I Am a Star: Child of the Holocaust (A Puffin Book)

Customer Reviews:

Good book for WWII history.......2007-08-30

of the Holocaust. The poems in this short biography are so inspiring. I read this as part of a unit study for the Holocaust and we enjoyed the message the author brought through her life experience and poems.

Survival of a little star.......2007-05-31

Inge Auerbacher was only three years old,in 1938, when the massive pogrom called Kristallnacht, or the Night of the Broken Glass took place.

At the age of seven she was sent to Terezin concentration camp in Czechoslovakia.

In this incredible little book, Auerbacher tells of her experiences of being a little girl in Terezin concentration camp, one of the few young children who survived the death camps.

As she recounts:

"Of fifteen thousand children imprisoned in the Terezin concentration camps in Czechoslovakia, between 1941 and 1945, about one hundred survived. I am one of them. At least one and a half children were killed in the Nazi Holocaust. The reason most of these children died is that they were Jewish".

Auerbacher takes the horror of these years, and imparts a message of hope. She has created an account for young readers of her experiences, in a book filled with moving poetry and with the aid of haunting illustrations by Israel Bernbaum. There are also several photographs of her home town and of Inge as a child and her family life.

Auerbacher explains that the silent voices of the innocent children who died in the holocaust must be heard, and that is why felt compelled to trace the historical events that made this great evil possible and to tell her own story.

The author talks about her home town, Kippenheim, a village in southern Germany, where she was born in 1934.

She recounts the iddylic existance of her family and community in Kippenheim, until the horrific events of Kristallnacht.

She traces the roots of anti-Semitism for young readers, and summarizes the rise of Hitler, and the holocaust, before talking about her own story.

"We still feel the pain and we weep.

This nightmare will not let us sleep.

A page in history; one must learn.

Yesterday us, and tommorow your turn?"

She talks of her experiences of being forced to wear the yellow star at the age of six years old, the harsh circumstances of deportation, and the horrific conditions for children in Terezin in crowded and filthy cells infested with rats, mice, fleas and bedbugs, and of the other children who she befriended in the camp, such as Ada, a German Jewish child who longed to go to the Land of Israel, as did so many hundreds of thousands of Jews trapped in the Nazi inferno.

Ada taught her a song about the Holy Land, and promised Inge that they would soon go to there, "Just hold on a little longer" she used to say.

Ada's dream never came true-she died at the age of nine in Auschwitz.

Another friend was Ruth, a beautiful blond little girl of mixed Jewish and Gentile blood, who was brought up as a Christian, and who loved to draw. Ruth died in Terezin because her Jewish heritage, even though she never considered herself Jewish.

The final two chapters are about Inge's liberation from Auschwitz, and her hopes and afterthoughts:

She closes with a wonderful poem about the horrors and deaths and the hopes and dreams of those who survived and their descendants entitled NEVER AGAIN:

"Minds were dulled by bombs of hate,

Only the hero cared about our fate,

We saw the truth, it began to unfold,

You may kill the body but never the soul.

Here we are with honour and pride,

a new generation at our side,

the silent voices join us today,

Never, never again we hope and pray".

Child Survives the Holocaust.......2007-03-22

Inge is just a child living in a small village in Germany when Hitler rises to power. Like so many other Jewish families, her family did not escape from Germany soon enough to be safe. By the time they think to get out, it is too late. They are sent from place to place until they are finally deported to Terezin, a concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. Conditions there are horrible, and people live in constant fear of being shipped off to Auschwitz, where the gas chambers are.

Because Inge's father is a disabled war veteran, shot in the shoulder in World War I while fighting for Germany, the family has special priveleges in Terezin. Inge is able to stay with her mother and father, instead of being separated. However, the family is still fighting for survival, just like every other family in the camp.

Miraculously, Inge and her parents survive the Holocaust in Terezin. They live to be liberated and to start a new life in the United States after the war. This is one of few stories about the Holocaust with a relatively happy ending.

I liked that there was so much history included in this story. It isn't only Inge's story, but the story of the Holocaust in general. She tells of Hitler's rise to power and the other things that were going on right before she was sent to the concentration camp. I didn't like the inclusion of the poetry in the book. I felt like it broke up the flow of the story, because it often was in the middle of a page where the narrative was.

I am a Star: Child of the Holocaust.......2007-03-21

This book is a neccesity if you would like to get background on the Holocaust while reading a young girl's journey through it.

deeply moving.......2004-05-27

"deeply moving and true...i cannot think of any book on this topic which i could recommend for this age group as i do this book." -Bruno Bettelheim

Escape Via Siberia: A Jewish Child's Odyssey of Survival

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escape via Siberia
KEPT ME UP ALL NIGHT!
AN INSPIRING SURVIVAL TALE!
PUTS A HUMAN FACE ON HISTORY!
PACKED WITH SUSPENSE, HISTORY AND VIVID CHARACTERS!

