Mala’s Cat

‘A remarkable tale of survival, in which Jewish life in pre-war Poland and the atrocities of the Holocaust appear through an almost dreamlike lens of childhood memory’ Jeremy Dronfield, bestselling author of The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz

‘Mala’s Cat is fresh, unsentimental and utterly unpredictable… This memoir, rescued from obscurity by the efforts of Mala Kacenberg’s five children, should be read and cherished as a new, vital document of a history that must never be allowed to vanish’ Julie Orringer for the New York Times

‘It’s an account of astounding courage and resourcefulness . . . The real miracle here is the vitality of Kacenberg’s faith and determination’ Mail on Sunday
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Alone in a forest with only a cat for company – this is the deeply moving true story of one little girl’s remarkable survival in the shadow of the Holocaust

Growing up in the Polish village of Tarnogrod, on the fringes of a deep pine forest, Mala has the happiest childhood anyone could hope for.

But, when the Nazis invade, her beloved village becomes a ghetto and family and friends are reduced to starvation. Taking matters into her own hands, she bravely removes her yellow star, and sneaks out to the surrounding villages for food.

On her way back she receives a smuggled letter from her sister warning her to stay away: her loved ones have been rounded up for deportation. With only her cat, Malach, and the strength of the stories taught by her family, she must flee into the forest.

Malach becomes her family, her only respite from loneliness, a guide and reminder to stay hopeful even in the darkness.

With her guardian angel by her side, Mala must find a way to navigate the dangerous forests, outwit German soldiers and hostile villagers, to survive, against all the odds.
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‘It’s an account of astounding courage and resourcefulness . . . The real miracle here is the vitality of Kacenberg’s faith and determination’ Mail on Sunday