Aranka Siegal facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Aranka Siegal
|
|
|---|---|
Aranka Siegal
|
|
| Born | Aranka Davidowitz June 10, 1930 Beregszász, Czechoslovakia (present-day Berehove, Ukraine) |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Notable awards | Newbery Honor Boston Globe-Horn Book Award |
Aranka Siegal (born Aranka Meizlik on June 11, 1930) is a famous writer. She is also a survivor of the Holocaust, a terrible time in history. Aranka Siegal has won important awards for her books, like the Newbery Honor and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award in 1982.
She has written three books. Her most well-known book is Upon the Head of the Goat: A Childhood in Hungary 1930-1944. This book tells the story of her childhood in Hungary. It describes her life before she was held in Nazi camps like Auschwitz – Birkenau and Bergen-Belsen for about a year.
Her other books are Grace in the Wilderness: After the Liberation 1945-1948 and Memories of Babi. Aranka Siegal's books are sold all over the world. They have been translated into many languages, including English, French, and German. She can speak six different languages!
Contents
Aranka Siegal's Early Life
Aranka Meizlik was born in Beregszász, Czechoslovakia. This place is now called Berehove, Ukraine. Her parents were Meyer and Rise Meizlik. Aranka's father, Meyer Meizlik, passed away when she was only nine months old.
Later, her mother married Ignac Davidowitz. Aranka was the fifth of seven children in her family. She had four older sisters, a younger half-brother, and a younger half-sister.
Childhood Summers with Babi
When Aranka was a child, she often spent her summers visiting her grandmother, Babi. Babi lived in Komjáti, a small farming village in the Carpathian Mountains. Most of Aranka's family followed many Jewish customs and traditions. However, her grandmother, Babi, lived a very strict Orthodox Jewish life.
In 1944, Aranka and her older sister, Iboya, were sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp. They were separated from the rest of their family. The sisters were made to work in a kitchen. Later, they were moved to another camp called Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
In April 1945, Aranka and Iboya were freed by soldiers led by Field Marshal Montgomery. The Swedish Red Cross then helped them travel to Sweden. In 1948, they moved to the United States.
Aranka Siegal During World War II
When Aranka was thirteen years old, during World War II, her family faced great hardship. She, her mother, and her siblings Iboya, Sándor, and Joli, were forced to leave their home. They were moved to a brick factory in Beregszász. This factory had been turned into a ghetto to hold Jewish people.
At that time, Aranka's stepfather, Ignac Davidowitz, was fighting in the war. Her older sister Roszi was with their grandmother, and another older sister, Etus, was in Budapest. Before her family moved to the ghetto, some of their relatives had already been taken away by the Nazis. This included Aranka's older sister Lilli, Lilli's husband Lajos, and their baby daughter Manci.
Life in the Camps
Soon after Aranka and her family arrived in the ghetto, they were sent to Auschwitz. When they arrived on May 9, 1944, Aranka and Iboya were separated from the rest of their family. They never saw them again. Eventually, the two sisters were moved to another concentration camp, Bergen-Belsen.
They had been in the camps for more than six months when they were rescued. The British First Army freed them in early 1945. By the end of World War II, only two of Aranka's close family members were still alive: her older sisters, Iboya and Etus.
The Swedish Red Cross helped Aranka and Iboya go to Sweden. There, they recovered and went to a special school. They also worked in a factory. The sisters lived in Sweden for three and a half years. Then, in 1948, when Aranka turned eighteen, they moved to the United States.
Life in the United States
In August 1948, Aranka and Iboya sailed from Sweden to the United States. They met some of their family again in New York. There, the two sisters started a new life. In the U.S., Aranka had to learn her sixth language: English.
In 1951, when Aranka was twenty-one, she married Gilbert Siegal. Gilbert was ten years older than her. He had studied law at Harvard Law School and was an officer in the United States Airforce during World War II.
Aranka and Gilbert Siegal lived in the New York City suburbs for most of their lives. In 2000, they moved to Aventura, Florida. They had two children, Joseph and Rissa. After their children went to college, Aranka, in her mid-forties, went back to school.
In 1977, she earned her bachelor's degree in Social Anthropology from New York University. In the same year, she hosted a radio show. On this show, she shared her experiences from Hungary and other countries.
Recent Years and Legacy
Aranka Siegal has lived in Aventura, Florida since 2000. Her husband, Gilbert, passed away in 2004. She spends a lot of her time visiting schools across the country. She tells students the story of her life and what she went through during World War II. Her most recent book, Memories of Babi, was published in May 2008. You can find more information on her website: https://www.arankasiegal.com
Aranka Siegal's Books
Upon the Head of the Goat
About the Book
This book was published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in 1981. In the story, Siegal is the nine-year-old character named Piri. The name 'Piri' comes from the Yiddish name 'Perele', which her grandmother used to call her. When Siegal played with other children during her summer visits to her grandmother, they started calling her 'Piri'.
The title, Upon the Head of the Goat, comes from a passage in the Old Testament (the Biblical book of Leviticus 16). Siegal found this passage when she was looking up the meaning of the word "scapegoat."
Awards and Recognition
Upon the Head of the Goat has received many awards and honors. These include the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award and the Newbery Honor Book. It was also recognized by the American Library Association as a Notable Children's Book. Many important publications and organizations have recommended this book.
Grace in the Wilderness
About the Book
This book was published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Inc. in 1985. In this story, Siegal is the fourteen-year-old character, Piri. Like her first book, the title Grace in the Wilderness also comes from an Biblical passage. This title comes from the book of Jeremiah 31.
Summary of the Story
The story follows fourteen-year-old Piri, who survived the Nazi camp, Auschwitz – Birkenau. After six months in the camp, she and her sister are freed and rescued by the Swedish Red Cross. Piri then travels with her sister, Iboya, to Sweden. There, a Jewish-Swedish family adopts her.
Piri falls in love with David, which creates a difficult choice for her. Should she choose the person she loves, or Iboya, the sister who guided her through so much? Piri deals with growing up, making big decisions for her future, the sadness of losing her family, and the memories of being in the camp. When she is eighteen, Piri leaves her adoptive family. She sails to the United States with her sister. In New York City, Piri and Iboya are reunited with some of their family members. They begin their new lives there.
Awards and Recognition
Grace in the Wilderness won the NCSS-CBC Notable Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies award. It has also been recommended by several well-known book reviewers and publications.
Memories of Babi
About the Book
This book was published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Inc. in 2008. In Memories of Babi, Aranka Siegal is the young Piri in the stories. The nine stories in this book are based on Siegal's own experiences. They describe her time in the Ukrainian countryside with her grandmother, Babi. The book is named after her grandmother.
Awards and Recognition
Memories of Babi has received several awards. These include being a NYPL Book for Reading and Sharing. It was also a finalist for the 2008 National Jewish Book Awards in Children's and Young Adult Literature. The book was also recognized by the Bank Street College and received a Sydney Taylor Honor Award.
