The Tin Ring: How I Cheated Death
Zdenka Fantlová
Details
ISBN: 978-1-904794-50-9RRP: £15.00
Released: January 2010
Format: Hardback
Extent: 240pp
Illustrations: 17 B/W Photographs
Book Overview
This remarkable memoir tells the story of a young Czech-Jewish woman
called Zdenka Fantlová who survived the hell of Nazi Germany’s extermination
camps. Her life seemed mapped out when she met Arno, her soul-mate, but the
German invasion intervened and Zdenka’s life was forced down a cruel, deadly
and unexpected path. Sent by the Nazis to the ghetto of Terezin outside Prague, Arno presented his girlfriend with a small token of his love, a ring made from tin. Soon his life journey diverged from hers – a journey from which he was destined not to return. Zdenka was transported from Terezin to Auschwitz and afterwards to hard labour in Kurzbach. The people she met , the horrors she experienced and fight for survival as a young woman of nineteen are movingly described. Her life still revolved around her family, her friends and her longing to be with Arno, whose ring she risked death to keep with her. In January 1945 she was forced to walk nearly 300 miles on a death march to the Gross Rosen camp and then to Bergen-Belsen. With the war coming to an end the conditions in the camps became more chaotic and deadly. In the last days before liberation Belsen, with no food or water, became hell on earth and, Zdenka, in one last grasp at survival, forced herself into the hospital wing and begged for help from a British army officer. She has never learned the name of the man who saved her life.
The Tin Ring is an unforgettably moving tale of courage, love, tenacity, hope and humanity experienced by a girl who lived through the Holocaust – the most brutal and inhumane time in world history.
It is hoped that the UK publication of The Tin Ring will help trace the officer or his family so that Zdenka can, at long last, personally express her gratitude. Meanwhile, of the man who gave her the mental strength to persevere, her Arno, she still keeps his ring made of tin close by.
About the Author
After liberation from Belsen, Zdenka Fantlová was sent to Sweden to recuperate before emigrating to Australia where she became a well-known actress. Since 1969 she has made London her home. She does all that she can to ensure that this dark period in twentieth century history is never forgotten and seizes every opportunity to give talks at schools and conventions. She realises that her voice is one among many but hopes that the publication of her book will bring home to her readers the fact that the camp inmates were human beings with families, friends and lovers.
Reviews and Interviews
“The life and fate of Zdenka Fantlová is unbelievable and yet that is what happened…I am full of admiration for her human greatness and nobility.” Prague Literary Review.
“An unforgettable memoir…deserves to be read for its unique story and for its shared message about the unrelentingly strong human spirit.” Publishers Weekly.
“Powerful, driving and memorable, The Tin Ring is both harrowing and enlightening, a must read.” Lifestyle Magazine.
"It is a story that astonishes all who hear it." The Irish Times.
"A shattering story." The Jewish Telegraph.
"A remarkable story about growing up in Czechoslovakia before the war, being transported to a concentration camp, losing her entire family and, only just, surviving to tell the tale. This is a beautifully presented hardback from Northumbria Press and I urge you to seek it out." Scott Pack, Me And My Big Mouth.
"The Tin Ring is a moving and thought-provoking book." British Czech and Slovak Review.
BBC Today interview with Zdenka and other Terezin survivors (June 2010)
Illustrated Holocaust Glossary: www.resourcescentreonline.co.uk/i-rr-holocaust-glossary.pdf
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