
I am Ella': A remarkable story of survival from Auschwitz to AfricaFrom renowned author Joanne Jowell comes the incredible true story of Ella Blumenthal, a survivor of Auschwitz who rebuilt her life in South Africa.
by Carmen Coetsee
17-01-2024 15:17
in Books
I am Ella': a remarkable biography by acclaimed author Joanne Jowell. Image: Supplied.
Ella Blumenthal is woman you will not easily forget. In her biography I am Ella, acclaimed author Joanne Jowell, dives into the unbelievable story of Blumenthal's life. Surviving the Warsaw Ghetto, the gas chambers of Majdanek and the depravity of Auschwitz, Blumenthal's bravery and resilience led her to rebuild her life in South Africa.
--
With tenderness, sensitivity and accuracy, Jowell takes readers into one woman's survival of the Nazi regime. Blumenthal's feisty character is brought to life with Jowell's writing and together, they have made I am Ella a tour de force of non-fiction.
Blumenthal's extraordinary story has also been brought to life in a feature film, I am Here, which will open at Ster Kinekor Nouveau Rosebank on the 27th of January.
#WhatsOnJoburg Bookings for the highly acclaimed movie I Am Here' starring Holocaust survivor Ella Blumenthal, is NOW OPEN! Exclusive to Ster Kinekor Nouveau Rosebank, make sure to get your seats before they're gone.
Book here: https://t.co/kFOpKI429f pic.twitter.com/rQ52Y2UNGK
Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre (@JHGCentre) January 16, 2023
ALSO READ: Taxtopia': A no-nonsense, witty look at the murky world of tax crime
--
JOWELL MASTERFULLY COMBINES STORYTELLING AND HISTORY Some biographies read like history textbooks. The person the words are meant to bring to life is a one-dimensional character which seems unreal somehow. I was nervous that this biography would be the same. However, Joanne Jowell enchants with keen observation and respect for the remarkable person that is Ella Blumenthal.
Jowell is no stranger to non-fiction. Her non-fiction work includes bestsellers like Zephany, the story behind the kidnapping of Zephany Nurse. In I am Ella, however, Jowell truly shines. In her trademark way, Jowell perfectly captures complex humanity and the power of the human spirit in this heartbreaking yet inspiring story.
Joanne has masterfully ordered memory into a compelling book, with keen observation, reflection and attention to historical detail. We feel as if we have truly met Ella .
Richard Freedman I AM ELLA' SYNOPSIS I survived the Warsaw Ghetto, the gas chambers of Majdanek, the depravity of Auschwitz and the utter hopelessness of Bergen-Belsen. I lost my parents, my brothers, my sisters, their spouses and children. But for me, while abnormal, this is not extraordinary. That I went on to love, to talk, to write, to have toast and tea and to live my life that is what is extraordinary'.
--
New Week New Book. I just visited Poland, Germany, France, Palestine, and South Africa with I am Ella- A remarkable story of survival, from Auschwitz to Africa by Joanne Jowell.
Never forget. A good reminder to stop the hate before it is too late. #Reading #VerbatimJourney pic.twitter.com/tni1ts3CbJ
Doroth e Lefering (@DoroLef) July 17, 2023
Ella Blumenthal's story of surviving the Holocaust and building a new life in faraway South Africa is a lesson in resilience, bravery and perhaps unexpectedly joy. From the dying embers of the Warsaw Ghetto to the gas chambers of the Nazi concentration camps; from Poland to Paris, Palestine and eventually Cape Town, Ella's 100 years of life have been nothing short of extraordinary.
Under the shadows of shame and trauma with which so many survivors lived in the years immediately following the war, Ella made a happy home where few knew her suffering or shared her history. After decades, Ella is finally ready to tell her full story to bestselling author Joanne Jowell.
I am Ella is the staggering tale of a real-life superheroine.
Ella Blumenthal has a unique soul. Her inspirational tale of resilience and survival and her zest for life is a lesson for us all .
