The Paradise Ghetto

A powerful story of hope, love, and imagination, set against the horrific backdrop of the Holocaust. Two Jewish girls, Julia and Suzanne, are captured in Nazi-occupied Netherlands and transported to a ghetto. Although their world views are wildly different—Julia is jaded and bitter, Suzanne naive and optimistic—they become each other's closest confidants as they experience the horrors of the journey to 'The Paradise Ghetto'. The young women use a precious smuggled notebook to write a story. As the book unfolds, it becomes the way they communicate their growing feelings for each other. But there comes a point when reality can no longer be held at bay. If the girls' names end up on the lists of deportees to Auschwitz there will be no return. Is there a chance of escaping fate?

©2016 Fergus O'Connell (P)2023 Fergus O'Connell