title: Heroic Children:Untold Stories of the Unconquerable
author:  Hanoch Teller 
description: Rabbi Hanoch Teller's <i>Heroic Children</i> is unique in its uncanny ability to present to the reader the terror and the valor, the torment and the benevolence, that were all part of the Holocaust. By telling the courageous and heart-thumping stories of nine children, Rabbi Teller has created the perfect means to convey the history of this period in a way that is mesmerizing and cannot be forgotten.<br /><br />Aside from Rabbi Hanoch Teller's authorship of an exceptional library of very popular books, he is one of the most in-demand docents and lecturers at Yad Vashem, recognized as a scholar of the period... Writing about the Holocaust is a noble act and an invaluable tribute to the souls and the memory of the murdered saints and martyrs. <i>Heroic Children</i> is as dignified and as venerable as this act can be. --Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, former Chief Rabbi of Israel, Chairman of Yad Vashem<br /><br />We cannot change the past, but by remembering it, we can change the future. On no issue is this more vital than the Holocaust, all the more so since the survivors are growing older and fewer, while anti-Semitism, almost unblievably, has returned to the arena of global politics.<br /><br />This makes Rabbi Hanoch Teller's masterpiece, <i>Heroic Children</i>, a necessary work as well as an outstanding one. It is an astonishing collection of stories about child survivors of the <i>Shoah</i>, each gripping narrative of courage, defiance and hope, a flame lit by the human spirit in the darkest night history has ever known. A superb and unforgettable work! --Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, Emeritus Chief rabbi of the United Kindgdom<br /><br />For the stories in <i>Heroic Children</i>, conveyed so poignantly and accurately, Hanoch Teller has put all of the students of the Holocaust- and of the human condition- in his debt --Sir Martin Gilbert, Distinguished historian and official biographer of Winston Churchill
zlib_text: **Prologue**
  
  Trying to get a boisterous family of five out the door had never been easy.
  Still, the kids all liked ancient mythology these days, and I knew they would
  like the new exhibit at the Met… if we ever got there, at any rate.
  
  “Come on, Rocky!” I called to my youngest, who was sitting at the kitchen
  table drawing pictures in traces of his maple syrup. “Get that plate in the
  dishwasher and let’s go!”
  
  His curly hair bobbed as he jumped up with the dish. I grinned at my husband,
  Hawthorne, and he smiled back. Somehow, even though neither of us was involved
  in deadly gunfights or deep dives for treasure anymore, there was never a dull
  moment in our lives.
  
  Of course, with three kids to contend with, maybe that made sense. After all,
  they were just as unpredictable as, if less deadly than, any field operation.
  
  After a little more herding, we got Rocky, Ash, and Lizzie into shoes and
  socks and out the door. From there, it was just a matter of getting everyone
  into the subway to t