Aranka Siegal
A Holocaust survivor who transformed her childhood trauma into a Newbery Honor memoir, giving voice to the silenced.
Born 1930 (age 96)·American writer·Birthday: June 10·The Silent Generation
Biography
Aranka Siegal was born in 1930 into a Hungarian Jewish family, her early years steeped in the rich culture of Berehovo. The Nazi occupation shattered that world when she was a teenager, leading to her deportation and a year of imprisonment in Auschwitz-Birkenau and Bergen-Belsen. She survived, but the loss of her father and younger sister to the camps marked her forever. After the war, she emigrated to the United States, married, and built a new life, yet the past demanded testimony. Decades later, she channeled her memories into 'Upon the Head of the Goat,' a starkly beautiful account of a girlhood erased by genocide. Published in 1981, the book broke a personal silence and became a vital educational tool, earning major literary awards and ensuring that the human story behind the history would not be forgotten.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Aranka was born in 1930, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Aranka Was Born
The biggest hits of 1930
#1 Movie
All Quiet on the Western Front
Best Picture
All Quiet on the Western Front
Aranka's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1930Born
Pluto discovered
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $3,510President: Herbert Hoover"Body and Soul" — Paul WhitemanBest Picture: All Quiet on the Western Front
1935Started school
Social Security Act signed into law
Gas: $0.19/galHome: $3,450President: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Cheek to Cheek" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: Mutiny on the Bounty
1943Became a teenager
Allies invade Sicily; Battle of Stalingrad ends
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,290Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"I've Heard That Song Before" — Harry JamesBest Picture: Casablanca
1946Could drive
United Nations holds its first General Assembly
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $5,150Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Prisoner of Love" — Perry ComoBest Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
1948Could vote
Israel declares independence; Berlin Blockade begins
Gas: $0.26/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Twelfth Street Rag" — Pee Wee HuntBest Picture: Hamlet
1951Turned 21
First color TV broadcast in the US
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Too Young" — Nat King ColeBest Picture: An American in Paris
1960Turned 30
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1970Turned 40
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1980Turned 50
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1990Turned 60
Hubble Space Telescope launched; Germany reunifies
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.80/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Hold On" — Wilson PhillipsBest Picture: Dances with Wolves
2000Turned 70
Y2K passes without incident; contested Bush-Gore election
Gas: $1.51/galHome: $119,600Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Breathe" — Faith HillBest Picture: Gladiator
2010Turned 80
Deepwater Horizon oil spill; iPad launched
Gas: $2.79/galHome: $147,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Tik Tok" — KeshaBest Picture: The King's Speech
2026Age 96 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Received a Newbery Honor in 1982 for her memoir 'Upon the Head of the Goat: A Childhood in Hungary 1930-1944'.
- Awarded the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for nonfiction in 1982 for the same work.
- Authored three books that serve as crucial firsthand accounts of the Holocaust for young adult readers.
Did You Know?
Her memoir's title refers to a goat her family kept, which was later sacrificed, symbolizing impending loss.
She did not begin writing her memoir until she was in her forties.
She worked for many years as a dressmaker before becoming a published author.
“I wrote the book because I felt I owed it to the people who did not survive.”
