Kammala jumla mai zuwa: An haifi Ervin Appelfeld a cikin Jadova Commune, Storojineț County, a yankin Bukovina na Masarautar Romania, yanzu Ukraine. A cikin hira da masanin adabi, Nili Gold, a cikin 2011, ya tuna da garinsa a cikin wannan gundumar, Czernowitz, a matsayin "kyakkyawan wuri", cike da makarantu da kuma gymnasiums biyu na Latin, inda kashi hamsin zuwa sittin cikin dari na yawan jama'a Yahudawa ne. A 1941, lokacin da yake dan shekara tara, sojojin Romania sun sake karbar garinsu bayan
shekara guda na Soviet mamaye da mahaifiyarsa aka kashe. An kori Appelfeld tare da mahaifinsa zuwa sansanin aikin tilas a Transnistria da Romania ke sarrafawa. Ya tsere kuma ya ɓoye shekaru uku kafin ya shiga rundunar Soviet a matsayin mai dafa abinci. Bayan Yaƙin Duniya na II, Appelfeld ya shafe watanni da yawa a sansanin 'yan gudun hijira a Italiya kafin ya yi ƙaura zuwa Falasɗinu a 1946, shekaru biyu kafin' yancin kai na Isra'ila. An sake saduwa da mahaifinsa bayan ya sami sunansa a jerin sunayen Yahudawa a 1960. (Ya ɗauka cewa mahaifinsa ya mutu, kuma mahaifinsa ya ɗauka cewa Aharon ya mutu a cikin Holocaust. Dukansu sun yi tafiya daban zuwa Isra'ila bayan yakin.) An tura mahaifin zuwa "ma'abara" (sansanin 'yan gudun hijira) a Be'er Tuvia. Taron ya kasance mai cike da motsin rai wanda Appelfeld bai taɓa iya yin rubutu game da shi ba.