ALICIA FLEISSIG MAGAL grew up hearing fragments of her mother’s stories of how she survived as a Jewish woman in Poland during the Second World War. Despite a happy, protected, and privileged childhood. Alicia always felt she was in the shadow of the drama of her mother’s story. She went to Israel in her twenties and discovered a new direction. Her work in Israel Television in Jerusalem, and as a licensed tour guide throughout Israel laid the groundwork for continued learning and a passionate desire to work for the continuity of Jewish tradition. When Alicia, her husband, and their two small children moved to Los Angeles, she continued to serve the Jewish community in a variety of positions, including Museum Educator at the Skirball Museum and Program Director at Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills. Her wish to bring “joyful Judaism” to others eventually led her to study to become a rabbi. In 2003 she received rabbinic ordination from the Academy for Jewish Religion in Los Angeles as well as from the Aleph Jewish Renewal Rabbinical Ordination Program. She served for several years as the rabbi for Makom Shalom in Chicago, and currently is the spiritual leader for the Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley in Sedona, Arizona, where she lives with her husband Itzhak Magal. They have two grown children, Tali and Amir Magal. The author can be reached at SedonaRabbiAliciaMagal@gmail.com
NIKA KOHN FLEISSIG, born Bronislawa Felicia Kohn in 1920, was raised in a loving family, living a comfortable life in Krakow, Poland. Beautiful, sporty, and with a love of poetry, she graduated from high school in 1938 in the last class of her unique Hebrew/Polish school. As the Nazi anti-Jewish rules became stricter and more dehumanizing, her father lost his business, the family had to move out of their home, and by 1942 she was left completely alone after her parents and younger brother were murdered by the Nazis. Using her talent for languages, her innate sense of whom to trust, the kind assistance of righteous gentiles, and a lot of luck, she survived from one miracle to the next. Sponsored by a surviving aunt and uncle in the U.S., Nika adapted to life in America after the horrors and losses of the war. She raised her children, Alicia and William, in the suburbs of New York, and found healing in art, becoming an accomplished artist in oils, watercolor, pastels, sculpture, ceramics, and other media. She rarely spoke about her experiences, except in short “scenes” related to something that triggered a memory. These scenes were pieced together by her daughter Alicia when Nika was in her eighties, and formed the basis of this book, From Miracle to Miracle: A Story of Survival. She resides for most of the year in Sedona, AZ, and during the summer in Wellfleet, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. She still loves adventure, plays bridge, and enjoys each day as a gift.
From Miracle to Miracle
A Story of Survival
by Alicia Fleissig Magal
From Miracle to Miracle
A Story of Survival
by Alicia Fleissig Magal
Published Feb 28, 2011
167 Pages
Genre: HISTORY / Modern / 20th Century / Holocaust
Book Details
From Miracle to Miracle: A Story of Survival is the gripping account of a young Jewish woman’s story of survival during the Holocaust. Each chapter is narrated through the lens of her daughter, whose life was deeply impacted by her mother’s experiences.
From Miracle to Miracle: A Story of Survival is the true story of a young Polish-Jewish woman and her determination to live through the Horrors of the Holocaust. This narrative is told through the perspective of the survivor’s daughter, whose childhood in America was impacted by her mother’s stories, revealed in fragments at unexpected moments. As an adult, Alicia Fleissig Magal, the elder child of Nika Kohn Fleissig, began combining these disconnected scenes together into a chronological record of her mother’s many suspenseful escapes from death. The writing process became a cathartic and freeing experience for the author and enabled her to separate from the powerful presence of her heroic, artistic mother, allowing her to access her own inner strength. This is a story of empowerment, hope, and healing for all generations.
About the Author
