Mary Neuman, noted Minneapolis resident and Holocaust survivor, announces the publication of her life memoirs in "POCKETS IN MY SOUL". It is the story of her life beginning in Lwow, Poland where she spent a happy childhood with her family. She chronicles the events in her life including living through the Russian occupation, to fleeing the Nazi invaders until being captured.
A special program at Temple Israel of Minneapolis located at 2324 Emerson Ave. S. on Friday, June 15 honoring Mary, who together with family members will read from her book. The program starts at 6:00 p.m. The book is available at the Temple Israel Gift Shop and sells for $14.95.
For more information contact Temple Israel 612-377-8680.
Mary details her Ghetto experiences and of her escape. Upon being caught, readers are left spell bound. One of her former classmates, on seeing her at an ice cream store, reported her to authorities.
She was interned at the Montellupe prison, sent to Auschwitz concentration camp and then to Bergen Belsen. While at Auschwitz, she had a confrontation with the infamous Dr. Mengele-"The Angel of Death" in which he was about to shoot her in the head, but having trouble removing his pistol from the holster, he suddenly slapped her in the face, and said: "Go back to work!" Her female Nazi guard turned to her and said: "You should consider yourself lucky that such a gorgeous man touched your face."
The story of her liberation is laced with feelings of exhalation and despair that she and her fellow inmates experienced. From life in a displaced camp to her travels in Europe trying to find her family, Mary writes of her coming to the United States and settling in Minneapolis establishing a new life for herself and her family. "POCKETS IN MY SOUL" describes both her tragic and happy life in Minneapolis and her new found "country" the United States of America.
Mary Neuman's testimony is available at the University of Minnesota through the Visual History Archive developed by the USC Shoah Foundation institute for Visual History and Education (Also known as the Shoah Project). Visit the Visual History Archive website for more information.
