As the granddaughter of an Auschwitz survivor this was always going to be a poignant read for me. I found it fascinating to hear of the sisters story and what they endured and overcame. Like my Grandmother they didn't speak much of their experiences after they reclaimed their lives until much later when they realised their story needed to be told so it would never be forgotten or repeated.
It is humbling to understand the fortitude and resilience of their generation to overcome such events (especially in current times when being told to 'Stay at home' is considered a hardship).
An thought provoking read my only reservation is that the narrative is slightly light on details and potentially a deeper explanation of some events could have given a more in-depth vision of their memoirs.

Always Remember Your Name by Andre and Tatiana Bucci


This is a true story of two miracle children. A six year old and a four year old who were deported to Auschwitz in 1944 and managed to survive. Very very few children survived the camps, and especially not ones so young.


This is their tale, told in their own words but translated into English. This is not made into a novel, with dialogue made up by the author, but the actual testimony of these remarkable survivors. The tale doesn't stop at the liberation of the camps. These children finished their internment believing their parents had died, and were taken with other survivors to a refuge in England. Their remarkable story continues almost to the present day, with details of their children and grandchildren, and how they cope with their memories of their time in the camps to this day.


A remarkable piece of history, and one everyone should read.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4440193724

This survivor story is a must read for anyone interested in the Holocaust. To hear an account of the events from the perspective of children is in equal measure devastating and fascinating.

I was particularly fascinated to read about the wider family, the stages of recovery and supporting facilities in the aftermath of the war, not to mention the incredible story of those who survived and their reunion. I have since been driven to research Lingfield House and hope to follow up on some of the other books mentioned by the authors.

The fact that this true story accounts for both sisters’ recollections and is delivered in the first person plural, adds to the many unique factors in their experience. It is well told and effective in the translation from Italian too.

What a good book, the book is one of the better ones I’ve read on this time period and comes from a very different perspective (to what I’ve read so far), great it’s been translated and is to the point and captures the feeling of how the two sisters felt. I just wish there had been more!!!

'Always Remember Your Name' is an immensely powerful memoir by two Italian sisters who survived Auschwitz as young children (aged 4 and 6). Their survival is in itself extraordinary as the vast majority of Jewish children who arrived at Auschwitz-Birkenau were murdered as soon as they arrived, and of those who were not, very few survived until the liberation. They do not know the reasons that they survived (perhaps because they looked like twins, perhaps because their father was Catholic) but attribute it to their mother's fierce love and determination for them.

This book describes the events leading up to their arrest by the Nazis and their time at Auschwitz, as well as their experiences after liberation, first at an orphanage in Prague where they were shown no affection, then at Lingfield House in England where they were treated with great kindness and could begin to recover, and then back in Italy when reunited with their loving parents (but with whom they never discussed their experiences at Auschwitz). Lastly they recount their lives as adults, including their decision to start sharing their story and to return to Auschwitz.

Andra and Tatiana write as one voice in the first-person plural but do frequently highlight their own individual memories. Their writing style is relatively simple and unadorned, and they are very open about what they do not remember because they were so young. All of this adds to the power and authenticity of their account, which is at times moving, haunting and harrowing, but also very hopeful as they talk about ways in which they have been able to 'look forward' in their lives.

At a time when there are relatively few Holocaust survivors still able to tell their stories, it is so important to listen to testimonies like this, whose understated honesty is in stark contrast to many of the commercialised and sensationalised novels about Auschwitz which often garner more readers and attention. This is a short book but it will stay with me for a very long time. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC to review.

A really heartbreaking but uplifting story that will remain with me for a long time Thanks to Bonnier books and the author fir giving me the opportunity to read this book
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Andra and Tatiana were two Italian sisters who were sent to Birkenau in April 1944 . On arrival there they were tattooed with a number 76483 and 76484 on their wrists. They were taught to always remember your name.

From their memories of standing naked with their mother waiting for their heads to be shaved , to the constant smell of burning. Their memories are a remarkable testament to what happened in Birkenau.

The book also covers their lives after liberation. How for a long time they could not talk about the time they spent in the camp. To me this book gives enough detail of what happened during this horrific time without going into gory details. This is a perfect memoir for younger people to understand history.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to see an arc.

Always remember your name is a true account of Andra and Tatiana Bucci, who were aged 4 and 6 when they were sent to Auschwitz concentration camp along with 14 other members of their family.
Separated on arrival and sent to the kinderblock, to this day they do not know why they survived the atrocities. Their memories are quite sketchy about the time in Auschwitz, a blessing in disguise maybe, and I was horrified to read about their time after liberation when they were sent to a children's home in Prague. It was very interesting to read about life after the holocaust and accounts like these need to be read so that history doesn't repeat itself ever again.
Recommended reading for historians, especially those with interests in the holocaust and world war two.

This account of personal experiences of the holocaust, endured by Andra and Tatiana Bucci, and their lives in the years afterwards tells a very powerful and moving story of the nature of the Nazi death camps. Many accounts of the horrors of the holocaust have been written by survivors, but very few children did, in fact, survive and live to put into words their own story. The Bucci sisters, aged four and six have done just that.

Those of us who did not have to experience the horrors of the inhumane extermination programme carried out by the Nazis will never know how it felt to be subjected to such an abomination against fellow human beings. This book helps us to learn and understand what really did take place. Written without any kind of malice, hatred or desire for revenge, instead, the sisters have used their own experiences to carry out a programme of lectures and pilgrimages, particularly for younger generations, to show how wars and aggression against fellow human beings are futile.

