Gertruda’s Oath is a true story. All of the events described in the book are based on my interviews with family members and survivors of the Holocaust, contemporaneous documents, and my research of those events. However, because Gertruda’s Oath is based in large part on the recollections of those involved (many of whom have since passed, including Gertruda), it was necessary for me to use my skills as an author to compose parts of the dialogue and to fill in details of certain events to facilitate the narrative. Michael and Gertruda’s story, and the story of all those affected by the Holocaust, is poignant history, and is here told as close to fact as possible.