From Broken Glass

My Story of Finding Hope in Hitler's Death Camps to Inspire a New Generation

By: Steve Ross, Glenn Frank, Brian Wallace, Ray Flynn - introduction, Michael Ross - introduction

Narrated by: Robert Blumenfeld, Ray Flynn, Michael Ross

From the survivor of ten Nazi concentration camps who went on to create the New England Holocaust Memorial, a "devastating...inspirational" memoir (The Today Show) about finding strength in the face of despair.

On August 14, 2017, two days after a white-supremacist activist rammed his car into a group of anti-Fascist protestors, killing one and injuring nineteen, the New England Holocaust Memorial was vandalized for the second time in as many months. At the base of one of its fifty-four-foot glass towers lay a pile of shards. For Steve Ross, the image called to mind Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass in which German authorities ransacked Jewish-owned buildings with sledgehammers.

Ross was eight years old when the Nazis invaded his Polish village, forcing his family to flee. He spent his next six years in a day-to-day struggle to survive the notorious camps in which he was imprisoned, Auschwitz-Birkenau and Dachau among them. When he was finally liberated, he no longer knew how old he was, he was literally starving to death, and everyone in his family except for his brother had been killed.

Ross learned in his darkest experiences--by observing and enduring inconceivable cruelty as well as by receiving compassion from caring fellow prisoners--the human capacity to rise above even the bleakest circumstances. He decided to devote himself to underprivileged youth, aiming to ensure that despite the obstacles in their lives they would never experience suffering like he had. Over the course of a nearly forty-year career as a psychologist working in the Boston city schools, that was exactly what he did. At the end of his career, he spearheaded the creation of the New England Holocaust Memorial, a site millions of people including young students visit every year.

Equal parts heartrending, brutal, and inspiring, From Broken Glass is the story of how one man survived the unimaginable and helped lead a new generation to forge a more compassionate world.

Critic reviews

"Devastating...For decades Ross worked with truants and dropouts in some of Boston's toughest neighborhoods. He had the uncanny ability to get struggling kids back in school and onto good jobs and even into college. His pitch: If he could survive what he did, you could survive anything...[Ross'] story is very painful but so inspirational."—The Today Show

"From Broken Glass is a captivating and deeply personal story of a young boy's experience in the Holocaust, and the ways that event shaped his life as an adult in America. Ross's remarkably detailed account stands as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. It is relevant to this day, a reminder of what can happen when we lose sight of the humanity of others in society."—Senator Dianne Feinstein

"While Ross's is a work of history, it feels timely....Donald Trump's presidency has coincided with a marked uptick in anti-Semitic crimes, including the smashing of two glass panels at the memorial in Boston last year....One of the most striking things about the book is how [Ross] manages to maintain hope."—The Boston Globe

"Striking, fierce, and ultimately uplifting, From Broken Glass is the moving story of how one man found his moral purpose in the crucible of the Holocaust and waged a life-long war against prejudice in all its forms. Just when we need it most, Steve Ross offers our nation a rallying cry for how we can overcome the hatred that divides us."—Robert Trestan, New England Regional Director, Anti-DefamationLeague

"Remarkable...a profound and compelling addition to the literature of the Holocaust at a time when it is more critical than ever to understand both the horrifying depths to which its perpetrators sank and the astonishing capacity for generosity and compassion of the heartbreakingly few survivors. No matter how many memoirs of that terrible time you have read, you will find something new in these pages. There are scenes--a Ukrainian child's shiny black boots spattered with blood, a father eating his beloved small son's mouthful of bread--that will haunt me forever. And there are moments also of inspiring tenacity, nearly incomprehensible open-heartedness that I hope never to forget."—Ayelet Waldman, bestselling author of Love and Treasure

"[Ross] heal[ed] others to heal himself from the horrors of the Holocaust...But the theme that comes through most in From Broken Glass is how utterly impossible it is for those who suffered this greatest of human traumas to ever forget, to fix that which broke them more than seventy years ago."—The Washington Post

Should Be Required Reading for everyone!

Extremely well written and preformed book not written for sensation or out of anger but the tell us of what happened and what became of his life. Kids today have no idea about this and therefore can not understand the fear in so many older people today as we face the real possibility of history repeating itself. I truly feel this should be required reading the world over by everyone, young and old. Thank you for this enlightening book.

a must for all young and old

I try to formulate words to describe this book. I sit speechless, feeling grateful to have heard his story, saddend so many youth today are robbed of this history. Two words bellow within me after this incredible story...Thank you

A must have that we may never forget

I absolutely loved this book. not many have made me cry and this one did. I love the narrator with his accent I felt like I was transported back in time. the atrocities this man suffered at the hands of another and survived to thrive and have such a positive outlook and effect on others is nothing short of a miracle. thank you for writing this book I will listen to it many times over.

From Broken Glass

Incredible story, an incredible man! To go theough so much, and then do such wonderful things with his life! I was in Boston a few years back and walked by the memorial. It was so saddening, sombering. My sister’s inlaws are from Poland & Germany, they both were in concentration camps. Opa got down to 85lbs, he is 6’5”. Oma has had health issues all her life from her ordeal. They are not Jewish, but refused to do as the
nazi’s wanted, therefore the concentration camps. Opa will never ever talk of his ordeal. Oma will every now & again, and I stop the world to listen. Oma & Opa are such wonderful people, it is mindblowing to hear what they and so many went through. Our “spoiled” youth (especially mine) have no idea what could happen again, and in this country! (History repeats itself😖). An excellent read about an amazing man who took what life he was given & so unselfishly gave to so many. God bless him, and all who have been hurt. (This should be a mandatory read in all junior high or high schools!). 💜

Unbelievable story of how a man turns unbearable suffering to good

Words cant describe how Steve Ross was able to survive through such an evil tragedy. The fact he was able to make his life after the holocaust so meaningful for so many is remarkable. It was hard to put down.

Actually cried with sorrow...

I want to go to Boston now to visit the memorial. Thank you for sharing your story. It needs to be heard by every American--young and old especially in today's political and social environment.

Beautifully written and read

An inspiring story beautifully written and read. From Broken Glass is one of the best memiors of the Holocaust I've read.

Best Holocaust novel ever!

This is one of the best Holocaust novels i have listened to. Sometimes .it's pretty graphic. What Ross went through was truly horrific! How the author turned evil into good, by helping kids in Boston, is truly inspirational.

Required Reading Recommende

In this day of extreme polarization and the rise of Nazi sympathizers I suggest this book be required reading/listening in every high school in the US.

Heart wrenching but excellent

This book is difficult to read due to the content and the extent of what horrors Mr. Ross experienced. However, it is an excellent story about and amazingly resilient man who suffers terrible trauma and horrific experiences and then proceeds to use them to help others as an adult. As someone who worked in the mental health field with children I was in awe of all of the work that Mr. Ross has done for those in need. I have recommended this to several people.