tender and touching book told from a child’s perspective and it’s absolutely worth reading.

Excellent book! This is one Holocaust story that kept me captivated from beginning to end that I read it in one day. I highly recommend this book for everyone, especially in these times when anti-semitism is so prevalent among a newer generation. We should all be ashamed if the lessons that can and should be learned from Janet Applefield’s autobiography should ever be repeated. I highly recommend this book for everyone!