The World Belongs to the Children: The powerful lessons of a childhood under the shadow of war by Raya Goldtwig

Title: The World Belongs to the Children: The powerful lessons of a childhood under the shadow of war

Author: Raya Goldtwig

Genre: Memoir

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 31^st March 2036

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 224

Price: $36.99

Synopsis: A compelling and lyrical memoir of a young Jewish girl in WWII Europe and Russia, learning the importance of connection and community even as the world grows dark around her. 

We are all formed by our childhoods. These are the years that define us, and that teach us the most important lessons about the world we live in. These are the years we must cherish and protect.

In August 1939 Raya Goldtwig’s secure and happy childhood as the three-year-old daughter of a prosperous Jewish shop owner in Warsaw came to a sudden end. Together with her father, mother and brother, she fled across the border to Soviet territory, enduring terror and uncertainty but also building a new home and a new community. When Nazi Germany invaded, though, Raya and her family again had to flee.

Against such a terrible backdrop, Raya’s story of love, community and wonder is a testament to the human spirit and the power of hope in the face of tragedy. Looking through a young girl’s eye, she clearly shows why childhood is precious, and why we must ensure all children are safe from the evil of war.

~*~

Raya Goldtwig was born in Poland in 1936. She is Jewish, and at the age of three, left Poland with her family as the Nazis invaded and headed across the border to Russia, hoping to escape the inevitable fate of so many Jewish people at the time, of their family, and many others targeted by Hitler’s regime.

Our childhood years define us, because this is where we learn some very important lessons of our lives. Raya learned many of these lessons growing up in the Soviet Union, going from town to town based on her father’s jobs and postings. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing, from getting to her father, to so much terror and uncertainty along the way as the war progresses and affects the various countries involved.

Raya and her family are safe in the Soviet Union, well, relatively. Injury, illness, starvation and death are still real issues but they’re not at risk of being handed over to the Nazis because they are Jewish. In fact, under Communism, religion is far from their minds, and everyone around them comes together to help them. Strangers in bread lines. People who live near them. Anyone willing to step in and help. Because in times of hardship, people come together, and are there for each other.

It’s not an easy life, but Raya and her family make do with what they have to get through. It is at times heartbreaking, and at times hopeful as we get to see the war, being a refugee and what comes next through the eyes of a child who only knows the life she’s been leading in the shadow of war. This is an important book because war affects everyone, and in so many ways. It shapes those affected, their lives and how they live in the world, grow up and everything in between.

It’s also tragic in a way, as Raya is forced to grow up very quickly, and sees the implications of living in the Soviet Union under the Communists, and the expectations they have. Yet there is a humanity in how they are treated there compared to how they would have been treated in Poland or the ghettos. They escaped a fate that befell the rest of their family, friends and community. For Raya, the choices her parents made in 1939, and then in 1945 when they left Poland for Australia, saved her and shaped her. She could embrace her identity and freedom at a turbulent time.

What this book stands for is memories. Memories that keep us going during war. Memories of the people we have met and spent time with, however briefly. It’s a reminder to value what we have and explores the love we have in this world, and the love that has shaped us. This memoir is for everyone, and explores what it means to overcome adversity, and come out the other side with trust and faith intact.