Almost Autumn

By Marianne Kaurin 

     To be honest, this is not my favorite book.  It is fairly difficult to read, it totally left me underwhelmed.  The book is supposed to be about a love story in Norway leading up to the German occupation.  This book is difficult to follow simply because each chapter is from a new perspective.  I am not new to this idea and generally enjoy the creativity of this technique, but this did not add to the character or give anybody a depth of understanding, it seemed very one dimensional.  What could have been an incredibly interesting story ended up flat.  

     This book is told from several different view points.  The main character, Ilse,  is a vapid, self involved young women who defies her parents in order to further her relationship with Hermann Rod.  She does not like the restrictions that have been placed on her for her own safety and is constantly thwarting her parents good intentions.  Hermann Rod, Ilse's love interest, is not Jewish, but is harboring secrets, he claims to want to be an artist, but Ilse has never heard of this desire.  We discover that he is helping a resistance to the German occupation.  His connections give him some trouble and saves many lives, possibly Ilse's.  Isaak is Ilse's father, he knows that he has lost business and they are quickly running out of money.  He wants things to be different and has the foresight to remove all of the money from the bank for safe keeping.  Isaak is taken away one night with no warning, this leaves his dependents at a loss.  The shop has been closed, and they do not know where he has been taken.  Ilse's sister Sonja, is very beautiful, a wonderful seamstress and a pleasure to have around the house, meaning she helps out with cooking a cleaning.  She is very frustrated with Ilse who does nothing to help out.  Of course, after Isaak has been taken, things fall apart, they are living in tenuous times, the Germans come and take the entire family with the help of Ole, their neighbor.  Ole drives a taxi and is sickened by the duty of taking many Jew's, some of them his friends, to the wharf for deportation.  Ole feels that he has no choice but to follow his directions, he fears for his life and his family.  What happens to everyone in this one town in Norway, only finishing the book will tell you.  Does everyone survive the holocaust?  Do they survive incarceration?  Will Ilse be reunited with her family? Hermann?  

     I do appreciate the content of this story, I just wish it would have dealt with more realistic content and focused on fewer viewpoints.  I am giving this book a 2.5 out of 5 and feel that it is appropriate for anybody in fifth thru eighth grade.  It was interesting but  I just wish it hadn't glossed over so many details, it left too much up to interpretation.  

Links

Author Marianne Kaurin

Holocaust Resistance

Non Jewish Resistance

Somewhere There Is Still a Sun

By Michael Gruenbaum

     This book really epitomizes the idea of waiting for the other shoe to drop.  Misha is a young Czech boy, carefree, wealthy when the German's rose to power.  As his life begins to change, his Jewish heritage is the catalyst for rules that make no sense, at least to young Misha.  Long before entering the Jewish Ghetto, the writing was on the wall, no school, no fruit, no walking on certain roads, no playing in parks, the list goes on.  Is childhood and his comfortable life is slowly eroded, but with spirit and strength of will, Misha and most of his family will survive.  

     Misha's parents were well aware of the propensity of the German's of attaining Jewish riches, and planned accordingly by secreting much of their wealth to London, or friends in Prague.  As his comfortable life empties, he keeps telling himself, what else can be taken?  When they are forced to move into the old part of town into a small apartment, Misha remains content, hey he has his family with him.  One serious test of his faith is the loss of his father at the hands of the German's.  Then when the rest of his family and Misha are transported to Terezin at first he feels devastated.  Misha is fortunate, he has been separated from his mother and sister and placed in a children's dorm, room 7 to be exact.  He is forced to attend the program (school) and is introduced to the other inhabitants of the room, including its leader Franta.  

     Terezin is a concentration camp, more of a holding center for families being sent "east".  Franta is a gifted teacher, educating well beyond the classroom.  He is strict about the boys keeping themselves, clothing, beds and bathrooms very clean.  Knowing full well that filth harbors disease.  He also encourages the youngsters in his room to work together as a team, be punctual, never call each other names etc.  Only through working together in harmony may they one day beat the Germans.  Misha is content in his new reality, he likes his room mates and loves when they can play soccer or work on plays together.  As time marches on, periodically pink slips will go out to families that need to be transported to the east, groups and families are removed from Terezin some to never be seen again.  

     Through a little bit of luck and a whole lot of grit, Misha and his family avoid transport to the East, and are still in Terezin when survivors are sent back to Terezin, emaciated, bald and a bare semblance of who they were.  They are there when the Russian tanks roll in and when the Red Cross take control of Terezin.  Misha's return to Prague is at once joyful and poignant.  He is glad to be alive but is well aware that many of his room mates were not so fortunate.  Out of the 80 plus boys that spent time in room 7, only 11 survived, pretty devastating odds.  That bond that was forged by Franta has survived the test of time and the "boys" still meet up occasionally. 

