Rating: 
Summary: In My Hands
Review: I read the book In My Hands by Irene Gut Opdyke with Jennifer Armstrong for a school project in reading class. At first I did not think I would like this book because the holocaust is such a horrible thing. As I read on though I could not set the book down. It kept me turning the pages. Irene Gutowna is a seventeen-year-old, gentile, Polish girl who gets dragged into the war and separated from her family. Irene could not even image what would go on over the next five years of her life. Everything would change.
One day she goes outside past curfew and is raped and beaten by Nazi officers. She devotes herself to doing anything she can to get back at the Nazis for this horrible act against her, and for taking over her beloved Poland. While in recovery she learns and teaches herself the German language. She ends up working for a German Nazi cafeteria that is located right next to a concentration camp.
She starts off small by putting food under a fence, in hope that someone in the horrible camp will get the food. This was just one small step in Irene's great journey. Eventually it leads up to hiding ten Jewish people in a German major's villa and feeding them food. When the major finds out Irene is hiding and feeding the Jews in his basement of his house, he is infuriated. Forces her to become his mistress. If she had denied, he would have had to turn her and the others in. This would mean the sentence of death for all. These are just a couple of things Irene does to corrupt the Nazi party. This book was very inspiring to me. To know that someone would be so willing to risk so much, even his or her own life and for fighting for what they believe in.
Rating:
Summary: A Holocaust Hero
Review: The book IN MY HANDS, is about a woman named Irene Gut. She is a strong-willed and intelligent girl. When the book starts, it is the beginning of World War II. Irene is seventeen at the time and is going to nursing school in Radom. When the German's attack Poland, Radom is bombed. She escapes and lives in the woods with others that are on the run. One night some soldiers saw her and raped her then left Irene in the snow to die. Thankfully, some other soldiers come and found her. Taking her to the hospital, was the best thing for Irene. She met a doctor that helped her escape. From then on she was on her on. She went on to serve German officials food and learned of what horrible things were being done to the Jews. She felt that this was wrong and Irene had to do something about it. The beginning of her rescue mission was leaving buckets of food underneath the fence of one of the ghetto's. It progressed into harboring Jews in the basement of a German major that Irene was a house-keeper to. She has to become the major's mistress because he walked in and saw what Irene was doing. It took unbelievable strength for her to make it through all that had been done to her. She was one of those people that the worse things get the stronger Irene got. The book was put together very well. It told the story of Irene Gut very vividly that you could actually hear and see it happening. The another good thing was the vocabulary was very extensive. This book is a solid book that everyone needs to read because it is a first hand experience of the Holocaust.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: I just finished listening to this book on tape. It was extremely well done from Irene's recollection of events. The Holocaust was an atrocity to society, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't study the topic. Hitler and his regime need to be understood to prevent similar occurences in the future. I can't image what she was going through during those times and I wonder how many of us could even begin to imagine her anguish.
Rating:
Summary: --A Riveting and True Story--
Review: This is probably one of the most remarkable stories that I've ever encountered and I don't understand why it hasn't received more attention. My husband and I listened to the audio tape which was beautifully read by Hope David.IN MY HANDS is the autobiography of Irene Gut, a 17 year old Polish Catholic girl. The book begins with lovely recollections that Irene had of her early life in Czestochowa, Poland, where she was surrounded by her four sisters and loving parents. When the Nazi's invaded Poland in 1939, Irene was living away from her family in Radom where she was studying to become a nurse. When Radom was bombed, the Polish Army had to retreat and asked that some of the medical staff come with them to help take care of the wounded. Irene volunteered to go, and eventually ended up on the other side of Poland which was under Russian rule. Many miles away from her family, and eventually separated from the other hospital staff, Irene faced life alone, and saw the country that she loved controlled by brutes and killers. At first this young woman saw the worst in the Russian soldiers and later she also met the German invaders who showed her another side of brutality. Despite the threat to her own life, Irene risked everything so that many others had the chance to live. This very inspiring memoir compares to HIDING PLACE the story of Corrie Ten Boom and her family.
Rating:
Summary: AMAZING READ!
Review: This book was awesome! I've read it numerous times and each time it gets me hooked. The plot is heartwrenching and the bravery Irene shows is inspiring. Anyone interested in reading about WWII/Holocaust should read this book! You won't be disappointed!!
Rating: 
Summary: Irene Guts Memories of the Holocaust
Review: I enjoyed this book very much. It gave me a better understanding of what the Holocaust was really all about. I couldn't believe some of the scenes that she described about what was happeing to the Jews. The courage of what Irene did to protect people that she didnt even know amazed me. She never gave up on herself and believed that one person could make a difference. I was touched by the way Germans could treat such innocent people and was amazed at the scenes that she described in the book. Irene knew what she was doing was right and the more she saw such behavior the more determined she became to fight. One of the things I did not like about this book was that they focused more on what was happening to her and the people she was protecting then all the Jews in general and what was really happening in the concentration camps. Also it was hard trying to follow up on what was happing in the war. I got confused on when they were being helped out by other forces or when Germany was in complete power. I also would have liked to hear more about Hitler and the evil that he aroused. Over all I believed this was a very good book to others interested in the Holocaust.
Rating:
Summary: from a summer nightmare to a dream
Review: The reason I ever picked this book up was because I had to read it for my school summer reading. I had read other Holocaust books before and liked them, but didn't really want to read this one. After my friend who'd read it urged me to, I finally picked it up. I ended up loving it. The book tells the story of Irene Gut, who was a nursing student, turned Polish military nurse, turned worker in a German officers' dining room/saving grace for so many people. Throughout the course of the Holocaust, Irene saved so many lives, by doing things as simple as warning of a raid, and as challenging as hiding 12 people in a Nazi major's home. The real reason I loved this book was not exactly because of everything Irene did. Irene was a only a girl, practically my own age, and yet she was extremely brave and helped so many. She shows that even small things can help in a big way and that one person really can make a difference.
Rating:
Summary: Very Good
Review: Irene was actually my best friend's grandmother (she was adopted into his family). He has pictures of her and has a signed copy of this book. His mom suggested I read this book and I'm in the midst of reading it and am amazed at the detail in her writing. A definite reccomendation!
Rating:
Summary: Brave Young Rescuer
Review: In My Hands by Irene Gut Opdyke is the true story of herself as a young Catholic girl who lived in Poland at the time of the Nazi invasion. She learned of the Nazi atrocities to the Polish Jews while working as a waitress in a city controlled by the Germans; from then on, she desperately wanted to help them somehow. At the Jewish ghetto nearby, she began to leave food for the starved Jews. A bigger opportunity to help came when she was hired as a housekeeper for a Nazi major. One day, she sneaked several Jews into the house and hid them in the bathroom until the major left. She then moved them to the basement; there she shielded them from any Nazi hostility. She did eventually have to move them to a rural area out of the city because it became too dangerous. As a young lady, she showed tremendous courage, bravery, and fortitude.
Irene was born into one of the worst times of the century, yet she was able to succeed and help so many people. She exemplifies true bravery and determination.
Rating:
Summary: Well written!
Review: I could see the people and places, smell the stench of the ghettos, and feel the fear of Irene Gut as she struggled to save both herself, her family and her Jewish friends and neighbors in WWII Poland. Under extreme conditions, the human spirit prevails.
| 
