Do Not Cry When I Die

April 23, 2025April 23, 2025 by onemoreexclamation

Welcome to the Do Not Cry When I Die by Renee Salt with Kate Thompson book tour hosted by Suzy Approved Book Tours.

About Do Not Cry When I Die

Title: Do Not Cry When I Die

Author: Renee Salt with Kate Thompson

Released: March 4, 2025

Find it: Amazon

One of the oldest living Holocaust survivors recounts her family’s imprisonment at Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen in this moving memoir of love, loss, courage, and hope.

“I only survived because of my mother’s love.”

When German soldiers invaded Poland in September 1939, it began a six year journey for then-ten-year-old Renee Salt and her mother Sala. Until their liberation in 1945, Renee and Sala were imprisoned in ghettos and concentration camps, including Auschwitz-Birkenau and Bergen-Belsen. The only light in the darkness and brutality for Renee was the unwavering grasp of her mother’s hand in her enduring, against all odds.

It was this unbreakable bond, along with a few miracles, that kept Renee alive. Sala’s staggering courage to defy the will of SS guards saved both her and her daughter from the gas chambers, and the pair survived the deadliest days in Auschwitz’s history.

After suffering the nightmarish conditions at Bergen-Belsen, Renee and her mother were liberated in April 1945–but Sala died soon after they were saved. To this day, Renee attributes her survival to the love and bravery of her beloved mother.

Do Not Cry When I Die is an incredibly moving and deeply crucial book that tells the shocking story of one of the oldest Auschwitz-Birkenau and Bergen-Belsen survivors–and the mother’s love that saved her life.

Book Blurbs

“A deeply moving memoir, beautifully written and researched. I was engrossed from the opening.”—Lucy Adlington, New York Times bestselling author of The Dressmakers of Auschwitz

“An unforgettable story about the power of love, a story that reminds us how important hope is.”—Natasha Lester, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Orphan

Review for Do Not Cry When I Die

My latest obsession is historical fiction, namely the Holocaust. I’m grateful Renee shared her harrowing story. In Do Not Cry When I Die, we visit WWII through the eyes of a ten-year-old Polish girl who went from an amazing childhood to a nightmare. Renee Salt is one of the oldest survivors. In her 90s, she decided it ws time to tell her story.

How she endured the unimaginable is beyond me. Through so much loss, she was never alone, even though her large family was reduced to a handful of survivors. That in itself is a book in it’s own right, but adding the haunting details of the Holocaust raises the stakes to another level. Emotions beware.

I understand why she did everything in her power to suppress the memories of this horrible time in history. I give her kudos for reliving it to tell her story, one that everyone needs to know. Bless her heart. Her mother was a very special person indeed, to know such love is priceless. This is a recounting that will stay with me for a long time.

About The Author

Renee Salt, BEM, was born Rywka Ruchla Berkowitz in Zduńska Wola, Poland, in 1929, and is a Holocaust survivor and educator. Renee and her mother survived both Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. After the Holocaust, Renee returned to Poland to try and find any surviving members of her family and found an aunt who was living in Łódź, who she moved in with. From there they moved to Paris, where Renee met her husband Charles, who was a British military policeman who helped to liberate Bergen-Belsen. They married in 1949 and had two children. Renee lives in northwest London and has 5 grandchildren. She regularly speaks in schools, organizations, and to the government about her experiences during the Holocaust.

Kate Thompson is a journalist and bestselling author. As well as being passionate about capturing lost voices and untold social histories, Kate’s also a library campaigner. Her 100 libraries project celebrates the richness and complexity of librarians’ work and the vital role of libraries in our communities. Alongside her journalism and writing, Kate is also a podcaster and recently launched her own podcast, From the Library With Love.

Website – Instagram – Facebook