Bronia and the Bowls of Soup – A Holocaust Survivor Tale

Bronia and the Bowls of Soup is a short tale of a young girl’s experience growing up in the ghettos and concentration camps in Poland and Germany. Bronia is a normal Jewish kid at Grade school in Poland, her family owns a small clothing shop and life is stable and happy.

by Aaron Zerah

As Germany invades Poland her life is thrown into turmoil. First they are in ghettos in Poland with nothing but the clothes on their back, then shipped to German concentration camps (Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen where she is made to work.

Throughout the 6 years of war Bronia survives by keeping her spirits high and by helping everyone around her with bowls of soup and dollops of care and laughter. This is a survivor story that will have you in tears as you imagine how someone so young survived such life threatening events with her life when many didn’t, and did so by giving away her own soup, her own subsistence to others who needed it more.

Sample from – Bronia and the Bowls of Soup 

My name is Bronia and I’m 89 years old. I just had a very big birthday party and thirty
of my friends came to celebrate with me. I was very happy!
My life is very beautiful! I have two wonderful sons, identical twins, and two
grandchildren, a boy and a girl, and I love them with all my heart.
Today, I want to tell you a story about how my life was when I was a girl.

When I was a Girl

When I was a little girl I lived with my mother Miriam and my grandmother and
grandfather in a small city in Poland. My family owned a clothing store and my
grandfather was one of the first people in the whole country to sell jeans.
We also sold jewelry that my father brought from places very far away. Every time he
came back from one of his long trips, he always treated me to ice cream or the
special wafer cookies I loved so much!
I liked going to school because I enjoyed learning new things, and also because all of
my closest friends, Jewish children like me, went there too.
Sometimes, I made up stories for all of us at school to act out. Everyone had a part to
play and it was really fun!
I believe I began to love stories when I was very small. My mother took me with her
to the movies or the theatre, and my grandfather told me lots of stories from the Bible
about women and men who were great heroes. In my imagination, I wondered what
kind and brave things I might do.

One Day Things Changed

Then, when I was only ten-years-old, everything changed. One day, just after coming
home from summer camp, I ate a bunch of blueberry turnovers fresh out of my
grandmother’s oven. Suddenly, I felt terribly sick. I had such a horrible pain in my
belly I had to be taken to the hospital. I needed an operation to make me better and I
was really worried I’d miss the start of school.

<end of excerpt>

About the author and the story

This is the true story of the Author, Aaron Zerah’s Mother, how she survived against all odds, and now thrives, to this day,  with a family in Canada.

More Inspirational books below 

Save the Planet – Be Nice series book 4, revised edition - Save the Planet is a short simple book for young children, and beginner ESL readers, promoting values of conservation and ecologically-friendly behaviour. This book teaches children ten important lessons about conservation and actions that can help preserve and conserve our natural environment and the resources, for those of us, people and animals, who inhabit it. ...

With Love Gaia - A beautiful leaf flutters from the palm of Gaia, Mother Earth, with a message for Kaya and Kabir. What is the message? What does Mother Earth want to say to us? Is she hurting? How can we help? Read on to find out about Kaya and Kabir’s adventure and how the children organise their community ...

Gracie’s Guide Book to Growing up SUPER - Gracie’s big sister is a F-E-M-I-N-I-S-T. What does that mean? Can boys be feminists too? Find out the answers to these questions and more about being really SUPER in this very sweet guidebook, written by Gracie to her new sibling. Sample Page 1 from Gracie’s Guidebook to Being Super: Download the full book on the ...

How to Be Happy – Be Nice Book 2 – Revised Edition - 10 life lessons on how to be happy by 10 friendly animal characters, including sight words and activities, perfect for school use, in a pdf and editable children's book released under CC-BY-NC.

Max and Keira Make a Change - An inspiring story detailing a connection between a heart transplant and his donor, and how you can make a change if you try and keep trying. Max and Keira achieve an important change in organ donor laws in the UK – saving hundreds of lives each year since the change was effected. This book is ...

Always Be Nice – 10 lessons in kindness, revised edition - Always be Nice is a short book for young children promoting kindness and manners and can be used as an early reader. The book is perfect for building confidence in reading with only 28 words most of which are simple words. This book also teaches kids ten important lessons about being kind to others. Each ...