Escape Via Siberia: A Jewish Child's Odyssey of Survival
Dorit Bader Whiteman
Manufacturer: Holmes & Meier Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0841914036

Customer Reviews:

escape via Siberia.......2006-11-06

The book is engaging and unique. Tells about a personal story and also explains the historical background of this period which is invaluable part to understanding the chain of events, events which are often overlooked.

KEPT ME UP ALL NIGHT!.......2001-07-23

I bought this book after talking to Dorit Whiteman at her book signing at the Holocaust Museum and seeing her engrossing presentation at a library. She is an utterly charming and thoroughly knowledgeable individual! Her book expertly weaves together history with the true story of a how a resourceful, clever boy repeatedly gave the slip to German and Russian forces. I stayed up all night reading this book even though I already knew the end!

AN INSPIRING SURVIVAL TALE!.......2001-07-05

This book expertly combines historical revelations and insights with an against-all-odds survival story!

PUTS A HUMAN FACE ON HISTORY!.......2001-07-05

This is a extremely engaging and informative book about a long overlooked aspect of the Holocaust. And it's a real page-turner. Whiteman's background as a Holocaust survivor and psychologist shines through her astute observations. Whiteman also gives wonderful presentations on Holocaust-related issues.

PACKED WITH SUSPENSE, HISTORY AND VIVID CHARACTERS!.......2000-10-20

Through the eyes of a boy battling history, Escape Via Siberia tells the long overlooked story of Eastern Europe during WW II. This willful and wile boy somehow manages to always give the slip to the Nazis and Stalin's forces, which both hunt him throughout Eastern Europe. This true story packs so much suspense and history that it should be made into a movie! It is a must-read for historians and lay audiences alike.

Facing the Abusing God: A Theology of Protest

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Don't Read This Unless You Truly Must!
Fails at the start
Raises Some **VERY** Uncomfortable Issues For Christians
An excellent, challenging book

Facing the Abusing God: A Theology of Protest
David R. Blumenthal
Manufacturer: Westminster John Knox Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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(God) After Auschwitz

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Braun IRT 4020 ThermoScan Ear Thermometer

ASIN: 0664254640

Book Description

In this very powerful book, David Blumenthal maintains that having faith in a post-holocaust world means admitting that while God is often loving and kind, fair and merciful. God is also capable of acts so unjust they can only be described as abusive. Grounding his argument in the scriptures and in the experience of holocaust survivors and of survivors of child abuse. Blumenthal grapples with how to face a God who works "wondrously through us" and who has worked "aw(e)fully against us". Delving into Jewish literary and theological traditions, the author articulates a theology of protest which accepts God as God is, yet defends the innocence of those who are utterly victimized.

Customer Reviews:

Don't Read This Unless You Truly Must!.......2006-06-15

I love to hate this book. Every page was painful and frustrating. I use examples from his commentary on Biblical texts every so often. I reference his book as a "what not to do/read" when teaching frequently. The author dedicates his book to Survivors of the Holocaust and Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse. Survivors Should Never Read This. I don't believe God executes Justice on Earth. If your friend was married to the Abusing God described by this author, you would tell her to run and never look back. How can anyone responsibly teach this theology?! How can anyone encourage people to "stay with" an Abusing God?! If you have to read it, please borrow it from the library. Don't buy it.

Fails at the start.......2002-05-31

This book, with all its pages of argumentation, fails at the fundamental level. That is, it fails to answer the question of how we may define good and evil, justice and injustice. The Bible never describes God as unjust, but rather that any concept of justice is derived from his words and actions.

If God is BY DEFINITION just, then I question where this book obtains its definitions of justice and injustice by which to judge God. The book's definitions could not have come from God himself, since he never calls himself unjust. If the definitions come merely from the author's mind, then this book only tells us something about the author's anti-biblical thinking, and says nothing about God himself. And if the definitions come from anywhere else other than God, then they are non-authoritative and cannot be used to evaluate God at all.

As the Bible says, Who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Let God be true, and every man a liar.

Thus, this book fails from the start; it does not pose any challenge at all to orthodox Christianity.