This is a very well written, informative and moving account of one of the most abhorrent acts ever against mankind and I can thoroughly recommend this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bonnier Books UK for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

A really good and informative read. The book just focused on the wrong aspects for what I expected. If you are looking for details of the sisters being reunited with family members after the war and information on how their lives developed afterward, this is the perfect read for you. My interests were more towards the Josef Mengele experiments and what they went through in Auschwitz. Unfortunately, that period of time had a lot of "we can't remember" and all they saw of the experiments were children being picked to leave and not coming back.

I struggled a bit with the POV, as the book was written from the POV of BOTH sisters, so it was a lot of "we", which wasn't an issue but then they'd still have to differentiate between themselves and so would use their names too, which I'd often mistake for them talking about another character temporarily. Maybe it's because I've never read a book with two people as one narrator before that made it a bit jarring for me. But it really provides a massive insight into how a lot of what went on was hushed immediately after the war, how adults who ended up in these camps often moved on and how people dealt with the grief of often not knowing if a relative was alive or dead and not being able to accept the ones confirmed dead.

It's not uncommon to read stories about the survivors of Auschwitz-Birkenau, despite there having been very few people who made it out comparatively. But what is uncommon is to feel as though you experienced the days afterwards with those people. Imagine the suffering of the concentration camps and you can probably recreate an image of that in your mind, but of the after-effects, PTSD and subsequent struggles of each individual, unique only to them, in the years of their lives afterwards? Not so easy to conjur a thought in your mind.

This story is about two Italian sisters, only six and four years old when they reached Birkenau, who were determined to be more than the numbers tattooed on their wrists. They talk us through the memories they have following their liberation and shed a new light on a tragic time.

I really appreciated that this took a different direction to many of the stories like it. It was a unique insight to share the impact on their lives thereafter, and actually it makes you realise that the trauma was much more than the concentration camp - they stole far more than those years of the prisoners lives, but instead changed or redirected the remainder of them too.

A valuable insight, bravely shared.

Arc provided from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for sending me a copy of this book to read. I enjoyed reading the story of sisters Andra and Tati. It was an emotional read, but very interesting. What I liked was that we also got the background of their family and how their parents met. I'd recommend this book.

What a powerful and moving story about 2 young Italian girls surviving Auschwitz. Their experiences were not spoken about until many years later. I enjoyed the fact that we learnt how they were able to deal with these horrors and move forward and create good lives and families. The result is a very absorbing and heartbreaking book which we should never forget.

A book that needs to be read. Powerful, honest and unsettling read. Told at times in one voice and then at others as if in conservation between the two sisters.
A testament to courage and resilience of the sisters but their mother and other family members as well.
Memories of home, removal to the concentration camps and their daily life. The end and repatriation to England and eventually reunited with family.
Their lives unfold with marriage, children and grand children. It is not till a later period the atrocities are accepted as what happened.
Very powerful as it should be.

This book is the story of two Italian sisters who along with other members of their family were transported to Auschwitz. Only four members of the family survived and eventually the sisters returned home.

Their experiences followed them and the horrifying memories haunted them daily. The impact of this time in history is unimaginable on many Jewish people. We must never forget the horrors which occurred and the bravery of authors who share their personal painful experiences .

This book was more a personal account of events in contrast to others which I have read which are more story based.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for my chance to read this powerful book.

A powerful book about two sisters who lived through terrific atrocities and managed to grow up to become, by the sounds of it, amazing, tenacious women with inspiring world views and values. It would be easy to say that this book is about what happened to the sisters during the Holocaust, but that would be doing the sisters a disservice. It’s about how they built a future despite the Holocaust, and continue to build a future by educating future generations.

This is not “just another book about the Holocaust”. It is a special book about the Holocaust.

It is written by two Italian sisters with one voice and yet at all times you know which sister is writing. It is quite remarkable and I have never experienced anything like it before. The two sisters and other members of the family were transported to Auschwitz in 1944. Only four members survived. The book goes on to explain what happened after they eventually returned home and how memories were buried for many years. It also explains why they began to speak out and the trips they have undertaken to support this cause. It has a very powerful message and it does not shrink away from talking about those who collaborated in the attempted extermination of the Jews. A few warning shots about modern day society are also made. As a result it is a very powerful book.

This was such a heartbreakingly dark period of history and to hear the experiences through the words of children at the time was heartbreaking . This period of history was real and is so easy to forget the horrors men, women and children went through. This book was such an emotional read and a book people should read and remember.
Thanks NetGalley and Bonnier Books for the read.

This is probably the shortest account of real life in Auschwitz I’ve read but no less important or devastatingly moving than the others. Everyone needs to read these books. We must never forget and I’m grateful to the authors that they show bravery in going back to those years so that we can never forget.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an honest and unbiased opinion.

Two Italian sisters, six and four years old, sent to Birkenau in April 1944 where number 76483 and 76484 were tattooed on their wrists.

They did not forget their names while at this extermination camp, where few survived, because their mother, also there told them : “Remember, your name is Liliana by Bucci.” Remember, your name is Andra Bucci.”

After liberation, they had memories of “fear and terror”, of being cold, of “a constant smell of burning”, but they didn’t speak of that horrific time for decades not even to each other, not even with their mother. Today, I am grateful that they are bear witness, teach younger generations, and in this moving, jointly told memoir they remind us that it is imperative to remember.

I received an advanced copy of this book from Bonnier Books through NetGalley.