Book excerpt: In this important new addition to the literature of World War II, Alison Leslie Gold links together the harrowing yet ultimately inspiring personal accounts of individuals who lived through this dark period in human history. Meditating on such themes as kindness, love, and art, their stories shed light upon the various forces that gave people the strength and courage to survive. From the story of a young Jewish woman who defied death to keep a promise she made to her dead mother to protect her baby sister, to the story of a young Berlin boy, the son of a Nazi, who separated from his father to discover a lifelong passion for the theater, Fiet's Vase and Other Stories of Survival uncovers the glowing sparks of hope and human kindness that carried people through these tragic times.