I read Gutta - Memories of a Vanished World (Feldheim 2005) by Gutta Sternbuch and David Kranzler and found the first part poignant and fascinating. She grew up in a Chassidic home in Warsaw in the 1920's and she describes her beautiful family and what frum life was like in those days, providing snapshots of the ordinary though special people (contradictory but true) she knew.
Although I was familiar with the devastation wreaked by the many ideologies of the time: secular Zionism, socialism, communism, etc. it was so interesting to read about these enticements from the perspective of an intelligent, teenaged, Chassidic girl.
She attended Bais Yaakov from the age of 11-13 and it wasn't a positive experience for her. She then went to a religious high school with high secular scholastic standards on the condition that she would attend Beis Yaakov seminary afterward. Rabbi Orlean radically transformed her way of thinking and she describes the spiritual journey she made (she was frum throughout).
The book has appendices, one which provide a historical overview of Poland between the two world wars and another one on secular Jewish ideologies for those who want more information on this period of our history and there is also a section on Warsaw.
Rather than painting only a nostalgic picture of Jewish life before the war, Gutta provides a more balanced view in which she shares her struggles and ultimately, her firm commitment to Yiddishkeit.
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