Aleksey Vayner

In Women’s Silent Tears Aleksey Vayner successfully draws on survivors’ very personal reflections to present a unique gendered perspective on the Holocaust in Eastern Europe through deeply moving stories of what women endured at the hands of the Nazis.

From Preface

“This work provides a gendered analysis of women who were caught up in the firestorm of Nazism: death camp survivors, work camp survivors and rescuers, perpetrators. After analyzing several hundred texts on this subject and at least as many interviews, presented here are a select few that best convey and develop my underlying perspective. That said, I withheld my own views from the testimonies best I could, allowing women's voices to shine through, and allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions. Survivors' experiences and feelings that permeate this work will hopefully provide a detailed understanding and empathy for what occurred to women in Europe during World War II.”


“Vayner’s work is a powerful contribution to the most revered dream - preserving Jewish history and a Jewish state.” - Members of the Jewish National Fund

“Vayner’s account is a necessary read for anyone who wants to know about women’s experience in the Holocaust and to reflect on how interconnected and similar people are on the most subtle emotional levels.”
– Writer on the Holocaust Review


About the Author
Aleksey Vayner is a scholar of Eastern European Studies at Yale University. Several years into his academic career at Yale, Aleksey met a woman with a horrifying and compelling story of her survival in concentration camps. Her female perspective painted the horrors of the Holocaust a new light, different from what has already been published in mainstream texts on the topic. Revealing aspects of history that would otherwise remain overlooked due to a lack of focus on gender-specific studies on the Holocaust, Aleksey Vayner wrote Women’s Silent Tears to help preserve the horrors of Jewish history that seem so quickly forgotten.

Aleksey Vayner, a first-generation immigrant from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, is an entrepreneur, professional athlete, philanthropist, and a writer.

Mr. Vayner’s passions include the study of psychology that underlies peak performance and helping children of immigrant families overcome personal struggles. To do this, he launched a non profit organization, Empower A Child Inc. (DBA Youth Empowerment Strategies (YES!)). All proceeds from the sales of this book are donated to YES. Aleksey Vayner resides in NYC.