Rose Under Fire

Rose’s mnemonic counting-out rhyme includes all the given names of the seventy-four Polish women experimented on in Ravensbrück (the spelling of their names has been simplified for English-speaking readers). Some of the women had similar first names or shared a name – in the poem each name is only listed once. The real names of these seventy-four women experimented on are printed on the title page of this book.

Writing out Rose’s handwriting sample made me cry. It was the first time I had ever really thought about the Declaration of Independence and what it means to say that life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are unalienable rights. Tell the world. I have tried.