Do Not Cry When I Die

One of the oldest living Holocaust survivors recounts her family’s imprisonment at Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen in this moving memoir of love, loss, courage, and hope.

"A deeply moving memoir, beautifully written and researched." —Lucy Adlington, New York Times bestselling author of The Dressmakers of Auschwitz

“I only survived because of my mother's love.”

When German soldiers invaded Poland in September 1939, it began a six year journey for then-ten-year-old Renee Salt and her mother Sala. Until their liberation in 1945, Renee and Sala were imprisoned in ghettos and concentration camps, including Auschwitz-Birkenau and Bergen-Belsen. The only light in the darkness and brutality for Renee was the unwavering grasp of her mother’s hand in hers–enduring, against all odds.

     It was this unbreakable bond, along with a few miracles, that kept Renee alive. Sala’s staggering courage to defy the will of SS guards saved both her and her daughter from the gas chambers, and the pair survived the deadliest days in Auschwitz’s history. 

     After suffering the nightmarish conditions at Bergen-Belsen, Renee and her mother were liberated in April 1945–but Sala died soon after they were saved. To this day, Renee attributes her survival to the love and bravery of her beloved mother. 

     Do Not Cry When I Die is an incredibly moving and deeply crucial book that tells the shocking story of one of the oldest Auschwitz-Birkenau and Bergen-Belsen survivors–and the mother’s love that saved her life.

Praise for Do Not Cry When I Die:
“[A] beautiful, uplifting testimony.”
—Daily Mail

“Remarkable . . . So few Euro­pean Jews sur­vived the Holo­caust, and even few­er remain alive today. Do Not Cry When I Die pro­vides Salt, one of the remain­ing sur­vivors, with a plat­form to tell her own sto­ry before it’s too late...A valu­able con­tri­bu­tion to the genre of Holo­caust mem­oirs.”
—Jewish Book Council

“A deeply moving memoir, beautifully written and researched. I was engrossed from the opening: 'It was a time of innocence . . . until it wasn't.' Renee Salt's own words are brilliantly supported by Kate Thompson's in depth exploration of context and her well-crafted storytelling.”
—Lucy Adlington, New York Times bestselling author

“An unforgettable story about the power of love, a story that reminds us how important hope is, a story that proves to us that human beings are remarkable and endlessly inspiring. An important and necessary book.”
—Natasha Lester, New York Times bestselling author

“A poignant memoir of the raw loss and horrors experienced by survivor Renee Salt, not only through the Holocaust, but in the daily struggles following liberation. Salt and Kate Thompson come together in powerful unity in a way that is both deeply moving and unforgettable. This is a story the world needs to know.”
—Madeline Martin, New York Times bestselling author

“It is almost impossible to find words to praise a book that is written with such incredible courage from a place of unimaginable suffering. Do Not Cry When I Die is, quite simply, the most important book you will read this year. It will stay with me for a very long time.”
—Hazel Gaynor, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Lifeboat

“A powerful account of a young girl’s incredible resilience in the face of the unthinkable horror of the Holocaust, Renee Salt’s memoir is needed now more than ever. A riveting read.”
—Julia Kelly, international bestselling author of The Lost English Girl

“Extraordinary . . . travels to the very heart of existence.”
—Joshua Levine, bestselling author of Dunkirk

“Moving...Penned with Kate Thompson, Salt bravely recounts surviving Auschwitz as a teenage girl, aided by the love and fortitude of her mother. Renee’s journey is one of hope through the ashes of the past, and at 96 years young, Renee continues to speak truth to evil, transforming hopelessness and despair with a young woman’s courage.”
—Heather Dune Macadam, author of Star Crossed and 999

“A powerful testament to a mother's love during unbelievable hardship. From ghettos to concentration camps to slave labor camps, Renee and her mother Sala miraculously stayed by each other's side and held each other up. Powerful, poignant, and deeply important. A must-read.”
—Elizabeth Bellak, co-author of Renia's Diary

Renee Salt, BEM, was born Rywka Ruchla Berkowitz in Zduńska Wola, Poland, in 1929, and is a Holocaust survivor and educator. Renee and her mother survived both Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. After the Holocaust, Renee returned to Poland to try and find any surviving members of her family and found an aunt who was living in Łódź, who she moved in with. From there they moved to Paris, where Renee met her husband Charles, who was a British military policeman who helped to liberate Bergen-Belsen. They married in 1949 and had two children. Renee lives in northwest London and has 5 grandchildren. She regularly speaks in schools, to organizations, and to the government about her experiences during the Holocaust.

Kate Thompson is a journalist and bestselling author. As well as being passionate about capturing lost voices and untold social histories, Kate's also a library campaigner. Her 100 libraries project celebrates the richness and complexity of librarians’ work and the vital role of libraries in our communities. Alongside her journalism and writing, Kate is also a podcaster and recently launched her own podcast, From the Library With Love. You can find Kate at her website: , on Facebook @KateThompsonAuthor, on X @katethompson380 and on Instagram @katethompsonauthor.

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