My March Through Hell: A Young Girl's Terrifying Journey to Survival

Halina Kleiner

Nov 2023 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Natasha Soudek

About this audiobook

A young girl is suddenly all alone and on the run from the Nazis in her hometown in Poland. Having survived an aktion that was intended to completely rid Czestochowa of all the Jews, she and her father try to make their way back to their home during the late hours of the night. Confronted by a policeman, Halina Goldberg unexplainably runs away from her father and begins her long journey of survival. When tired of fleeing, she volunteers to go into a work camp. That decision buys her some time because the Germans need labor for the war effort. Halina works in three different camps from the Fall of 1943 to January 1945. At first, the camps are bearable, even though the prisoners are worked hard and fed very little. But as the Germans begin to lose the war, the conditions turn deathly. The Jews become overrun with disease and their captors grow crueler and crueler. As it becomes clear that the war is lost, the SS empty the camps and set over 2,000 women on a four-month long march that would cover over 800 kilometers during one of Europe's coldest winters on record. Halina was one of the only 300 who survived the Volary Death March and finally felt the need to record her hellish story of survival.

About the author

Halina Goldberg Kleiner was born in Czestochowa, Poland, in 1929. She was one of the few who survived the infamous Volary Death March. Halina was one of the very first Jews to be allowed to immigrate to the United States, and in the summer of 1946, she settled in Buffalo, New York. She died on April 9, 2022.

Natasha Soudek's voice is as distinct and memorable as the range of characters she's played on-screen, which gives listeners an immediate familiarity to connect to, along with a warmth and intimacy that spans and uplifts any genre.

Edwin Stepp has more than thirty years experience in media, marketing, and advertising. He was executive editor for the quarterly, Vision-Journal for a New World, for over fifteen years. He wrote dozens of articles about history, culture, environment, and current events for the publication.