Raises Some **VERY** Uncomfortable Issues For Christians.......1998-11-28

This is, bar none, the most uncompromisingly and unflinchingly honest work of theology I have read in 35+ years of studying the subject. Blumenthal's proximate subject is the Holocaust, but his ultimate subject is holocaust-as-such, not only **the** Holocaust -- in particular, those experiences of holocaust, personal and individual as well as historical and communal, in which God's tendency to abuse His/Her children are nakedly manifest. Most moving of all, in terms of individual holocaust, are the comments of one of Blumenthal's colleagues at Emory Univ, herself a survivor of the holocaust of childhood sexual abuse, who was given the MS for evaluation and comment. Christian theologians, this writer included, would do well to ponder a conclusion Blumenthal never states explicitly, but which is inescapably latent in his text: for a holocaust survivor, the only authentic and honest mode of theological discourse is the rhetoric of deliberate blasphemy. Perhaps respect for God ends where the experience of holocaust begins. If this book, and that possibility raised thereby, does not keep you awake nights, then take warning: your soul may quite possibly be dead.

An excellent, challenging book.......1998-08-28

Blumenthal has written a wonderful, but challenging book on the nature of God in light of the Holocaust and the human experience of divine abandoment. He also invites a Christian theologian a chance to interact with his ideas and thoughts. You may not agree with him in the end, but rarely are you going to find a book that so thoroughly challenges the traditional notions of who God is while remaining very true to tradition.

Average customer rating:

Wonderfully riveting Holocaust story. Life affirming!
A Deadly Game of Hide-and-Seek
A Deadly Game of Hide-and-Seek
Amazing
No Pretty Pictures

No Pretty Pictures: A Child of War
Anita Lobel
Manufacturer: HarperTrophy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0380732858
Release Date: 2000-02-02

Amazon.com

Nominated for a 1998 National Book Award for Young People's Literature, No Pretty Pictures: A Child of War is Anita Lobel's gripping memoir of surviving the Holocaust. A Caldecott-winning illustrator of such delightful picture books as On Market Street, it is difficult to believe Lobel endured the horrific childhood she did. From age 5 to age 10, Lobel spent what are supposed to be carefree years hiding from the Nazis, protecting her younger brother, being captured and marched from camp to camp, and surviving completely dehumanizing conditions. A terrifying story by any measure, Lobel's memoir is all the more haunting as told from the first-person, child's-eye view. Her girlhood voice tells it like it is, without irony or even complete understanding, but with matter-of-fact honesty and astonishing attention to detail. She carves vivid, enduring images into readers' minds. On hiding in the attic of the ghetto: "We were always told to be very quiet. The whispers of the trapped grown-ups sounded like the noise of insects rubbing their legs together." On being discovered while hiding in a convent: "They lined us up facing the wall. I looked at the dark red bricks in front of me and waited for the shots. When the shouting continued and the shots didn't come, I noticed my breath hanging in thin puffs in the air." On trying not to draw the attention of the Nazis: "I wanted to shrink away. To fold into a small invisible thing that had no detectable smell. No breath. No flesh. No sound."

It is a miracle that Lobel and her brother survived on their own in this world that any adult would find unbearable. Indeed, and appropriately, there are no pretty pictures here, and adults choosing to share this story with younger readers should make themselves readily available for explanations and comforting words. (The camps are full of excrement and death, all faithfully recorded in direct, unsparing language.) But this is a story that must be told, from the shocking beginning when a young girl watches the Nazis march into Krakow, to the final words of Lobel's epilogue: "My life has been good. I want more." (Ages 10 to 16) --Brangien Davis

Book Description

The beloved Caldecott Honor artist now recounts a tale of vastly different kind -- her own achingly potent memoir of a childhood of flight, imprisonment, and uncommon bravery in Nazi-occupied Poland. Anita Lobel was barely five when the war began and sixteen by the time she came to America from Sweden, where she had been sent to recover at the end of the war. This haunting book, illustrated with the author's archival photographs, is the remarkable account of her life during those years. Poised, forthright, and always ready to embrace life, Anita Lobel is the main character in the most personal story she will ever tell.Anita Lobel was barely five years old when World War II began and the Nazis burst into her home in Krakow, Poland, changing her life forever. She spent the days of her childhood in hiding with her brother--who was disguised as a girl--and their Catholic nanny in the countryside, the ghetto, and finally in a convent where the Nazis caught up with her. She was imprisoned in a succession of concentration camps until the end of the war. Sent by the Red Cross to recuperate in Sweden, she slowly blossomed as she discovered books and language and art. Since coming to the United States as a teenager, Anita Lobel has spent her life making pictures. She has never gone back. She has never looked back. Until now.

