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Mona Golabek

Lee Cohen

The Children of Willesden Lane: Beyond the Kindertransport: A Memoir of Music, Love, and Survival Hardcover – April 25, 2002

by Mona Golabek (Author), Lee Cohen (Author)

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Based on the true story of her mother, Mona Golabek describes the inspirational story of Lisa Jura Golabek's escape from Nazi-controlled Austria to England on the famed Kindertransport. Jewish musical prodigy Lisa Jura has a wonderful life in Vienna. But when the Nazis start closing in on the city, life changes irreversibly. Although he has three daughters, Lisa's father is only able to secure one berth on the Kindertransport. The family decides to send Lisa to London so that she may pursue her dreams of a career as a concert pianist. Separated from her beloved family, Lisa bravely endures the trip and a disastrous posting outside London before finding her way to the Willesden Lane Orphanage.It is in this orphanage that Lisa's story truly comes to life. Her music inspires the other orphanage children, and they, in turn, cheer her on in her efforts to make good on her promise to her family to realize her musical potential. Through hard work and sheer pluck, Lisa wins a scholarship to study piano at the Royal Academy. As she supports herself and studies, she makes a new life for herself and dreams of reconnecting with the family she was forced to leave behind. The resulting tale delivers a message of the power of music to uplift the human spirit and to grant the individual soul endurance, patience, and peace.

Print length

272 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Grand Central Publishing
Publication date

April 25, 2002
Dimensions

5.88 x 1 x 8.5 inches
ISBN-10

0446527815
ISBN-13

978-0446527811
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

One of 10,000 Jewish children sent to England by fearful parents at the dawn of WWII, aspiring pianist Lisa Jura was 14 when her family put her on a Kindertransport train in Vienna. In this alternately heart-wrenching and uplifting story, Jura's daughter, Golabek, a pianist, and writer Cohen trace the six years Jura spent in London, where she found surrogate families in the 31 other young refugees at the Willesden Lane hostel, and in the working-class British women at the East End garment factory that employed her. The authors beautifully capture Jura's passion for music and her determination to realize her dream of becoming a concert pianist. Her quest to win a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music seems to inject hope into everyone with whom she comes into contact: the hostel owner provides her with a piano and practice time, her housemates band together to drill her on technique and theory, and a co-worker makes her an audition outfit. Yet this is no Babes in Arms. Jura's struggle to hold herself together on the trip to England and as she makes a life for herself without the guidance of her beloved mother is as bleak as her musical successes are joyful. And the depictions of V-Day are especially vivid: rather than celebrate with the masses, Jura retreats to the hostel. The war may be over, but for her and her fellow young refugees waiting to learn the fate of their families, the tragedy will continue.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

A prolific recording artist and producer, Mona Golabek has appeared with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic, the National Symphony, and the Tokyo Philharmonic. She has performed at the Kennedy Center, the Hollywood Bowl, and London's Royal Festival Hall. Golabek lives in Los Angeles, California.

Lee Cohen is a journalist, screenwriter and poet. He co-produced and wrote the feature film The Effects of Magic and has collaborated with Mona Golabek on several projects, including a recording of Ravel's Mother Goose Suite featuring Meryl Streep. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and son.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Grand Central Publishing; First Edition (April 25, 2002)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0446527815
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0446527811
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.5 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.88 x 1 x 8.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,764,903 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3,164 in WWII Biographies
- #5,087 in Jewish History (Books)
- #15,871 in World War II History (Books)

