‘Not another Holocaust memoir,’ I groaned under my breath when I received my review copy. And there is really nothing new in Sigi Siegrich’s story of the horrors of war-time Poland – the deprivations of daily life, the humiliations (and worse) suffered at the hands of the Nazi occupiers, the overnight disappearances of family and friends – never to be seen again. But (big, big ‘but’), this particular telling – this particular viewpoint – is mesmerising. It is personal and well beyond personal, self-aware without self-pity and honest without hatred.

The publishers are marketing this book as an adult title, though I think (because it is so well written and so well told) that young readers will also find it compelling. So, get a copy for your teenage nephew, niece or grandchild. They will be horrified and they may even shed a few tears. I can guarantee that they won’t forget it – and that is the main thing!