00-01 Tayshas High School Reading List

Anita Lobel was barely five years old when World War II began and the Nazis burst into her home in Krakow, Poland, changing her life forever. She spent the days of her childhood in hiding with her brother--who was disguised as a girl--and their Catholic nanny in the countryside, the ghetto, and finally in a convent where the Nazis caught up with her. She was imprisoned in a succession of concentration camps until the end of the war. Sent by the Red Cross to recuperate in Sweden, she slowly blossomed as she discovered books and language and art. Since coming to the United States as a teenager, Anita Lobel has spent her life making pictures. She has never gone back. She has never looked back. Until now.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderfully riveting Holocaust story. Life affirming!.......2006-02-27

This book is a tragic adventure. Anita Lobel recalls the arrival of the Nazis and the end of her childhood as she knew it. I was thankful this book was a fast read, the suspense of what would happen to Lobel and her brother was too much at times. The writing is beautiful and appropriate for young readers as well as adults. Beautiful photos.

A Deadly Game of Hide-and-Seek.......2006-02-13

Imagine playing hide-and seek, but you are hiding from the German Nazis because you are illegal. Every time they get close to you, a new hiding spot must be found, or your life will be put on the line. During the Holocaust, young Hanusiu played by these rules everyday. Told from a child's point of view, No Pretty Pictures is the memoir of Anita Lobel, earlier called Hanusiu, and her journey through the secrets, tears, and sacrifices of the Holocaust. Ms. Lobel did an amazing job describing everything that happened to her in those fatal years. One part that held excruciating description was when Hanusiu was forced into her first Concentration Camp. I felt as though I was walking into the camp alongside Hanusiu. The other prisoners, barracks, nervousness, and overall feeling of pain were expressed in a way that I cannot believe was seen through a child's eyes. Another major event that took place was when Hanusiu was diagnosed with tuberculosis after she had been rescued. She was forced to stay in a sanatorium for about a year and a half to cure the chronic disease. I could feel her hope and insecurities as each day passed, knowing that she might never get out. I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a clear picture of what happened during the Holocaust, supported with lots of description, and seen through a true survivor's eyes.

A Deadly Game of Hide-and-Seek.......2006-02-07

Amazing.......2005-10-06

Casey Anderson
Book Review

The sad and hard story of Anita, she lived in Poland. To start off the sadness in the beginning Anita her brother and the rest of the family were almost caught by the Nazi's buy they hid, they were sadly robbed of almost all there possessions. They had finally had to leave there house and go to the ghetto. They say, "The word ghetto was only a word to them", I think that means that they had never thought of leaving and going into the ghetto, it was like shock. They try to convert into Catholics by their first communion but it was said back then that a Jews sin is far worse than a Catholics. This was bad and times were getting tighter (the Germans were catching on to them).They were finally captured and taken to a camp where they had to work with low food and march a lot. They stayed there for many years and started to lose there hopes especially when there niania (there nanny) died after being
beaten. Luckily though out of all of the thousands of people were caught many Red Cross busses had come to take them away from the Nazi's and into Sweden. But now she has moved to America and when somebody asked where she's from she will always say, "I am an American and proud of it". This book was very well written but didn't have to much detail on the backgrounds of there lives.

No Pretty Pictures.......2005-04-04

Anita was a normal child but never really lived a normal child hood. She and her brother both were jewish. They were on the run and hiding with their christan nanny. The story of survival is one of the most tragic times: the holocaust. This story is sad yet will keep you on your toes and thinking about what these people had to do to survive. I would recommend this story to anyone who likes to read about the past and enjoys stories of survival. I ejoyed it very much and hope all future readers will too.
-Diane

A Wolf in the Attic: The Legacy of a Hidden Child of the Holocaust

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psychoanalytically-informed Holocaust/coming-of-age memoir
A Different and Vital Perspective
A Unique Perspective on the Holocaust

A Wolf in the Attic: The Legacy of a Hidden Child of the Holocaust
Sophia Richman
Manufacturer: Haworth Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0789015501

Book Description

AWolf in the Attic is a powerful memoir written by a psychoanalyst who was a hidden child in Poland during World War II. Her story, in addition to its immediate impact, illustrates her struggle to come to terms with the powerful yet sometimes subtle impact of childhood trauma. A Wolf in the Attic follows the author's life as she gradually becomes able to reclaim her past, to understand its impact on her life and the choices she has made, and finally, to heal a part of herself that she had been so long taught to deny.