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4.6 739 ratings

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voracious reader

A Tale Of Inspiration and Survival

Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2011

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Lisa Jura is a talented 14 year old living in Vienna when Hitler comes to power and invaded Austria. Her father is a simple tailor and the family lived in a working class ghetto of Vienna. They are not rich. Lisa is a talented and promising pianist who studies piano with a prominent teacher in this city of music. It is Lisa's dream to play a concert in the much loved Vienna State Opera House. The first consequence of the Nuremberg laws which discriminated harshly against the Jews was that her much loved Music professor, Dr. Isseles could no longer teach her piano. Non-Jews could no longer teach Jewish students. It was with great regret that professor Isseles has to dismiss his promising student, Lisa. Lisa returns home downtrodden. The whole neighborhood was inspired by Lisa's gift and was hopeful that she would arise from the ghetto and make something of herself. Her music loving mother was her inspiration and constant encourager. After crystalnacht, when her father was beaten, forced to undress to the waist and ordered to scrub the street, Lisa's mother recognized the danger for her family. A seat on the Kindertransport became available and was offered to the family. Rosie, who was 18 was too old. Lisa at 14 qualified and her mother sent her. With tears and sadness Lisa left her family with a small suitcase which contained a photo of her famiily and a sparkling evening bag that belonged to her grandmother. She removed the tiny gold necklace with the piano charm that she always wore and put it around the neck of her 11 year old sister, Sonia. Lisa was placed in the country home of a wealthy military officer and his much younger wife. Lisa was a servant in the house and the house did not have a piano. After 6 months of loneliness and isolation in the country, she ran away to the Jewish agency in London which then placed her in an orphanage for these children run by a Viennese matron who also fled Austria. She had camaraderie among the other children most of whom were from Germany or Austria. They all spoke German. However, the matron, Mrs. Cohen, an educated and previously wealthy Viennese matron required that only English be spoken so that the children became fluent in English, the tongue of their adopted land. Ten thousand Jewish children were saved by the English. Many of them opened their homes to these children. Not all of the homes were Jewish. The orphanage had a piano and Lisa played it beautifully and regularly. All the residents of the house were entertained by her music. She worked as a seamstress in a clothing factory during the day to earn money for her food and lodging. She was allowed to keep 25% of her earnings for personal expenses. She tried to find ways to save her family. Sonia needed a sponser and Lisa searched for one everywhere. Life was becoming desperate for Lisa's family and Sonia. Finally, she asked a quaker widow who had been charitable when a bomb damaged the orphanage and Lisa needed a place to sleep. The widow could not keep Sonia, but she found another quaker family in the country who could. Sonia was on the last train of the kindertransport before England declared war on Germany and the trains stopped running. Sonia was allowed to study in the morning and work only in the afternoon. She was lucky as most had to work all day. Mrs. Cohen recognized Lisa's talent and encouraged her to apply to the prestigious Royal Academy of Music. Lisa won a spot and a scholarship. She attended the academy, but worked mornings at the factory making supplies for the army. She sewed heavy fabric into back packs etc. Her piano teacher noticing the stress on her fingers arranged for her to have a job playing the piano in the evenings at local club where there was drinking and dancing. Lisa was an attractive girl with red hair, and all the soldiers wanted to buy her drinks and flirt with her. She only saw her sister once every 6 months because the train tickets from the countryside were expensive and Sonia could not leave her work or school very often. They lost contact with their married sister,Rosie and their parents. No one in the orphanage had contact with their parents. The Jewish agency heard the rumors about the death camps, the deportations, and the mass killings. No one wanted to believe it. The stories were so horrific that they were unblievable. Lisa graduated from the music school and the school financed her debut recital. It was heavily attended. One attendee was a French Jewish soldier,Michael Golabek, who had heard her play in the club and was impressed by her talent. After the war, Sonia and Lisa were reunited with their sister Rosie who was now wearing the chain with the piano charm. Rosie her husband Leo, and their four year old daughter, Esther survived by escaping from France into Switzerland. They all emigrated to the U.S. where Lisa again met up with Michael Golabek. Lisa and Michael married. All three sisters and their spouses moved to California. Lisa's parents were deported to Lodz and then Auschwitz where they died. Lisa's daughters and granddaughters are all talented pianists. Her daughter, Mona Golebek one of the authors is an internationally acclaimed concert pianist, the host of a classical music radio show and grammy nominated recording artist. This story was a page turner. I could not put it down. However, it was sentimental. The characters lacked dimension. They were usually good people with few negative qualities. Because of that they were not realistic. They all seemed to be kind and good, tolerant and understanding of each other. For teenagers they had relatively few issues. All but one lost their whole family. One boy had a mother who survived. These children spent their teen years in the children's home and grew to adulthood there.

4 people found this helpful

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Julie Goltermann

An inspiring account

Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2022

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Mona Golabek has captured the story of her mother and other children who survived the Holocaust because their parents had the courage and wisdom to send them away to safety on the Kindertransport. Most of them never saw their parents, friends, or family again. Lisa holds fast to her mother‘s words, to let her music be her best friend, and is able to overcome her personal hardships to achieve her goals and honor her mother’s memory. Through this she inspires the children she lives with and the people with whom she is in contact. Through the telling of her mother’s story, Mona Golabek inspires us all.

