On the eve of the Holocaust, a Jewish family in Lodz, Poland, flees the Nazi regime by escaping eastward into Russia

East of the Storm (paper)

Outrunning the Holocaust in Russia

Hanna Davidson Pankowsky, with introduction by Mary Maddock

“More than just another memoir of survival, the Davidson’s triumph is clearly one of a family whose spirit and humanity would not be impoverished by persecution, war, famine, political oppression, or anti-semitic genocide.” —Bookwatch“ ‘East of the Storm’ is a tale of bravery and risking it all for just the chance to survive.” — Midwest Book Review“A living testimony to the survival of the human spirit.” — Dee Ann RayOn September 27, 1939, after the Nazi invasion, Poland ceased to exist as a nation. Ten-year-old Hanna Davidson’s father, Simon, and older brother, Kazik, had been drafted to defend Warsaw. Hanna and her mother, Sofia, found themselves subjected to Hitler’s efforts to dehumanize Poland’s Jewish population. There seemed no choice but to submit to a ruthless tyranny.Learning that Simon and Kazik were alive in the Soviet-occupied zone of Poland, Hanna and her mother decided to risk a harrowing escape from Nazi Poland into safer Soviet territory. With only the clothes on their backs, they fled their apartment to face a daunting crossing and the threat of persecution under Stalin's regime.As recounted by Hanna, the Davidsons’ journey into the Soviet interior makes for an extraordinary story. More than a memoir of survival, their story is clearly one of a family whose spirit could not be destroyed by persecution, war, famine, or political oppression.

Hanna Davidson Pankowsky lives with her husband in San Antonio, Texas, and often speaks to students and other groups.

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