The Tin Ring

Zdenka Fantlova's childhood in pre-war Czechoslovakia was a peaceful though not an uneventful one that revolved around her family, her friends and of course, boys! Her life seemed mapped out when she met Arno, her soul-mate, but the German invasion of her country intervened and Zdenka's life was forced down an horrific 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 the extermination camp at 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 the infamous 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 dedicated 'to an unknown member of the British Army, who, through his humanity, saved my life in Bergen-Belsen in April 1945' and it is hoped that the UK publication of the book 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 now very fragile tin ring made of tin close by her side. 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 realizes 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.

ISBN 1904794505   Pages 248 ISBN13 9781904794509 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 476 Publisher Northumbria University Press   Published in Newcastle Upon Tyne Imprint Northumbria Press   Height (mm) 198 Format Hardback   Width (mm) 129 Publication date 04 Feb 2010   Spine width (mm) 23 DEWEY 940.5318092   Academic level General DEWEY edition DC22

		List of Illustrations
		Prologue: Travelling with an Invisible Map		1
1		Grandfather		10
2		A Fateful Meeting		12
3		Moving to Another Town		16
4		A New Little Sister		21
5		School		22
6		The Jewish Holidays		26
7		Yugoslavia		31
8		The Piano		34
9		Dancing Classes		37
10		A Trip to Prague		39
12		Political Clouds Begin to Gather		41
12		Fred Astaire - You Are My Lucky Star		43
13		The 1938 Holidays and Dr Mandelik		45
14		The German Occupation		54
15		Prague and the English Institute		59
16		My Father is Arrested by the Gestapo		61
17		New Love		65
28		The Jewish Transports		68
29		AK1 and AK2		70
20		Our Departure		72
21		Terezin Camp		75
22		Love in a Cellar		80
23		Life in Terezin		86
24		The Kitchen		88
25		Marta and Her Nurse's Uniform		92
26		The Woods of Krivoklat		97
27		"Can You Cry, Miss?"		101
		More...

"The life and fate of Zdenka Fantlova is unbelievable and yet that is what happened. Such was the world in a time of the deepest spiritual darkness in human history... I am full of admiration for her human greatness and nobility." Milan Jungmann, Prague Literary Review "... a sweet, unforgettable memoir... deserves to be read for its unique story and for its shared message about the unrelentingly strong human spirit, of which Fantlova's lyric prose so clearly speaks." Publishers Weekly "... occupies an outstanding place among the memoirs of Jews who were fighting for their naked lives... and goes into the changes of a human psyche in contact with death... Her writing is far removed from any sentimentality... she was inspired by an indestructible will to live through faith and endeavouring to remain a human being." Petr Kucera, Prague Zeitung"

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