Customer Reviews:

psychoanalytically-informed Holocaust/coming-of-age memoir.......2007-03-17

"Memoirs, the signature literary form of the 21st century, speak to us
privately of the most intimate aspects of life. The fact that Sophia Richman is a
child survivor of the Holocaust as well as a psychoanalyst and applies both of these vantage points to her life narrative, takes this memoir into new territory.
She writes of the realms of childhood, adolescence and adulthood through the
prism of someone whose very existence once depended on keeping a
secret. This is an engaging and very special book in the memoir literature and one that will inspire
readers as well as writers who have difficulty formulating and then articulating their
own story."

A Different and Vital Perspective.......2002-09-27

I thought the book was excellent! I have read dozens of books about the Holocaust and this document certainly offers a different and vital perspective that has not previously been covered in the literature. As you progress through the book, it is quite clear that the after-effects for Holocaust survivors are persistent and nagging, and greatly affect them for the rest of their lives. Sophia Richman's experience demonstrates that tragic events that surround young children can stalk in their minds like "A Wolf in the Attic".

A Unique Perspective on the Holocaust.......2002-04-02

"A Wolf in the Attic", a memoir by Dr. Sophia Richman adds a valuable perspective to the literature of the Holocaust. Dr. Richman was a hidden child in Poland who survived to tell her story of what it meant to transcend such an ordeal and then go on to try to strive for and fit in with normal life. This work is a unique exposition of a journey to overcome a traumatic past and to engage fully in life under renewed circumstances yet with the past just under the surface. The process of coming to terms with this dicotomy is at the heart of the work and is very moving. Dr. Richman has created a compelling narrative which reveals the two faceted experience of a life of achievement and momentum amidst unconscious symbols of tragedy. The fact that the author was successful in so many ways in overcoming her trauma is an inspiration. Her story is a special one amongst Holocaust memoirs. Dr. Richman's work is highly recommended for its humanity, complexity and poignancy.

Child of a Turbulent Century (Jewish Lives)

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review of Erlich, child of a turbulent century

Child of a Turbulent Century (Jewish Lives)
Victor Erlich
Manufacturer: Northwestern University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0810123517

Customer Reviews:

review of Erlich, child of a turbulent century.......2006-11-10

This is an absolutely fascinating book. Erlich is an engaging and talented writer. This well written and lively memoir covers a broad terrain including pre-WWII Jewish life in Poland Russia, the rise of the Bund (Jewish labor movement), Erlich's emergence as a leading academic in the field of Russian literature, American academic life in the 1950s and beyond, and much more. Highly recommended.

Average customer rating:

A compulsive pageturner
Should be Required Reading for All Youths
GERMAN BOY
German Boy
Excellent book, a must read!

German Boy: A Child in War
Wolfgang W. E. Samuel
Manufacturer: Broadway
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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A Woman in Berlin: Eight Weeks in the Conquered City: A Diary

ASIN: 0767908244
Release Date: 2001-10-16

Book Description

“I think German Boy has all the qualities of greatness. I love the book.” -- from the Foreword by Stephen Ambrose

As the Third Reich crumbled in 1945, scores of Germans scrambled to flee the advancing Russian troops. Among them was a little boy named Wolfgang Samuel, who left his home with his mother and sister and ended up in war-torn Strasbourg before being forced farther west into a disease-ridden refugee camp. German Boy is the vivid, true story of their fight for survival as the tables of power turned and, for reasons Wolfgang was too young to understand, his broken family suffered arbitrary arrest, rape, hunger, and constant fear.

Because his father was off fighting the war as a Luftwaffe officer, young Wolfgang was forced to become the head of his household, scavenging for provisions and scraps with which to feed his family. Despite his best efforts, his mother still found herself forced to do the unthinkable to survive, and her sacrifices became Wolfgang’s worst nightmares. Somehow, with the resilience only children can muster, he maintained his youth and innocence in little ways–making friends with other young refugees, playing games with shrapnel, delighting in the planes flown by the Americans and the candies the GIs brought. In the end, the Samuels begin life anew in America, and Wolfgang eventually goes on to a thirty-year career in the U.S. Air Force.

Bringing fresh insight to the dark history of Nazi Germany and the horror left in its wake, German Boy records the valuable recollections of an innocent’s incredible journey.

Customer Reviews:

A compulsive pageturner.......2007-09-06

The author, who was 10 years old and living in eastern Germany when WWII came to an end, has an amazing memory for telling details and an irresistibly engaging personality. His memoir of that dreadful time is framed as a tribute to his mother, who certainly deserves it, and an unforgettable lesson in history as it is really lived. Once you start reading this book, you will be unable to put it down and you will never forget it.

Should be Required Reading for All Youths.......2007-07-18

This harrowing memoir should be required reading for all children. Perhaps, as adults, they will think hard and deeply before embarking on war. The description of life at the end of WWII and postwar Germany are harrowing. The reader cannot help but wonder how he or she would or could cope in the same situation.

