The Girl Bandits of the Warsaw Ghetto by Elizabeth Hyman ~ a Review

by Donna Huber

A Holocaust historian, archivist, and history blogger adds a new dimension to the story of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising during World War II, shining a long overdue spotlight on five young, Polish Jewish women—champions who helped lead the resistance, sabotage the Nazis, and aid Jews in hiding across occupied Poland and Eastern Europe.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free audiobook was provided for an honest review.

October 2025; Harper Audio; 9780063355033
audio (9h), ebook, print; history nonfiction

I love reading WWII stories. Most of the time, they are fictional stories, although many of the ones I've read lately are more biographical fiction that are rooted in real-life history. In the last couple of years, I've started dabbling in nonfiction WWII history. If you read much in the way of WWII stories (fiction or nonfiction), you know that more stories have focused on the role of women.

Elizabeth Hyman's The Girl Bandits of the Warsaw Ghetto is in that same vein. In starting this book, I realized that there are a ton of untold stories from the Eastern Front. There are plenty of books, both in fiction and nonfiction, focused on the French Resistance, but I haven't read any that focus on the Polish Resistance. Usually, books that are set in Poland are about the concentration camps. 

So I was really excited when I saw Hyman's book. Not only is it about history that I don't know much about (I've heard of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, but I couldn't tell you any details about it), it also tells the story of women who had just as big a role as the men in the Jewish Resistance.

I listened to the audiobook, and it was pretty easy to follow. There are a lot of names that I had trouble keeping up with them all, but I think that would have been a problem even if I had read the book. Gilli Messer does a great job as narrator. I'm impressed with all her pronunciations of all the Polish names. She has a very conversational tone, which helped me stay engaged with the book. I've listened to other history books, and sometimes they feel like I'm listening to a lecture. But that wasn't the case here. I think that is thanks to Messer's tone and Hyman's writing style.

It isn't dry at all, and with frequent inclusion of diary entries, the people are really brought to life. Because we get such an intimate look into their lives, some sections are difficult to read. The decisions they had to make and the circumstances they lived through are harrowing. Yet, their courage and drive are incredible. I wonder if we were faced with the same challenges today, if any of us would stand up and fight.

A supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook, but it was not provided with the advance audiobook copy I received. So I can't evaluate it, but if you like reading the footnotes and checking out the bibliography, then you will want to make sure you check out the PDF.

I'm guessing (since I didn't see the bibliography) that a lot of the primary sources had to be translated into English, given the reference to diaries and such, but I'm hoping that this book will inspire fiction writers to delve into these stories, as these need to be told and remembered.

Buy The Girl Bandits of the Warsaw Ghetto at Amazon

Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour.

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