UNTIL OUR LAST BREATH
Laurel Corona, Author

"[T]his book is a work of exceptional historical importance."

Booklist, April 1, 2008

Hut in the Avengers' camp in the Rudnicki Forest

UNTIL OUR LAST BREATH is unusual among Holocaust books, because it provides important information to those who ask why the Jews did not fight back. The answer is that many of them did.

Jewish defiance of the Nazis is a part of the overall story of the Holocaust that has not received adequate attention. Michael Bart's parents' love story provides a gratifying and uplifting means by which a broader story can be told of Jewish courage in the face of unimaginable horror and against overwhelming odds.

This book is not simply the story of two people, but of many. It is not about victimization but about empowerment under unimaginable circumstances. It is not a story of rescue by others, but of self-rescue. It is not a story of passivity and acceptance, but of organized defiance against the fate that had been decreed for the Jews.

By working in partnership with Michael to bring this story to light, I hope to honor all Vilna's Jews, whether part of the underground or not, who fought back against the Nazis in many ways great and small.