I found the comparison among the American, British and Russian zones in postwar Germany to be fascinating. I hope that the friendliness and genorosity which have historically characterized Americans have not been lost in our recent imperialist adventurism and immoral acts.

GERMAN BOY.......2007-06-24

I learned of this author and his saga through the Berlin Airlift Association. I am WWII vintage, first landed in Berlin during the Pottsdam Conference- July '45. I was later stationed in Germany on three different occasions and flew on the Berlin Airlift in '48 as a pilot. I read and thoroughly enjoyed Wolfgang's story and went through the book in a matter of hours- a rarity for me. It was a compelling story, so well crafted. The author has a real gift for a superb journalistic format and style. I can relete to so much of the trauma he went through, not in his boots, so to speak, but as an observer of the terrible situation confronting the civilian population. I am a WWII history buff & have a large collection of books from that period. German Boy is certainly a keeper in this time frame and setting. I so enjoyed the flow of the story and the easy to read style. His descriptions are vivid, alive and enticing. I immediately bought the sequel, Coming To Colorado and it is equally fine reading. As the author of a book, TOP STICK, I realize the undertakings involved in writing a good story. Wolfgang does a superb job and he is to be congratulated for his fine work. Buy and read this book. You will be most pleased that you did, and I'd wage that you'll buy more of his work. HAROLD A.JACOBS, LT COL. USAF ret.

German Boy.......2007-06-04

My friend living in London, England, read this book and suggested it to me. It is the story of a young boy growing up in war torn and defeated Germany. He later comes to America and become an Air Force officer. It is a worthwhile and fascinating study in overcoming hardship. It focuses on a part of war that most accounts of war fail to do: the civilian population and the wars effect on them. But the book is more than that. It is a highly personal account of survival and hardship in growing up. It is a story that had to be told.

Excellent book, a must read!.......2007-05-24

I bought this book to give me some more insight into the world my mother saw in Germany as a teenager during and after the war. The book's descriptions of the conditions of the housing, food shortages, black market, and other parts of daily life are almost exactly some of the stories I heard from my mother - especially when the writer recounts going into already-harvested potato fields to find the small, deeply buried ones that were missed. This book is full of vivid detail like that- you are transported to a darker, sadder part of history that is almost forgotten.
Interestingly, the book also gave me some insight into my Father's life - in poor rural Alabama during the Depression. A world away, but the same poverty, hunger, and in him a desire (like the writer of the book) for something better.
My Father met my Mother in Germany, just before this book ends. It is a story about an incredible journey, and a desire for a better life.

Average customer rating:

Nice idea, but it could benefit from a wider perspective
It finally makes sense!
I guarentee: You'll be hooked!
I expected something better
Sasson Never Lets the Reader off with Easy Answers

Ester's Child
Jean P. Sasson , and Jean Sasson
Manufacturer: Windsor-Brooke Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Family Saga | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0967673739

Book Description

In this spellbinding novel, the international bestselling author of Princess brings together a striking cast of characters, revealing deep layers and varieties of love and hate seldom seen in popular fiction.

Jewish Holocaust survivors Joseph & Ester Gale have lost most of their family members to the infamous gas chambers of Auschwitz and Treblinka, yet they continue to defy death for the dream of a Jewish State.

Palestinian refugees George and Mary Antoun are forced to flee their home in Haifa to raise their only child in the squalor of Shatila refugee camp in Beirut, Lebanon.

Former S.S. officer Friedrich Kleist and his wife Eva survive Germany's bitter loss in World War II only to have the long shadow of their Nazi past return to haunt them and their beautiful daughter, Christine.

By tethering the lives of these three families, all tossed into the maelstrom of war's terrors, JEAN SASSON proclaims the tenderness of great love and exposes the consuming passions of war. But in the end, the force of love overturns the claims of war and blood.

JEAN SASSON's talent for delving into the deepest corners of the human condition has produced a stunning novel, and reviewers agree!

Customer Reviews:

Nice idea, but it could benefit from a wider perspective.......2006-04-03

A nice idea for a novel, but I think the execution could have been better. The Jewish POV seemed narrow, and would have benifitted from the addition of Jewish characters of maybe Jordanian (who would have a similar experience to the Arab characters in this novel), or other Arab origin. It is strange that Jews of Middle Eastern and African origin don't have a larger part in this story when they make up around 50% of Israels Jewish population.

