The Endless Steppe: Growing Up in Siberia

by Esther Rudomin Hautzig

Release Date: June, 1973

Edition: Textbook Binding

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A good book

The book is about a wealthy Polish family who is sent to Siberia because of their liberal thoughts. They were taken from their home in Poland and sent to a labor camp in the steppe region of Siberia. The youngest in the family is Esther, a young girl who is the narrator and author of this true story. The setting is Poland but quickly moves to the snowy, brutal steppe. The book tells of the terrible conditions of the family's imprisonment.

This book is both suspenseful and reflective. The family goes through many hard times such as poverty and starvation and I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened next. Esther had a hard life but she survived to write about it. This book teaches the reader about what happened to all the persecuted families in eastern Europe.

Adjusting in the Worst of Times

The Endless Steppe, by Esther Hautzig, is the true story of a young Jewish girl named Esther Rudomin, and her family living in Siberia. The Story takes place during World War II, when the wealthy Rudomin Family are pronounced capitalists. They're removed from their beautiful home and loved ones in Vilna, Poland. They are taken by train, along with peasant families to an endless steppe in Siberia where they are forced to work in various places, including a gypsum mine. Siberia lacks many necessities. The only way they are able to survive the harsh Siberian conditions is the thought that they must never be brought down. With the help of many friends along the way, the Rudomins eventually learn to fit into the Siberian puzzle. Every obstacle becomes part of their everyday life for five long years. I thought this was a great book because it shows how a wealthy family could survive in complete poverty during the worst of times. The book also showed how a once spoiled little girl, learned how to see life on the other side of the fence.