A Life Rebuilt with Sylvia Ruth Gutmann

Sylvia Ruth Gutmann's memoir A Life Rebuilt—The Remarkable Transformation of a War Orphan is the awe inspiring story of a woman who defies all of the odds and survives in spite of harrowing experiences which leave her with almost no memory of the first seven years of her life. This memoir spans sixty years, three countries, and thousands of miles.

 

Born in Belgium in 1939 to Jewish parents, Sylvia Ruth Gutmann spent the first three years of her life in hiding with her family in the south of France. In the summer of 1942 Sylvia, her two older sisters, and her young mother, were arrested by the Vichy police and shipped to the French internment camp in Rivesaltes. Shortly thereafter, her mother was deported to Auschwitz, leaving her three children behind. Six months later, Sylvia’s bedridden father was deported to Auschwitz. Sylvia and her sisters would never see their parents again. 

 

Sylvia arrived in New York City at age seven, where a well-meaning uncle and a cruel aunt took her in. Later in life, Sylvia moves to Berlin where she begins to share her story with German students, senior citizens, and even neo-Nazi groups. Heartbreaking, and ultimately inspiring, this memoir of loss, love, resilience, belonging and identity, has a surprising resolution, told in an intimate voice with candor and heart. 

 

 

 

 

 

A Life Rebuilt is Silvia’s love story to anyone who’s ever felt invisible and alone. By sharing what she has overcome in order to live as vibrantly as she does today, she lets people know that anything is possible at any stage of life, at any age. Read more here: https://sylviaruthgutman n.com