My March Through Hell

In occupied Poland, a young girl finds herself alone and hunted by the Nazis in her hometown of Czestochowa. She has survived an operation designed to remove every Jewish resident from the city. Late one night, she and her father attempt to make their way home. When a policeman stops them, Halina Goldberg suddenly runs off, leaving her father behind, and begins a long struggle to stay alive.

Tired of running, she decides to report to a labor camp. The Germans needed workers for their war effort, so the choice buys her some time. Between the autumn of 1943 and January 1945, Halina is held in three different camps. At first, the work is brutal and the rations are meager, but the conditions are still endurable. As Germany's position collapses, disease spreads through the camps and the guards grow ever more cruel.

When it becomes clear the war is lost, the SS clear the camps and force more than 2,000 women to march for four months, covering over 800 kilometers in one of the harshest winters on record in Europe. Only about 300 of them survive the Volary Death March. Halina is among the survivors, and she eventually feels compelled to set down her experiences in writing.