Jl witterick based the holocaust novel on halamajowas true story the author implements the style of short uncomplicated pages hosting an abundance of profound passages witterick elaborates on the depth of both human kindness and evil in desperate conditions my mothers secret is his first novel. Cerebral and poetic my mothers secret defines challenges of the human spirit during times of chaos and crisis franciszka halamajowa residing in the town of solek poland during ww ii abandoned the risks that if caught would mean certain death for her and her family jl witterick based the holocaust novel on halamajowas true story. Inspired by a true story my mothers secret is a captivating and ultimately uplifting tale intertwining the lives of two jewish families in hiding from the nazis a fleeing german soldier and the. My mothers secret a novel based on a true holocaust story by jl witterick franciszka halamajowa and her daughter helena are remarkable women who have the courage to become saviors to two jewish families and a defecting german soldier during the holocaust. September 2013 when i finished reading my mothers secret by jl witterick i was totally in awe of it its based on the true story of a woman and her daughter who hid two jewish families and a german soldier on their farm during world war ii told from four different perspectives its so tightly and succinctly written that i found myself reading every word