It finally makes sense!.......2006-01-12

As an American who has been watching the media coverage of Israel, this book finally connected all the pieces and helped me understand why this conflict continues from all perspectives. I will definitely be recommending this book to my friends. I wasn't crazy about the story line itself, but the historical perspective more than made up for it.

I guarentee: You'll be hooked!.......2002-08-03

Once you get past about 10 pages, you'll be HOOKED and this is a promise.

ESTER'S CHILD portrays the reality of LIFE in war. Sasson focuses on the MIDDLE EAST, and in particular Lebanon and Israel. As a once-upon-a-time aid worker in the Middle East, I was astonished at how vividly Sasson described the reality of life for people living in refugee camps. I would have believed her a refugee if I didn't know better.

The way she weaved her story with the three families took my breath away. This is just a page-turner and there is no other way to describe this book. If you have an interest in the ongoing drama of Israel and Palestine, and you like stories with HEART, then this is a good choice for you...

I'm a little baffled by a comment made from the Hong Kong reader who was disturbed by the good looks of some of the characters. Hong Kong thought every character was a looker. Actually, the book is filled with many characters who are ordinary and even plain. Joseph Gale's sister is plain. The little baker is plain. The parents of Demetrius and his friend Walid are plain. I think "Honk Kong" a bit unfair in this observation because it is clearly not true. However, the main characters, Demetrius, Jordan, Christine, and Michel as well as the Jewish parents, Joseph and Ester Gale, are very attractive. Two very attractive people generally have good-looking kids. If you take a count of good looks vs plain looks, it is about 50/50, which is about the same as normal life...

Don't let the good looks of the main characters distress you! The book is outstanding and clearly worth a look. You'll be hooked!

I expected something better.......2002-07-21

It isn't a bad book, though ut falls short of conveying that in every war both sides suffer. This point should have been brought out stronger. Another thing which I found mildly annoying is that all main characters are described as physically very attractive, even stunningly beautiful. But other than that, writing is nice and book is a page turner. In spite of some horrible things described, somehow it won't leave a reader disturbed. Which may or may not be a good thing. In order not to repeat past mistakes, books dealing with those topics shouldn't paint the whole picture with such pretty colours to make it easy to disregard horrible details.

Sasson Never Lets the Reader off with Easy Answers.......2002-06-03

...This is a compelling story of three families, Palestinian, Jewish, and German, whose lives are intertwined during the events leading up to and following the foundation of the state of Israel.

The book begins with a sweet love story between Ester Stein, the daughter of strictly religious Polish Jews, and Joseph Gale, the son of non-practicing French Jews. It is a sprawling history, spanning cultures, generations and several countries. Before the book is over Sasson has led us through Israel/Palestine, France, Poland, Jordan, Lebanon, and the United States.

I was impressed with Sasson's ability to tell a compassionate and often joyful tale without hedging around the very difficult issues surrounding the creation of the Israeli state. She never shies away from the devastating terrors and tragedy of war, nor does she forget the humanity and suffering of fighters on both sides of any conflict. The story raises many challenging questions, and Sasson never lets the reader off with easy answers.

There is no obvious right or wrong, only human beings locked in a painful and complicated struggle. Sasson's vast knowledge of Arab and Jewish history is impressive. As we are drawn into the lives of Palestinian refugees, Jewish holocaust survivors, and the families of German Nazis, she gives insight into the roots of a struggle that is still escalating.

Book Description

In this truly innovative memoir, Bernice Eisenstein combines her skills as a writer and illustrator to recount her early childhood in the 1950s. Drawing on the memories of her parents-both Holocaust survivors-and the fragmented stories of other family members lost in the war, she explores the impact of their legacy on her own life. Through her vivid prose and stunning illustrations, Eisenstein crafts a tale that is emotionally rich and visually arresting.

I Was a Child of Holocaust Survivors harkens back to Art Spiegelman's Maus but breaks new ground in combining graphic novel and memoir. Mixing sadness with bittersweet humor, Eisenstein describes her experiences growing up in the wake of the World War II. But more than a book about the Holocaust and its far-reaching shadow, this moving, searingly honest testament speaks to the universality of memory and loss.

Anyone who sees this book will be deeply affected by its beautiful, highly evocative writing and its brilliantly original, haunting artwork.

Customer Reviews:

What a disappointment.......2007-09-08

All I can say is that I hated the book. The author was so intent to find out all the sordid details of her parent's life during the Holocaust that she never got to know them for who they were. The book is boring and the drawings are silly and juvenile.

Illuminating and moving book.......2007-07-23

this book is both illuminating and moving, I have already lent my copy to two other people. An important new voice on the Holocaust and it's survivors and descendants.