Mandy Wiener MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR SACAP PSYCHOLOGY TALK: JOANNE JOWELL http://t.co/DuuMxGt25E #event @JoanneJowell #S4L pic.twitter.com/B8aXhx90pi
Spice4life.co.za (@Spice4Life_) June 17, 2014
According to her website, Jowell has always written, even as a small girl. She grew up in Johannesburg, with her family's roots firmly set in the South African hinterland.
She studied English and Psychology at the University of Cape Town. She worked in management consulting in South Africa and London. She returned to South Africa to read, write, start a family and work for good causes. She obtained a Masters degree in Creative Writing and co-founded a literacy program called Word 4 Word.
These days, Jowell is happily combining her fascination with human issues and her background in psychology, with her love of the written word: she specialises in writing biography - of real people, with real issues. She lives in Cape Town, South Africa, with her husband, their three sons and two wire-haired dachshunds.
I am Ella is published by Kwela Books and is available for purchase from Exclusive Books stores for R330.
Support Women in Journalism in 2024 - Support us to fund independent women journalism
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
18/10/2025
New England Sports Network (NESN) has chosen Harmonic, working with Astound Business Solutions, as its enterprise technology partner to transform primary distri...
18/10/2025
NEW ORLEANS, La. In the run-up to the start of the NBA season, WVUE-TV and Gray Local Media have announced a deal with DirecTV that will greatly expand access t...
18/10/2025
Berklee Celebrates 40 Years of the Fall Together Concert Faculty composers Bob Pilkington and Greg Hopkins are among the featured artists for this year's ...
17/10/2025
NEP Group Receives New Equity Investment From 26North Partners LP, Co-InvestorsCarlyle remains the largest shareholder as the company prepares for the futureBy ...
17/10/2025
Apple Lands Five-Year Deal for F1 Distribution in the U.S.Besides airing on Apple TV, the sport will be amplified on other Apple servicesBy Ken Kerschbaumer, Ed...
17/10/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Marshall Electronics' Bernie Keach on the Future of PTZ Camera...
17/10/2025
L2 Productions' REMI Facility in Austin Can Produce Content From AnywhereMusic festivals, sports events are produced via flypacks and remote control roomsBy...
17/10/2025
By Lucy Spicer
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival...
17/10/2025
(L-R) Christopher Meyer, Addison Timlin, Cooper Raiff, Lili Reinhart, Alyah Chan...
17/10/2025
M sica e arte se uniram em uma noite especial na semana passada na ZIV Gallery, ...
17/10/2025
Music and art came together for one special night last week at ZIV Gallery, an i...
17/10/2025
Spotify and FC Barcelona are extending our partnership through 2030, continuing a collaboration that's redefining how fans, players, and artists connect. Th...
17/10/2025
MURRIETA, Calif. The Sports Fishing Championship (SFC) has deployed DigitalGlue's creative.space storage platform to streamline video production by centrali...
17/10/2025
BELLEVUE, Wash. Football continued to cement its reputation as a bulwark of TV advertising in Q3 2025 with new data from iSpot that showed both the NFL and coll...
17/10/2025
The Sports Fishing Championship (SFC), the premier competitive saltwater fishing series, has transformed its production workflow by adopting creative.space, the...
17/10/2025
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning multi-camera video productions and remote contribution solutions, announces the release of StudioPro Version 4, ...
17/10/2025
Although the annual Grammy Awards celebration is best known for recognizing achievements in the recording industry, the show often proves a visual spectacle as ...
17/10/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leading provider of software-defined data storage and data services, has promoted Alex Dunfey to Chief Technology Officer (CTO) from his for...
17/10/2025
The University of Arizona (UofA) has significantly upgraded its broadcast communication infrastructure with the integration of Riedel Communications' advanc...
17/10/2025
Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced that New England Sports Network (NESN), owned by Fenway Sports Group and Delaware North, has selected Harmonic as its en...
