Malka Levine was born in Volodymyr in what is today north-western Ukraine. After the Holocaust her mother took Malka and her brothers to live in Israel. Malka married a British journalist and moved to Britain. Today she is widowed with two children and lives near Nottingham. She appeared in the documentary Getting Away With Murders, an investigation into why so many perpetrators of the Holocaust went unpunished. Our Mother's Courage is her first book.
A deeply humane memoir, of immense power - there is nothing more affecting than a first hand experience finely told * Philippe Sands * When you read Malka's story you cannot help experiencing rage at how low human beings can stoop and, at the same time, endless admiration for the best of humanity shown by Malka's utterly courageous mother and the Ukrainian Mrs Yakimchuk who risked everything to shelter Malka's family. This book is not just a deeply poignant memoir paying tribute to a brave and indomitable mother, it is history brought to life. * Jonathan Arkush, (President, Board of Deputies of British Jews 2015-2018) * A vivid, compelling book that reminds us of the horrors of the Holocaust but also the resilience of the human spirit. Malka's story of her family's survival in the face of mind-numbing adversity is both moving and ultimately hopeful. * Donald Ferencz, human rights advocate and attorney * This timely book chronicles one mother’s courage and the fate of a generation. It is poignant to compare the scene in November 1942 when the book starts in Western Ukraine with what is happening now in that benighted land . . . [an] extraordinary account of mankind’s inhumanity to man. Although tragic, it offers hope too because of the role played by Righteous Gentiles in keeping the author’s family safe. * John Bowers KC, Principal of Brasenose College, Oxford *