They Went Left

 Hesse, Monica. They Went Left. 2020. 364p. ISBN 9780316490573.

The Second World War has concluded, and Germany was defeated. During the drive of armies to Berlin, soldiers encountered concentration camps, and freed the prisoners. These were often too sick or ill to be able to leave, so troops remained behind to guard them as they healed. Zofia Lederman and her family lived in a Polish town until it was conquered by the Germans in 1939. As Jews, their lives immediately changed for the worse. In 1942, they were required to come to the sports stadium for new identity papers. Instead, Zofia and her entire family were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau, the worst of the concentration camps. Her father, mother, and aunt were sent to the left side when they arrived, while Zofia and her 9 year old brother, Abek, who was tall for his age, were sent to the right. Only later did she learn that the left side was directly to the gas chamber.

Zofia was soon separated from her brother, and was transferred to a different concentration camp as the Russians got closer. Now 18 in the summer of 1945, Zofia's body has healed enough, and she leaves the camp hospital where she was staying to accomplish the impossible task of finding Abek. Zofia is convinced he survived the war, but with millions of refugees spread over the continent, the task proves daunting. Nothing will deter Zofia, however, as she made a promise to her mother to always take care of her younger brother. Traveling first back to her home, then inside Germany proper, Zofia searches for clues as to what happened to her brother in the last chaotic years of the war. Despite the heartbreaks that come from looking, Zofia retains the hope that she will find him. But in a world where there was so much tragedy, can her story ends like the fairy tales she used to love?

Providing the often forgotten perspective of those who survived concentration camps and had to rebuild their lives, They Went Left explore issues of survival, mental illness, healing, and forgiveness. Zofia went through a traumatic experience that nothing will ever heal, yet she must begin rebuilding a world for herself amid the ruins of her previous life. The extreme violence she experienced make her an unreliable witness to her own story, yet her hope remains present. Readers who appreciate Holocaust survival stories will easily find Zofia relatable and will support her quest for reunification with the only family member she has left.