Felicia Bryn (F / Poland, 1936-2014), Holocaust survivor

Felicia Bryn (F / Poland, 1936-2014), Holocaust survivor.

• KEYWORDS : <Warsaw Ghetto> <Hidden Chidren> -- <United States>

• MEMOIRS : Never Forget to Lie (2005)

Biography

Felicia Bryn was born on August 22, 1936. She lost both of her parents in the war and was adopted by a Christian couple. The last thing her father told her was to never let others know she was Jewish, and she spent her years pretending to be a Christian and living in fear of being discovered. “My fear was overwhelming,” says Felicja. Her memoir, Never Forget to Lie, published in 2005, recounts her struggle to survive and to discover her true identity. Bryn passed away on January 1, 2014 in North Miami Beach, FL.

Book : Never Forget to Lie (2005)

"As the Nazi SS troops stormed through the Warsaw ghetto apartment, five-year-old Felicia and her younger brother Yurek crouched alone in a coal box, hidden by their aunt. The pounding boots stopped right in front of the terrified children. Would Yurek cry and give them away? Felicia shoved her fist into Yurek's mouth and held him close. The boots went away ... Felicia's mother was dead of typhoid fever and her father, desperate to save his blonde daughter, arranged a new life for her with a Catholic family. Her aunt's parting words were, "Do you remember Shirley Temple? Be an actress like she is. Remember, from today, please, you must lie" ... This memoir recounts the author's struggle, first to survive the Nazi onslaught as a hidden child and then to uncover her true self amid the lies, which had been essential to her survival. It is the story of a young girl always on the run, until she rediscovers her Jewish roots in emigrating to Israel and then settles in the United States where, at last, she no longer needs to act and she and Shirley Temple can part."--Publisher description.