Cilka's Journey: The Sunday Times bestselling sequel to The Tattooist of Auschwitz now a major SKY TV series

Cilka’s Journey is the second book in ‘The Tattooist of Auschwitz’ trilogy series written by Heather Morris, a woman fast becoming my favourite and highly recommended author. Cilka Klein arrived in Auschwitz in 1942, a small girl of just sixteen years of age. She would remain in this camp and in Auschwitz Birkenau for the next three years, surviving regular ‘selections’ and therefore the gas chambers for all this time. On the 27th of January 1945, the Russian Army liberated the camp, with many survivors saved. However, this was only the beginning of a nightmare for the young, Cilka. During her three years in the camp, a high ranking Nazi officer named Schwarzhuber had taken a shine to Cilka and had ensconced her in a private room within Hut 25. In this hut, Cilka watched helplessly as women from the rest of the building were regularly taken to the gas chamber and to their deaths. This was a fate she even witnessed her mother suffer at the hands of these evil monsters! What saved the life of the girl were the almost constant night-time visits by this same Nazi, who regularly came to her room and raped her. Cilka did not complain about this or offer any resistance to this evil man, as to do so would surely result in her being taken to the gas chamber and executed herself, so enduring these constant rapes actually kept Cilka alive for all this time. When the Russians arrived, the authorities interviewed all the survivors. However, when it came to Cilka, they were extremely harsh with her, not believing that she was not a willing participant in these acts of rape. Unbelievably, this resulted in her imprisonment again, but this time at the hands of the Russians, whom she originally considered were her saviours. After waiting a few months, she arrives in court and is accused of “collaborating with the enemy.” This results in her being found guilty and sentenced to serve ten years of hard labour in ‘Vorkuta,’ a Siberian Gulag situated only a few miles from the Arctic Circle. Lale Sokolov, (from The Tattooist of Auschwitz,) once told the author of this book that Cilka Klein was the bravest girl he had ever known, and that she had saved his life on numerous occasions. This is Cilka’s wonderful story of her life in the Gulag, and how she survived against the odds. I cannot recommend this story highly enough. It is an absolute page turner, a tear jerker, and a must read.

Heather Morris follows up her tearjerking story of love and survival, 'The Tatooist of Auschwitz', with another heart-rending semi-true tale showing the best and worst of humanity. We met the character Cilka in the first novel, where she was an important supporting character - a teenaged camp inmate who was forced to act as the concubine for the camp's commandant. In this sequel, she is the main character, and we follow her from the concentration camp to another prison - a Soviet gulag in the Arctic where she is sentenced to 15 years hard labour for collaboration. The sheer injustice of her situation is breathtaking - after years of horrendous abuse, she is punished for simply having done what she had to in order to avoid being killed. It's not some crazy fiction - Cilka was a real person and she really was imprisoned for this reason. The other women around her are being brutally punished for similar non-crimes, like wanting to marry someone from another country, or being related to the wrong person. The gulag is a fascinating though horrible world with its own code of conduct and politics. It is less utterly depraved than Auschwitz - which is very faint praise indeed. But the fact the prisoners have a degree more freedom and a degree less fear gives more opportunity for stories to develop. Cilka gradually makes some friends and finds meaningful work in the prison hospital, but she is damaged by her experiences and her courageous nature mean she is not as good at keeping her head down as she tries to be. It's impossible not to root for Cilka and want her to succeed, and there are many likeable supporting characters as well. It's not a cheerful read - but you wouldn't expect it to be. It is however life-affirming and a testament to the strength of the human spirit and the goodness in human nature, as well as a depiction of the results of the worst inhumanity. If you are likely to be upset by a story featuring violence, including sexual violence, and descriptions of horrible treatment of human beings then you might want to steer clear. All in all it's a well written book with a strong emotional punch and sheds light another shameful episode in human history.

I read this straight after the Tattoowist of Auschwitz which was probably a mistake. I thought it important to remember all of the previous story before starting this one focusing on Cilka but I really don't think it's necessary because the book recaps important parts of the Auschwitz story. This book focuses on Cilka's time at the Gulag where she is imprisoned for 15 years for being a Nazi sympathiser following her time at Auschwitz. As I read the books back to back I felt that the story was repetitive in some ways, the struggles at the Gulag are very similar to the precious story. I did enjoy the character development of Cilka but I wish I'd given myself a gap because I might have appreciated it more. I did learn a huge amount about the Soviet slave labour system reading this book though, particularly because of the notes at the back of the book. An interesting read.

A harrowing story of a girl who was imprisoned under the Russian control from the Nazis's after the collapes of Auschwitz_Birkenau concentraton camp.Who was inprisoned in the Russian prison after being sentanced for working for the Nazi's which she was forced to do when she was in Auschwitz. A hard to put down,well written, account of her struggle and hardship she encountered before her final release. A must read and a follow on book from "The Tattooist of Auschwitz" which is also a must read book ,that needs to be read before this one to get the gist of the true flow of the stories together .

Good book. Sequel to the Tatooist of Auschwitz.

Amazing read couldnt put it down amazing writer

If you're not moved by this book, man's inhumanity to man...... Thank you for researching and telling Cilka's story, a child. And yet we've never learnt the lessons and today the wars continue.......

Fabulous read and heartbreaking at the same time, to imagine this actually happened itself is incredible, you cannot imagine humans can do this to fellow human

After finishing the first book I was quite stok to read this one. With compelling story, capture every moment brilliantly wheather sad or happy. It's truly a tale that everyone should need to know about. I personally like this one better than the original. Though it sometime heart-wrenching read but also one of the most inspiring book I ever read. 4.9/5

Great book. Please follow my advise and read it in this order 1. The Tattooist of Auschwitz 2. Cilka's Journey 3. Three sisters

I really enjoyed this, mainly because I wanted to know what happened to Cilka after first coming across her in The Tattooist of Auschwitz. It's a very dark story and some parts are incredibly difficult to read, but I think they're stories that need to be told. What happened to these people shouldn't be forgotten and there's a lot we can learn from the past, however uncomfortable it is. It wasn't an easy read in terms of subject matter, it's hard to believe one life could contain so much suffering, but I'm glad I read it.

Bellissimo libro, appassionante e ben scritto, su una realtà, quella dei gulag russi, poco narrata

I read this novel without putting it down. Wow, what an upsetting, sad, traumatic and true story. I'd forgotten that The Tattoist of Auschwitz was a true story, as is Cilka's Journey. While this is not as historically accurate as the former novel, it is still based on a real life person and her brutal but unforgettable story. Cilka, a beautiful 16 year old of Czech origin, is sent to the camp, only to be handpicked as the sexual partner of two SS officers. In exchange for repeated rapes she is allowed to live and to enjoy some comforts. After the war she is again imprisioned, this time by the Soviets and sent to a prison in Siberia. She is again subjected to brutal rapes and maltreatment. She survives due to her wits and strength, and the kindness of female doctor, who picks her to help in the hospital and train as a nurse. The novel is heavy on brutality, making it very hard to read at times. It is also a story of friendships forged despite unthinkable conditions and ultimately love and the triumph of the human spirit. While the author takes some liberties in dramatizing the story, she is is clearly based on extensive research, making it highly worthwhile reading.