17/10/2025
Austin PBS has recently upgraded its facility-wide communications infrastructure, deploying Clear-Com 's Eclipse HX, FreeSpeak II beltpacks, and V-Series ...
17/10/2025
ZEISS announces an open call for the closed BETA testing phase of CinCraft Virtual Lens Technology, the innovative digital tool that brings authentic lens chara...
17/10/2025
Situated in the town of Kokkola, Centria University of Applied Sciences offers higher education across five core fields: engineering, business, social and healt...
17/10/2025
Public information channel in Georgia, USA, to implement a powerful, simple, and cost-effective playout automation platform.
Pebble, the leading automation, co...
17/10/2025
HBO Max is reporting that it has launched in 15 new markets, including Bangladesh, Cambodia, Macau, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Ukraine, boosting the streaming serv...
17/10/2025
Netflix said it will make a major push into video podcasts, inking a wide-ranging deal with Spotify through which it will offer 16 podcasts in the U.S. starting...
17/10/2025
Lexington, Ky. As part of a push to highlight its advanced advertising capabilities, Viamedia has launched a new AI-powered ad tech platform and officially rebr...
17/10/2025
NEW YORK QuickLink has announced the release of StudioPro Version 4, which the company is calling the most significant upgrade yet to its flagship video product...
17/10/2025
NEW YORK and CUPERTINO, Calif. Apple and NBCUniversal said they will sell Apple TV and Peacock streaming bundles to U.S. subscribers starting Oct. 20....
17/10/2025
Q&A with Boston Conservatory Choral Conductor Stephen Spinelli How his research into the lost manuscripts of composer Florence Price led to a Grammy-winning c...
17/10/2025
Back to All News
Netflix ISP Speed Index for September 2025
Product
17 October 2025
Global
Link copied to clipboard
This month, 1% of Internet Service Pro...
17/10/2025
NVIDIA's on the ground at Open Source AI Week. Stay tuned for a celebration ...
17/10/2025
AI has ignited a new industrial revolution.
NVIDIA and TSMC are working togethe...
17/10/2025
Gexcon is a trusted safety and risk management partner for complex, high hazard environments. ICG has been a dedicated marketing partner to Gexcon since 2018, b...
17/10/2025
Here is your host, Patrick Kielty!
After an incredible breakthrough year, Kingf...
16/10/2025
SVG Sit-Down: FUJIFILM Execs on GFX ETERNA 55 Camera, Importance of Shallow-Dept...
16/10/2025
Squash's Most Ambitious Broadcast Production To Be Deployed at Comcast Busin...
16/10/2025
Main Street Sports Group Inks Deal With Omaha Productions, Launches Original-Con...
16/10/2025
A Historic Precursor? FIFA, HBS, DAZN Offer an Inside Look at Production of FIFA...
16/10/2025
Prime Video Offers Sneak Peak at New NBA on Prime StudioThe massive 13,000-sq-ft, two-story studio features a LED regulation half court and hoopBy Jason Dachman...
16/10/2025
SVG Remote Production Forum Draws Record Crowd for Visit to PGA TOUR Studios, De...
16/10/2025
BitFire's Ben Grafchik on How Growing Cloud Workflows Are Impacting the Live...
16/10/2025
AI technology is advancing quickly, bringing both new creative possibilities and...
16/10/2025
In 2017, Imani Ellis launched CultureCon, a conference that's become a must-attend event for more than 10,000 diverse creatives and Black professionals to c...
16/10/2025
It might still be a little early to break out the tinsel and mistletoe, but Spotify's already queuing up some holiday magic. This year's Spotify Singles...
16/10/2025
Earlier this year, our in-house publishing imprint, Spotify Audiobooks, put out ...
16/10/2025
VAMPIRE has been integrated onto GM Defenses Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV), providing a mobile solution to effectively and affordably counter small drone threat...
16/10/2025
The AgilePod mounted on the host aircraft....
16/10/2025
60% say infotainment systems are a critical purchasing or leasing consideration,...