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Do Not Cry When I Die

A Holocaust Memoir

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About The Book

One of the oldest living Holocaust survivors recounts her family’s imprisonment at Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen—and the extraordinary bond with her mother that ultimately saved her life—in this moving memoir of love, loss, courage, and hope.

“I only survived because of my mother's love.”

When German soldiers invaded Poland in September 1939, a six-year journey began for then ten-year-old Renee Salt and her mother, Sala. Until their liberation in 1945, Renee and Sala were imprisoned in ghettos and concentration camps, including Auschwitz-Birkenau and Bergen-Belsen. The only light in the darkness and brutality for Renee was the unwavering grasp of her mother’s hand in hers—enduring, against all odds. It was this unbreakable bond, along with a few miracles, that kept Renee alive. Sala’s staggering courage to defy the will of SS guards saved both her and her daughter from the gas chambers, and the pair survived the deadliest days in Auschwitz’s history.

After suffering the nightmarish conditions at Bergen-Belsen, Renee and her mother were liberated in April 1945. To this day, Renee attributes her survival to the love and bravery of her beloved mother. Do Not Cry When I Die is an incredibly moving and deeply crucial book that tells the shocking story of one of the oldest Auschwitz-Birkenau and Bergen-Belsen survivors—and the mother’s love that saved her life.

About The Author

Martin Salt

Renee Salt was born Rywka Ruchla Berkowitz in Zdunska Wola, Poland, in 1929, and is a Holocaust survivor of both Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. Renee is an accomplished public speaker on her experiences in the Holocaust, and has been praised by Prince William as well as the late Queen Elizabeth, and received the British Empire Medal for her service to the community. She lives in London, UK.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster (March 4, 2025)
  • Length: 272 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781668083413

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Raves and Reviews

“[Do Not Cry When I Die] travels to the very heart of existence. . . this is a book about the triumph of the will.”
JOSHUA LEVINE, historian, broadcaster, and bestselling author of SAS: The Authorized Illustrated History of the SAS

An unforgettable story about the power of love, a story that reminds us how important hope is, a story that proves to us that human beings are remarkable and endlessly inspiring. Thank you Kate Thompson and Renee Salt for writing such an important and necessary book.
NATASHA LESTER, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Orphan

Do Not Cry When I Die was a privilege to read. It is a deeply moving memoir, beautifully written and researched. What a fascinating, heartbreaking story. . . How heartening to see the strength of family love and resilience threading through the narrative. I was engrossed from the opening – ‘It was a time of innocence. . . until it wasn't.’”
LUCY ADLINGTON, author of The Dressmaker of Auschwitz

A poignant memoir of the raw loss and horrors experienced by survivor Renee Salt, not only through the Holocaust, but in the daily struggles following liberation. Renee Salt and Kate Thompson come together in powerful unity in a way that is both deeply moving and unforgettable. This is a story the world needs to know.
MADELINE MARTIN, New York Times bestselling author of The Booklover’s Library

A powerful account of a young girl’s incredible resilience in the face of the unthinkable horror of the Holocaust, Renee Salt’s memoir is needed now more than ever. Interspersed with Kate Thompson’s intricate research, this memoir follows Renee as she is ripped from a happy childhood in Poland and forced into ghettos and concentration camps. However, her story does not end there but follows her liberation and—against all odds—the life she built after the war. A riveting read.
JULIA KELLY, international bestselling author of The Lost English Girl

An eloquent, moving, fascinating account told with sincerity and style. This is a book that will stay with me for a long time. The personal nature of Renee’s testament intermixed seamlessly with Kate’s research makes a very full, engaging and touching read. The searing, unflinching honesty of the account takes the reader deep into a period of time we should never be allowed to forget in an involving and very thought-provoking way.
ANNA STUART, author of The Midwife of Auschwitz

“Do Not Cry When I Die is a powerful testament to a mother’s love during unbelievable hardship. From ghettos to concentration camps to slave labor camps, Renee and her mother Sala miraculously stayed by each other’s side and held each other up. Renee’s story of resilience and survival is powerful, poignant, and deeply important. A must-read.”
ELIZABETH BELLAK, co-author of Renia’s Diary

“This is a most extraordinary memoir, distinctive for its detailed recollection and its fearlessness in recording the truth of what happened. Such accounts stand against violence and tyranny for all time.”
RACHEL HORE, bestselling author of The Hidden Years

“It is almost impossible to find words to praise a book that is written with such incredible courage from a place of unimaginable suffering. Renee Salt bravely opens her heart to share her memories of the Holocaust with astonishing clarity and grace. With the addition of Kate Thompson's assured research and guidance, Do Not Cry When I Die is, quite simply, the most important book you will read this year. It will stay with me for a very long time.”
HAZEL GAYNOR, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Lifeboat

“A moving portrayal of one young woman’s heroic life story, Do Not Cry When I Die carries us from genocide and war to love and family. . . From Auschwitz to Bergen Belsen to America, Renee’s journey is one of hope through the ashes of the past, and at ninety-five years young, Renee continues to speak truth to evil, transforming hopelessness and despair with a young woman’s courage.”
HEATHER DUNE MACADAM author of 999: The Extraordinary Young Women of the First Transport to Auschwitz

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