Rabbi Eli Fishman began writing about his experiences in the Shoah over sixty years ago, soon after his liberation from Dachau. Mindful of the fact that his hometown of Rachov, Poland, was totally destroyed and that no Jew lived there since the expulsion of the town's Jews in October 1942, Rabbi Fishman felt that it was imperative to preserve a record of his hometown, a community that had contributed so much to the religious and social development of the Jews. In 1946, however, he felt he was too close to the tragic events of the time to evaluate the true dimensions and implications of the calamity.

After the passage of more than half a century, Rabbi Fishman has resurrected the painful memories to soberly and dispassionately evaluate for history the barbaric acts that resulted in the near annihilation of the Jewish population of Europe. The story of Rabbi Fishman's extraordinary tenacity and faith in the face of stark suffering while still in his teens will inspire the reader to value life as the most precious commodity, and to keep faith no matter how difficult the situation.