Escape

VOYA - Heidi Borton

A plethora of material on the Holocaust has been published--is there room for more? Yes, if the material serves to inform in a compelling way and this eight-volume series does just that. By amplifying the individual voices of teenagers directly affected by the Holocaust, these books give memorable witness to a defining period in modern European history. Within the confines of around sixty pages, each book extensively quotes witnesses to the historical events and also includes a discussion of Hitler's rise to power, with emphasis on his racial theories and persecution of the Jews. Four or five individuals' stories are told in each book. Black-and-white photos and an innovative layout of text over superimposed photos heighten the starkness of the narrative and the truthfulness of these witnesses. In brevity, design, and content these books will appeal to young adult readers. Escape chronicles the lives of "four survivors who escaped out of the maze to freedom," the maze being the trap of confinement that surrounded European Jews. Two came from religious Jewish families, two were more secularized. Each shared a strong commitment to family and an invincible will. In their accounts readers will be impressed by the heartbreak of family separation that was usually the experience of survivors: one saved, others lost, their fates unknown until much later. What on the surface appeared to be chance circumstances often meant the difference between life and death for individual members of a family. While the help of others outside of the Jewish community was necessary in some form, for individuals to escape, forms of resistance depended primarily on the will of individual Jews. In Resistance readers are introduced to three forms of resistance: armed, unarmed, and spiritual. The accounts of the armed resistance of Jewish partisan groups are fascinating but just as interesting are the courageous efforts of unarmed Jewish workers to sabotage Nazi munitions factories. The dangerous work of couriers and the spiritual resistance of those who kept their faith and religious practices are also described. Liberation contrasts with the other two volumes in that non-Jewish soldiers are among the speakers. A black soldier who had himself encountered prejudice feels a special empathy and compassion for the plight of the survivors. A young white soldier finds it difficult to sleep for days after viewing Nazi atrocities. The soldiers were unprepared for the camps and, like survivors, often resisted telling others what they had seen. Now they are beginning to speak up as compelling witnesses to the horrors of the Holocaust. Highly recommended for both format and content, this series will be useful in all libraries. Other titles in the series are In the Ghettos, The Hidden Children of the Holocaust, Rescuers Defying the Nazis, In the Camps, and The Hitler Youth. Note: This review was written and published to address Resistance: Teen Partisans and Resisters Who Fought Nazi Tyranny, Escape: Teens Who Escaped the Holocaust to Freedom, and Liberation: Teens in the Concentration Camp and the Teen Soldiers Who Liberated Them. Glossary. Index. Photos. Maps. Further Reading. Chronology. VOYA Codes: 5Q 4P M J S (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12).