Tova Friedman
Tova Friedman is child survivor of the Holocaust. She is one of a handful of Jews to have entered a gas chamber and lived to tell the tale. At the age of 83, Tova finally wrote her memoir, The Daughter of Auschwitz, which became a NY Times Bestseller and, to date, has been translated to over 15 languages.
Tova and her parents arrived in the USA when she was 11 years old. They lived in Brooklyn where she met and married her husband, Maier Friedman. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Brooklyn College and a Master of Arts in Black Literature from City College of New York. She and her family later immigrated to Israel where she taught at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. After returning to the US, she earned her Master of Arts in Social Work from Rutgers University and became the director of Jewish Family Service of Somerset and Warren Counties for over 20 years and still works there as a therapist.
Tova is committed to educating the younger generations about the Holocaust and together with her grandson, Aron Goodman, started TovaTok, a social media account that educates about the Holocaust and where she shares her story with millions of people across the world.
Critical Thinking Questions:
- In what specific ways did Tova’s mother help her survive the Holocaust?
- What is the “shooting time” that Tova specifically refers to? How is it different than Auschwitz and other death camps?
- What is a ghetto? What details in Tova’s description of the ghetto impact you the most? Why?
- Even in the ghetto, the Jewish people found ways to resist the Nazis, often in simple ways. What were some of the specific ways Tova describes people resisting the Nazis?
- Tova’s mother forced her to lie down beside a corpse as the Nazis prepared to evacuate Auschwitz. Why specifically did she do this? What was the outcome?
Writing Prompts:
1.Reflect on the following and develop a short essay:
“’Where are you going?!’ ‘To the gas chamber!’”
In listening to Tova’s testimony, consider her experiences at Auschwitz. What does the quote above refer to? What specifically did she endure? How did being alone as a young child in the death camp affect her survival? How does her message to audiences tie into her experiences at Auschwitz?
2. Reflect on the following and develop a short essay:
“Kids know. They may not be able to verbalize it, but they know what’s going on.”
In listening to Tova’s testimony, consider how her awareness of the events surrounding her led to her survival during the Holocaust. Consider her story from the beginning to end, and how her awareness kept her alive even when she found herself alone in Auschwitz at six years old.