By Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch
This historical fiction is set in Germany during World War II. We follow a young girl and her journey of survival, at a time when many children were killed. Lida looses her sister at the onset of the story and the driving force of saving her younger sister keeps her motivated and alive. The rest of her family has been killed and this Ukrainian young girl learns quickly to lie about her age, to be usefull and not to trust her captors.
Through a quirk of fate she convinces the Nazi's that she is older than 12 and she is an accomplished seamstress. She begins her journey in the laundry helping Inge with the wash and fixing frayed sheets and shirts. Her skill keeps her warm and out of the metalworks factory where many of her barrack mates work. She discovers that there is a hierarchy to the camp, and nationalities are treated differently. Unfortunately, her Ukrainian heritage brands her as Russian and on a very low rung of the system. Her food is minimal, often rotten and comprises of turnips, water and worms. Her captors consider her to be Russian swine.
Things change rapidly in a war torn country like Germany Lida is removed from her "cushy" laundry job and begins making bombs with other young girls. They are kept separate from most of the other prisoners and are constantly being watched to insure that they are making good bombs. As the Allied forces comes closer, guardsmen and other captors begin disappearing into the countryside. The girls are given more opportunities to sabotage the ammunition, which they gleefully do so. Finally, the camp is over run and many of the children escape into the forest, Lida however is captured and forced to move once again.
As the war comes to an end, Lida is finally freed from her captors and is immediately sent to a hospital for treatment. After the hospital she is sent to the closest refugee camp, where she hopes to reconnect with family or other camp children. She learns another hard lesson, to not let others know that she is from Russia. The Russians plan on collecting as many former citizens as possible and reintroducing them into the country through Siberian work camps. Even though she had been a prisoner, she is viewed as a traitor by her former country. Lida continues to hope and pray that she will one day be reconnected with her sister and continues to search through the Red Cross.
I really enjoyed this book, too often one forgets that the holocaust did not just affect Jews, that it targeted all enemies of Germany's regime. We also loose track of the concept of the lasting consequences of war and the damage that is wrecked on families and children. World War II was a tragedy on many fronts and it forever changed the lives of millions of people. I am giving this book a 4.5 out of 5 and think that it is appropriate for fourth grade up to eighth grade.
Links
Children of the holocaust
Non- Jewish victims of the Holocaust
Images of Children during Holocaust - warning some images are graphic
Other books by the Author
Things change rapidly in a war torn country like Germany Lida is removed from her "cushy" laundry job and begins making bombs with other young girls. They are kept separate from most of the other prisoners and are constantly being watched to insure that they are making good bombs. As the Allied forces comes closer, guardsmen and other captors begin disappearing into the countryside. The girls are given more opportunities to sabotage the ammunition, which they gleefully do so. Finally, the camp is over run and many of the children escape into the forest, Lida however is captured and forced to move once again.
As the war comes to an end, Lida is finally freed from her captors and is immediately sent to a hospital for treatment. After the hospital she is sent to the closest refugee camp, where she hopes to reconnect with family or other camp children. She learns another hard lesson, to not let others know that she is from Russia. The Russians plan on collecting as many former citizens as possible and reintroducing them into the country through Siberian work camps. Even though she had been a prisoner, she is viewed as a traitor by her former country. Lida continues to hope and pray that she will one day be reconnected with her sister and continues to search through the Red Cross.
I really enjoyed this book, too often one forgets that the holocaust did not just affect Jews, that it targeted all enemies of Germany's regime. We also loose track of the concept of the lasting consequences of war and the damage that is wrecked on families and children. World War II was a tragedy on many fronts and it forever changed the lives of millions of people. I am giving this book a 4.5 out of 5 and think that it is appropriate for fourth grade up to eighth grade.
Links
Children of the holocaust
Non- Jewish victims of the Holocaust
Images of Children during Holocaust - warning some images are graphic
Other books by the Author
Thank you for the perceptive review.
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