In one reading -- an Amazing Book -- Mazel Tov.......2006-08-26

I too am a child of Holocaust survivors. I read this book (picked up by surprise in a bookstore) in one several hour reading. It is touching, moving, eloquent, great art, and deeply personal. Life and death, of all sorts. Happiness and sadness, of all sorts. I'm deeply appreciative for the author's letting the world in on her (my) life.
David

Insightful yet tragic... the Holocaust continues to shape people.......2006-08-22

The Holocaust occurred over six decades ago, and the survivors of this episode are aging and dying. In fact, calling the Holocaust an "episode" seems to be trivializing one of the darkest periods in human history. I apologize for any such characterization. The Holocaust was a monstrosity, an aberration, a blot on the record of humanity. Millions died.

Yet some lived. And these survivors had a life, children, a home.

This book, I Was a Child of Holocaust Survivors, is author Bernice Eisenstein's recollections of growing up in a family that had both mother and father with tattooed arms. Even as a youngster, Eisenstein grappled with the knowledge of her parent's past, the stigma of being defined by this past, and the responsibility of maintaining memories without adding more pain to the world.

I Was a Child of Holocaust Survivors is not a first person account of experiences during WWII as you can read in Night, by Elie Wiesel, although some of her parent's stories are recounted. However, Eisenstein's experiences and memories are also real. She hungered to understand what her parents experienced. She cried harder than her parents when she watched films about the Holocaust. The Holocaust has shaped members of a succeeding generation.

She exists because of the Holocaust, with her parents finding each other at liberation, and shaping her through their language, actions, and social life.

The book has illustrations throughout... haunting depictions not of life in concentration camps, but how a child (and later a young woman) came to view her heritage.

We all come from some place. Eisenstein comes from a place darker than we should ever have to see. I hope this book is picked as one to discuss in high schools and colleges.

Never forget.

Average customer rating:

a Powerful book
Story of Survival
A first-person memoir for grades 5-8

Hidden Child
Isaac Millman
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Holocaust | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Judaism | Religions | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Holocaust | History & Historical Fiction | Teens | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0374330719
Release Date: 2005-08-11

Book Description

A powerful story of survival, loss, and hope

Isaac was seven when the Germans invaded France and his life changed forever. First his father was taken away, and then, two years later, Isaac and his mother were arrested. Hoping to save Isaac’s life, his mother bribed a guard to take him to safety at a nearby hospital, where he and many other children pretended to be sick, with help from the doctors and nurses. But this proved a temporary haven. As Isaac was shuttled from city to countryside, experiencing the kindness of strangers, and sometimes their cruelty, he had to shed his Jewish identity to become Jean Devolder. But he never forgot who he really was, and he held on to the hope that after the war he would be reunited with his parents.

After more than fifty years of keeping his story to himself, Isaac Millman has broken his silence to tell it in spare prose, vivid composite paintings, and family photos that survived the war.

Customer Reviews:

a Powerful book.......2006-09-24

A very powerful and exquisite book. I recommend this book to all middle school educators. It would do well on a summer reading list. The book is moving and empowering. The hidden children are often an overlooked part of high school Holocaust studies. This book speaks volumes about human nature, from the couple who took him in, a Hidden Jewish child, to exploit a slave like labor, to the people who really helped him survive. Isaac Millman's description of the changes in his life from the perspective of the child that he was during the is moving and informative. This is a courageous book. I recommend it to All.

Also, the artwork is stellar. Very moving on so many levels.

Story of Survival.......2006-05-03

Isaac Millman tells the true story of his youth spent in hiding from the Nazis in a compelling memoir that features his outstanding artwork. We follow young Isaac as he and his parents enter the Free Zone of France, only to find that this is only a respite until the Nazis again intrude. Isaac's father is taken to a "camp", which he and his mother are allowed to visit once; then disaster falls as he and his mother are rounded up for deportation. How Isaac escapes and is placed in foster homes for the duration of the war is told through Millman's sparse writing and his vivid drawings. As with most Holocaust tales, there is no happy ending, but Millman survives and is able to share his journey with us, and that is all we can ask. This is a splendid book that shows how even the youngest victims of the Holocaust found inner strength. We are privileged to know their stories. Recommended.

A first-person memoir for grades 5-8.......2005-11-03

During World War II over a million Jewish children were murdered by Nazis: survivors were often those who were in hiding. Author Isaac Millman was one of these children, and his story recounts the kindness of strangers, his move from city to countryside, and how he was forced to shed his Jewish identity to survive. After the year he kept his story to himself: fifty years later it's told, in Hidden Child's series of black and white photos and first-person memoir for grades 5-8.

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