Amsterdam Publishers will release Beneath the Lightless Sky by Ignacy Chiger on Jan. 27, coinciding with International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The memoir offers a firsthand account of one Jewish family’s survival beneath the city of Lvov, Poland, during the Holocaust.
Chiger (1906-1975) recounts his family’s 14-month ordeal living in the sewers beneath Nazi-occupied Lvov, aided by an unlikely rescuer, Leopold Socha, a Polish Catholic sewer worker later recognized as Righteous Among the Nations. The memoir provides an unfiltered record of daily life under both Soviet and Nazi regimes, exploring the extremes of human cruelty and compassion.
When the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939, the Chiger family’s lives were irrevocably changed. Forced from their home, they endured five years of hardship, including the liquidation of the Lvov ghetto. With no refuge remaining, they sought shelter underground. In the darkness, surrounded by filth and disease, they clung to life while confronting both despair and hope.
Beneath the Lightless Sky joins Amsterdam Publishers’ acclaimed Holocaust Survivor Memoirs series, expanding the record of survivor testimony for future generations.
“By bringing Ignacy Chiger’s words to readers worldwide, this publication ensures his voice will join those who bore witness to one of history’s darkest chapters,” said Amsterdam Publishers.
The memoir not only bears historical witness but also raises moral questions that remain relevant today—about complicity, resilience and the meaning of decency in times of inhumanity.
About the Author
Ignacy Chiger (1906–1975) was a Jewish entrepreneur, engineer and Holocaust survivor from Lvov, Poland. Known for his leadership, ingenuity and resourcefulness, he became one of ten survivors who emerged from the Lvov sewers in July 1944. After the war, he and his family emigrated to Israel, where he completed his memoir before his death in 1975.
Publication Details
Beneath the Lightless Sky: Surviving the Holocaust in the Sewers of Lvov
By Ignacy Chiger
Publisher: Amsterdam Publishers, The Netherlands
Series: Holocaust Survivor Memoirs
Publication Date: Jan. 27, 2026
ISBNs:
Ebook: 9789493418592
Paperback: 9789493418578
Hardcover: 9789493418585
Pages: 276 | Price: $17.95 (Paperback)
Distribution: Worldwide through eBook and print-on-demand
