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Overview
This slight yet powerful memoir retells Lucien Duckstein's childhood in Paris and his removal at the age of eleven to Drancy, and later to Bergen-Belsen, where he remained for nearly two years. This account is a unique testament to the personal and psychological costs of the Holocaust.Synopsis
This slight yet powerful memoir retells Lucien Duckstein's childhood in Paris and his removal at the age of eleven to Drancy, and later to Bergen-Belsen, where he remained for nearly two years. This account is a unique testament to the personal and psychological costs of the Holocaust.
Library Journal
Through colleague Kroh, Lucien Duckstein, an esteemed scientist living in Arizona, recounts his experience as a Jewish child living in France during World War II. Lucien begins his story with his childhood in Paris, where his father was in the French Army. With the outbreak of the war, his once-normal life deteriorated to the point of total suffering. Lucien's father became a prisoner of war, and Lucien and his mother were sent to Drancy, a transit camp for Jews, where children starved with their mothers. Still, there was hope. Parents continued to provide some education for their children, and people organized evening get-togethers. Eventually, Lucien and his mother were transferred to Bergen-Belsen, where conditions were much more horrible. Lucien describes extreme hunger, illness, medical experiments, loss of religious faith, and the horror of roll call. This affecting memoir gives insight into the treatment of Jews living in France during the Holocaust, a topic rarely covered. Recommended for Holocaust collections.Mary F. Salony, West Virginia Northern Community Coll. Lib., Wheeling