     I really enjoyed this book, even though the content was deep it maintained a sort of youthful, naivete, a belief that things can get better.  Misha learns to take joy in the simple things, finding a soccer ball, stealing a dinner roll, or a tin of sardines.  I also appreciated the history of Terezin, there were many different concentration camps, by far the worst was Auschwitz, but anything that takes away freedom is deplorable.  I am giving this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars and thinks anybody above 5th grade will enjoy this book.  

Links 

Author - Michael Gruenbaum

Terezin

Brundibar - the Children's Opera

Prague - Post WW2

     

     

The War Below

By Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch 

     I love that this book and this author go beyond what one thinks they know about the plight of Europeans during and after World War II.  In the story "Making Bombs for Hitler", you meet two children that are surviving their ordeal in a German Concentration Camp, Luka and Lida become fast friends and learn to depend on each other in order to live.  This is the tale of Luka after he escapes the camp and how he hides, survives and tries to make it home.  

     He is very fortunate in that he stumbles upon a farmer and his wife that nurse him back to health and points him in the right direction.  Than as he stumbles to where he thinks is safety a young girl, Martina, finds him and teaches him how to remain safe from capture.  As the two of them elude soldiers they develop a close friendship, so when they stumble upon a hidden hospital and resistance fighters they willingly join the cause.  

     During Luka's time with the resistance, he learns a lot, and he is able to hone his medical capabilities, he becomes integral to his group and saves many lives.  As the war turns, however, and he looses Martina to a gunshot, he thinks he has to move on and continue on his quest to return home.  One of the adults in the resistance convinces him he should go out and share their story of what they have been able to accomplish.  Luka relents and heads away from home.  As he travels he notices an increasing number of people that have been dislocated and are homeless and have no place to go.  He follows along and finally reaches a camp run by Americans.  The Americans are trying to reconnect family members and communities, they provide food, clothing and other necessities.  For a long time Luka wanders the camps looking for family members or his friend Lida.  So when the day arrives that someone says they know her, he makes a point of hunting her down.  As he reconnects with Lida he is filled with love.  This love is put to the test when a Russian Soldier approaches Luka during school and says that his father is looking for him in Kyiv.  Luka is heartbroken when he hears the truth.  He rushes back to Lida and the reader is left with a deep hope that they remain together.
     What is amazing about this book is that it evokes images, sensations and feelings in a simple and concise manner.  All too often when hearing, learning or discussing World War II and German Concentration camps and the plight of many Europeans the emphasis is on the Jewish Holocaust.  I am in no way trying to minimize the horrors that were inflicted by the Germans, but this opens ones eyes to the atrocities on the entire continent and points out both perpetrators and victims.  I give this book a 4.5 out of 5, it was outstanding and would encourage anybody over 5th grade to enjoy this book!

Links 

Author

Battle of Kyiv (Kiev)

Russian Prison Camps

Resistance during WWII

Irena's Children

By Tilar J. Mazzea

     This book touched me on several levels.  It is a very well written story about a time in history that I am sure many wish never happened.  With the uncertain times that we are currently embroiled, this book really opens ones eyes to the reality of racism, the danger of letting those in power go unchecked and how even the smallest defiance can make a world of change.  

     One is introduced to Irena, a student in Warsaw Poland at the beginning of World War II.  She has befriended many people at the University, including many Jews.  The encroaching German's have many concerned but no worried for their lives.  The small steps that the Gestapo utilized to immobilize the Jews, the ghetto and the erosion of their rights and humanity are frightening.  Many Jews planned on just making it through, never dreaming the depth of hatred that would fall upon their shoulders.  Irena is Christian, but since she works for the Welfare Department, she is enabled to enter the ghetto and move about freely.  She takes it upon herself to free as many children as possible from their German captors.  

     Irena manages a large network of resistance workers that help her move children to safety, whether it be orphanages, christian homes or into the countryside.  What is remarkable about her journey is that she maintained a very dangerous list, so that after the war, Jewish families may be reunited.  Irena did everything at great peril to herself and her loved ones, but she felt that she was not a hero, she was just doing what had to be done, for humanity.  Even when Irena is captured, she maintains her list and does everything she can to keep the children safely hidden.  She entrusts her list with a compatriot, and maintains silence through months of beating and threat of execution.  Zegota, another underground organization that helped Irena, finally manages to get free Irena and she goes into hiding.  Much of what she accomplished was through blatant disregard to the Germans, hiding in plain sight.  It is estimated that her network of helpers hid and saved over 2500 children.  This is incredible!  

     I know the aspect that really resonated in my heart is the constant lesson of doing what needs to be done, when a crime against humanity is occurring.  Not to sit idly and let something happen when you know it is not right.  To give a voice to those that can not speak or are afraid to speak.  All of the hatred that abounds in today's world, needs to be checked we need to be more accepting of each other, we do not want to relive another atrocity, let's learn from the past.  

     I love historical novels just for the lessons that be learned from the past, the are unapologetic and in your face.  I am giving this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars, I loved it, but I know over time, some of the details have been forgotten, and I missed those.  I loved the harrowing tales of how some of the children escaped and wished for more!  I think that this book is appropriate for all students in fifth grade and up.  Happy reading! 

