Pauline Steinhorn, *Dreaming of the River: A Mother and Daughter’s Fight for Survival in Slave Labor Camps and Bergen-Belsen*. Amsterdam: Amsterdam Publishers, 2026.

Send us Fan MailBronia Feldman never anticipated becoming the cornerstone of an underground medical network, particularly not within the harsh confines of the HASAG munitions factory's forced-labor system in occupied Poland. In September 1942, she was forcibly separated from her family, arriving there completely overwhelmed by sorrow. The only thing strong enough to keep her going is the hope of saving others. Left behind in the Skarzysko-Kamienna ghetto are her husband and two young daughters. Her 13-year-old daughter, Hajuta, has been dispatched to a nearby labor camp. Seizing a rare chance to escape, Bronia manages to reach her daughter. After a brief reunion, she is faced with an agonizing decision: to flee into the woods and join the partisans or to return to the very place she has just escaped from.When they finally reunite months later, the moment is both miraculous and heart-wrenching. Hajuta is no longer the child Bronia remembers. Together, they endure even darker days as they are deported to Bergen-Belsen in January 1945. This true account of a Jewish mother and daughter stands as a testament to bravery, love, and the delicate thread of hope that kept them going. Amidst brutality and fear, they also experience fleeting moments of humanity. Through it all, both hold onto memories of the River Kamienna, where they once danced, played music, and dreamed of a brighter future. For Bronia and Hajuta, the river symbolizes more than just a memory; it represents a promise that they may one day return home. The introduction is penned by Menachem Rosensaft, an attorney, human rights advocate, professor of law, and a prominent figure in the Second Generation movement of children of Holocaust survivors.