Born into a Jewish family in Lvov, Poland in the early-1930s, Nelly Ben-Or was to experience, at a very young age, the trauma of the Holocaust. This narrative of her life's journey describes the survival of Nelly, her mother and her older sister. With help from family and friends, Nelly and her mother were smuggled out of the Ghetto in Lvov and escaped to Warsaw with false identity papers where they were under constant threat of discovery. Miraculously, they survived being taken on a train to Auschwitz, deported not, in fact, because they were Jews, but as citizens of Warsaw following the Warsaw Uprising against the Nazis.After the end of the war, Nelly's musical talent was free to flourish, at first in Poland and then in the recently-created State of Israel, where Nelly completed her musical studies as a scholarship student at the Music Academy in Jerusalem. Following her move to England she carried out a full concert career and also discovered the Alexander Technique for piano playing, which had a profound influence on her. Today Nelly Ben-Or is internationally regarded as the leading exponent of the application of principles of the Alexander Technique - she teaches in the keyboard department of London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama, runs Alexander Technique masterclasses and regularly gives talks about her Holocaust experience.This unique memoir is testimony to an extraordinary life and illustrates the strength of the human condition when faced with adversity.

PrefaceAcknowledgementsPART I: THE WAR YEARS1 September 1939 - Nazis invade PolandBeginnings of the NightmareIn the ghetto and escapeContinuous hidingWarsawA brief haven of peaceTrembacka Street, WarsawWarsaw UprisingProszkow - semi-freedomThe last winter of the warEnd of Nazi OccupationBeginning of new lifePART II: JOURNEYS THROUGH LIFE13. Fulfilment through Learning14. New influences - literature15. Jasia, Poldi, Julian16. To the promised land - Israel17. Henrietta Michaelson and the Jerusalem Music Academy18. The Mozart competition and public concerts19. Marriage to Gabi Ben-Or20. Death of HenriettaPART III: ENGLAND FROM 196021. London - the Alexander Technique22. Shadows from the Past - inner illness23. Married to Roger Clynes24. Various journeys25. ReflectionsAppendices