My Wildest Imagination Journal - Every child deserves to feel good about who they are, who they want to be, and know they deserve to achieve even their wildest dreams. These free writing prompts pages are designed to help your child get started writing their own journal. They will help them use their imagination to make all their dreams come ...

I Am Grateful – I choose to look for the best in everything! - I Believe Gratitude Creates Joy! If you are not feeling good and want to stay in bed, because of bad thoughts roaming around in your head. Read this book before you get up, to improve your attitude and always stay focused on gratitude. There are so many things in this world to be grateful for, ...

I Am Strong, I Am Courageous, I Am Girl – Self help book for growing your confidence - As Long As I Stay Positive I Can Achieve Great Things! This little eBook features the character Abazora of the Azpazaz Bunch. This is a story with positive affirmations to remind you to be strong and courageous. Never let anyone tell you anything you want is impossible. Read this little book out loud to yourself ...

More books about History below 

The Middle Ages – CKF Reader - The Middle Ages is a reader designed for Grade 4 from the Core Knowledge Foundation. The reader has complex vocabulary designed to prepare students for the increased demands of later grades, focusses on Western Europe in the middle ages, or medieval times. This resource is available with a teacher guide and activity book, at the ...

The Grass Seeker – A Himalaya Shepherd - The Grass Seeker – As the weather turns warm, shepherd Room Singh takes his flock of goats and sheep and scales the Himalayas for fresh grass. With global warming a reality, this photo book traces the journey that a Gaddi shepherd has been making for the last 40 years, how many more will it be? ...

The Industrial Revolution – Grade 6 History CKF - The Industrial Revolution from Core Knowledge Foundation for Grade 6 is a comprehensive study of the period of advancement caused by the development of machinery from the 1700s to the 1800s in Britain and America and includes such topics as working conditions, economic effects, capitalism and communism. This book also has a teaching guide and ...

Chipko Takes Root – Saving trees of the Himalayas - Here is a story set in the hills that shows what bravery and grit can accomplish. Dichi, a brave Bhotiya girl takes part in the Chipko movement to save her beloved trees. Everybody in her village knows that trees give them all the important things in their life. Rapid deforestation in the Himalayan region of ...

CKF Civil Rights Movement Grade 2 Student Book - This CKF Civil Rights Movement Grade 2 book provides facts and history behind 7 different civil rights leaders and some other extraordinary people involved in the civil rights movement and is aimed at content for Grade 2. Contents Chapter 1 Susan B. Anthony . . . . . . . . . . . . ...

The Time-Travelling River – History, geography, and environmentalism in a story - The Time-Traveling River tells a tale of rivers and how important they are in history and for our future, and how we need to protect them. An important look at environmentalism from a river’s perspective. Written by Parinita Shetty, Illustrated by Sunaina Coelho Sample Text from The Time-Travelling River Rivers are like time machines. If people jump ...

Free At Last – The US Civil Rights Movement - A comprehensive textbook on Civil Rights in America, documenting the US civil rights movement from the introduction of slavery through to the enforcement of the Civil Rights Act and eradication of all discriminatory practices. This textbook was created by the US Bureau of International Information Programs and is available in Public Domain. Principal text written ...

Ancient Egypt – CKF reference book for elementary - Ancient Egypt is a reference book suitable for early to mid-elementary school students, grades 1-4. This is suitable for use as a reference for projects and as a learning tool, designed to be read aloud to early grades or to be read by older grades. More resources associated with this module, including a teachers guide ...

Cracking the Code: Women Who Have Changed the Way We Look at Computers - Cracking the Code: Women Who Have Changed the Way We Look at Computers tells the true story of the many women who have made significant contributions to the world of code and technology. We hear about the women who are behind the development or use of the sophisticated technology we have today, including Vandana ‘Vandi’ ...

Sponsored Links:

Note – if you sign up through these links, it doesn’t cost you any extra, but FKB receives a small donation, which helps us move towards our aim of
FREE Hardcopies!  

All our posts are checked by Grammarly, the FREE online grammar checker (We still receive a donation even if you only sign up for the free account :-):

This site is hosted by Bluehost:

Leave a comment (it won’t be public) if you want help getting your own website cost-effectively.