Links 

Warsaw Ghetto 

Pawiak Prison

Concentration Camps

Author Tilar Mazzeo

Making Bombs for Hitler

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

A Lucky Child

                                                                    By Thomas Buergenthal

     I was prepared for this to be another heartwrenching story of the Jewish Holocaust, instead, I was inspired and surprised.  This is a memoir of a young boy that survived and he is still not sure how.  Through some sort of divine intervention he was able to stay in a ghetto with his family much longer than many others, when he was forced to Auschwitz there was no selection.  Normally, when most children reached Auschwitz, they were selected out and immediately sent to the gas chambers, instead, he was able to stay with his father where he was protected.  

     Through happenstance and incidences of bravery, he was able to fall under the influence of those in power and was fed more than most and was not forced into hard labor.  He worked as an errand boy or in a children's ward as a trash collector. Somehow, he avoided illnesses that caused his bunkmates to pass away.  

      Even when the Nazis decided to liquidate Auschwitz and march the inmates to Germany, Thomas was able to avoid the death that most of the other children endured.  During the dreaded death march, Thomas did contract a serious case of frostbite, which caused him to have some of his toes amputated when he reached the next camp.  In this hospital, he was cared for and met his friend and author Odd Nanson.  Odd was able to give Thomas treats and bribe the hospital staff to keep Thomas safe.  

     Thomas' luck did not run out when he was liberated from the German's.  He met up with the Polish army and became their mascot.  He was made a miniature uniform, fed well, and given gifts by the servicemen.  He was even given a pony and horse.  Eventually, however, one soldier decided that the army was no place for an 11-year-old boy and helped Thomas relocate into a Jewish orphanage.  Through the orphanage and its connections within the Jewish community around the world, Thomas was eventually reunited with his mother.  With her loving care, Thomas was finally educated and eventually made it to the United States to pursue an education in law.  Before he left Europe he did reacquaintance himself with his savior Odd Nanson, who wrote a memoir of his time in a German concentration camp and mentioned Thomas.  

     The incredible aspect of Thomas Buergenthal is the fact that yes he survived the Jewish Holocaust, but what he did with his experience and how he used it to drive him into international law is the impressive part.  He became in incredible voice for human rights and served on several courts that brought human rights cases forward.  I was very inspired by how he took something that could have been very negative into a definite positive.  

     I am giving this book a 5 out of 5 stars and believe it is appropriate for anybody 7th grade and up.  It is very well written and I love the addition of the pictures.  I think everyone has struggles and how we react to them is important, to know that something horrifying could be turned around into something pretty great is inspiring.  Definitely well worth the read!  

Links 

Biographical information on Thomas Buergenthal

Odd Nansen

International Court of Justice

Death March Information

Is it Night or Day?

                                                                                                By Fern Schumer Chapman

          This inspirational tale of a young Jewish girl, Edith, traveling to the 'safety' of America on her own during World War II is a rewarding read.  Fern uses the inspiration of her mother as the basis for this story and relates the poignancy and heart break of these young victims of Hitler's reign.

     You meet Edith as she is preparing to leave her Mother, Father and Grandmother and her small village that is all she has ever known.  Her parents tried to give her a lifetime of teaching in a matter of weeks and Edith is numb and overwhelmed with the events surrounding her departure.  On the boat across the Atlantic Edith befriends a group of kids and they quickly become inseparable.  All of the children on the boat are there for differing reasons and going to different parts of the United States.  Edith is bound for Chicago, IL, along with fellow passenger Julius.  They both believe that they will be able to maintain their relationship in this city.

     Edith is met at the train station by her Uncle Jakob, whom resembles her father in Germany.  She is relieved to see something from home.  He takes her to his 2 bedroom apartment that is shared by his wife and daughter.  Edith does not have her own room, but a couch in the dining room.  She quickly realizes that she is not to be welcomed by her aunt and cousin.  Her aunt makes Edith into a servant/ slave and expects Edith to do all of the housework.

     Throughout this story Edith strives to maintain her identity as a German, in an attempt to maintain some sort of contact with her family remaining in Germany.  But she is forced to attend an American school, to learn more English, her Aunt throws away all of her clothes and will not let German be spoken in the apartment.  Through her Uncle Jakob, Edith learns to love the sport of Baseball especially the Chicago White Sox.  She even discovers a Jewish Baseball Great in Hank Greenberg.  As she grows, her love of the sport and the loss of her loved ones in Germany, she begins to identify with her new country.

     This tale is very powerful and a tribute to the 1000 Children program that saved children from Hitler's reign.  Very well written with wonderful detail and an identifiable theme of the difficulties of assimilation into a new culture.  Is it Night or Day?  is well worth the read, especially for students 10 and up.

Links

One Thousand Children Effort

Orphans of World War II

Hank Greenberg

Fern Schumer Chapman

 

Jewish Holocaust - Background Builder

The Holocaust and Holocaust denial from Henry Hollis

In preparation of our next book "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas", I have uploaded these two multimedia files to help build background!