The Will to Remember is a sweeping, multi-generational Holocaust novel that spans more than three decades and unfolds across Poland, Germany, New York, London, Malta, and Colorado. It follows the lives, losses, and legacies of the Kelner family as they struggle against unthinkable brutality, rebuild amid devastation, and seek justice long after the war ends.
A Family Marked by Love, Loss, and the Shadow of History
The story opens in J³zef³w, Poland, in 1932, where Abram and Henna Kelner welcome twin daughters during a difficult home birth.
Meanwhile, across the ocean, Henna's sister Asia, now living in New York City, mourns her sister's death and struggles to bring the surviving Kelners to America. Barred by restrictive immigration laws and rising antisemitism in Europe, Asia, and her husband, the talented pianist Jakub Markowicz, confronts moral dilemmas as Hitler's shadow lengthens over the continent.
The Jozef³w Massacre and the Shattering of a Family
The heart of the novel's tragedy arrives with the German invasion of Poland and the rise of Police Battalion 101, commanded by Major Helmut. As orders come down to make J³zef³w Judenfrei, the Kelner family's world collapses.
Abram, deported with other Jewish men, endures degradation, starvation, and forced labor in a munitions factory. His will to survive becomes an act of spiritual resistance.
Resistance, Espionage, and the Fight for Truth
With his family gone, Icek joins the Polish Home Army, transforming grief into courage. He becomes a skilled underground fighter engaged in sabotage and interrogation. His Polish friends risk their lives to protect him, retrieve precious family records from their destroyed home, and keep the memory of his loved ones alive.
Postwar Reckonings
After the war, Germany lies in ruins, and Helmut's family faces the consequences of his actions. His arrest for war crimes plunges his wife, Olga, and their children into a moral crisis, revealing how the legacy of the Holocaust extends far beyond its perpetrators and victims. At the same time, tragedy strikes in the United States when Chats and his wife die in a plane crash, forcing new leadership at the company and leaving Asia and her daughter reeling.
A Survivor's Search for Justice and Closure
Decades later, Icek-now a respected history teacher and Holocaust survivor living in Colorado-travels to Hamburg to speak at a conference. His visit reignites the unresolved pain of his past. While researching Police Battalion 101, he recognizes the face of the officer who murdered his family.
With the help of German Intelligence and a compassionate civilian named Helga, Icek participates in a daring nonviolent operation to confront the war criminal, Wilhelm Wahl. Disguised as a technician, he enters the man's home and forces a recorded confession that brings Wahl to justice. Wahl's shocked wife learns the truth about her husband in a devastating moment that highlights the far-reaching moral cost of the Holocaust.
A Miracle After Thirty-Two Years
In a stunning revelation, German investigators locate Abram Kelner-alive in Malta, long assumed dead. Icek's emotional phone call with his father is one of the novel's most potent moments, bridging decades of loss. Their reunion unfolds against a backdrop of healing, justice, and the rebuilding of family.
Abram eventually travels to Colorado, where three generations of the restored Kelner family gather in peace, honoring the memories of those they lost.
The novel concludes with a final reunion between Abram and Asia-two survivors of the same shattered family-bringing the story full circle. Their meeting is a testament to resilience, remembrance, and the enduring power of love.