One person found this helpful

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L. Cramer

Fantastic Narration of a WWII Survival Story

Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2011

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I met Mona in a coffeeshop. What a sweet lady! We talked for some time about how young people (my age 22 and younger) are seeing a trend of pop culture references that make light of the Holocaust and WWII. There are few survivors left, and someone needs to tell the stories the way they should be told, the way we should remember. Mona & Lee Cohen do exactly that in this book.

They tell the heartfelt story of their mother Lisa Jura, based entirely on true stories and real people. Jura's family sent her to England as a young child on the Kindertransport, in hopes that she could use her brilliant talent as a pianist to make a life for herself. She had to leave her parents, sisters, friends, and neighbors behind. But despite her fears, loneliness, and confusion (why would the Nazis do this?), Lisa Jura always found a way to be thankful, polite, and appreciative of the good things in life.

This is more than just a survival story; it's a story about how she and the other Jewish children refugees found ways to make their lives rich and meaningful in times when life didn't seem to make sense.

This is a quick read -- in one sitting in case you get addicted, and can't put it down! -- and very uplifting. It reminds you to be thankful for what you've got, and not brood on what could have or would have been. It is not a depressing book, but it will bring tears to your eyes!

I shared this book with family and friends, and everyone loves it so much that they've asked to buy their own copies. ***** FIVE STARS

18 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

Powerful must-read

Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2022

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My 6th grader is reading this for school and I knew I had to read along. Surprisingly I didn't know much about the Kindertransport. It was inspiring to read about the families and individuals who took these refugees in and the heartbreaking courage of the Jewish families who put their children on the train. This is a must read! So many teachable lessons in this amazing story.

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Quille

Interesting and educational

Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2012

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I didn't know what to expect from this memoir-style book but ended up liking it very much. The real-life story of a young girl's escape from Nazi-occupied Vienna to the completely different world of London is compelling and touching. It's also informative about what life was like living in greater London during the heavy bombing. Kudos to the residents who "stayed calm and carried on." Such conditions are difficult to imagine.

Lisa's determination is inspiring as she struggles to keep a promise made to her mother to continue her music studies. The lives of her closest friends in the refugee orphanage are also hinted at. They all served as a substitute family in place of the ones they left behind.

I give it four stars instead of five only because the story is told second-hand. The author, Maya Golabek, is Lisa's daughter. She does a fine job of evoking the time and place and covering the major points of her mother's life. Still, it's always preferable to get such a story firsthand. But overall, this was an excellent book.

7 people found this helpful

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Ruth MacDonald

Fantastic

Reviewed in Canada on August 20, 2023

Verified Purchase

I absolutely loved this book! Lee Cohen and Mona Golabek beautifully weave the story of the children of the Kinder transport, the heartbreak, the resilience, the sheer will and determined to survive and bloom in the beautiful country of England. The genuine care and support, the strength of the British people are a testament to all that is good in mankind. Lisa Jubek’s story is amazing, a true example of love for one’s family.

Amazon Customer

Good book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 6, 2023

Verified Purchase

Good

Peter T.

The amazing talent that could not be suppressed by the Nazis.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 16, 2016

Verified Purchase

I could not put this beautifully written biography of the author's mother down. Having read a review by someone critical of the style of writing, I was a tad apprehensive. I thought the style of writing superb. Just right. The story of course is fascinating. Lisa is sent as so many children were if Jewish in 1939 and unfortunate to live in Hitler worshipping Vienna, by Kindertransport to England, far away from her loving parents siblings and friends, alone into the unknown. Really the only thing she brought with her was her talent and love for playing the piano. How she arrived in Willesden Lane and what happened when she did is the story you must read. I did so on Kindle for less than a fiver. What value. Thank you Mona and your colleague for telling us this unique story.

4 people found this helpful

Anon

Wonderful

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 1, 2020

Verified Purchase

A wonderful story of sorrow, loss, resilience and love. My only criticism is that it is written for the American market and references in wartime London to, for example, sidewalks and blocks is really irritating and makes it feel unauthentic.

Mary Vulkan

An important true story about Lisa Jura, a child ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 9, 2017

Verified Purchase

An important true story about Lisa Jura, a child refugee coming on the Kindertransport, and describing life with other refugees in a hostel. Eventually the subject of the story became a well-known professional pianist.

The book is written by Lisa Jura's daughter and based on her mother's recollections. It is fictionalised by including dialogue and thoughts. Unfortunately there are many factual errors relating to the places and events mentioned, and although these do not affect the basis of this remarkable story, it does jar at times. The author is herself also a well-known pianist.

2 people found this helpful

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