From Generation to Generation

Hiding from the Nazis in the forests of Slovakia's Low Tatra Mountains in the fall of 1944, in constant danger from the Germans occupying nearby villages, fourteen-year-old Agnes Grossmann and her family make the daring decision to escape high into the mountains and hike along treacherous ice-covered peaks to safety. Twenty-four years later, Agnes Tomasov―now married with two children―finds herself on the run from post-war Czechoslovakia's Communist regime and defects to Canada with her family, carrying only what they can it in two suitcases. Her sweeping memoir of life under two totalitarian regimes is an extraordinary and inspiring tale of courage, love and hope in the face of tragedy. Imbued with the author’s warmth, unflagging resilience and determined independence, From Generation to Generation is a true testament to the strength of the human spirit.

Agnes Tomasov was born in the small town of Bardejov, in the Slovakian region of Czechoslovakia, on June 16, 1930. After the war, between 1949 and 1968, she lived in Prague and Kosice, Czechoslovakia, now in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, respectively. In 1968, following the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, she immigrated to Canada with her husband, Joe, and their two children. Agnes and her husband currently live in Toronto and enjoy spending time with their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.