The Death Camps

VOYA

Focused on specific aspects of the Holocaust, eliminating military history and providing only limited details about the major people involved, this series gets right to the subject matter and presents it succinctly. These short volumes are good for students younger than those targeted by most Holocaust materials because of their clarity and well-organized presentations. They are designed attractively and are chock full of information, sidebars of added facts, excerpts from the writings of victims, and illustrations, several of which are thought-provoking and focused on particular persons. The Death Camps and Survival and Resistance volumes look at the six death camps in Poland, covering camp life, major people, the dismantling of the camps, and incidents of resistance, escape, and rescue. Several factual inconsistencies become apparent but do not lessen the value of the books. The most glaring is in the description of Theresienstadt in Survival and Resistance: "a model camp where life, although harsh, was not deadly. Many survived." About 140,000 people were sent to the camp, where approximately 33,000 died of disease and starvation and another 85,000 were sent on to extermination camps where they died. The same section states, "200,000 of Hungary's Jews were killed." In The Death Camps, a sidebar maintains that Auschwitz workers gassed "almost 500,000 Hungarian Jews in less than two months." Despite these concerns, the Holocaust series will help students to understand the Holocaust, and it will be particularly useful for detailing how certain events led to others. Glossary. Index. Illus. Photos. Maps. Source Notes. Further Reading. Chronology. VOYA CODES: 4Q 2P M J S (Better than most,marred only by occasional lapses; For the YA with a special interest in the subject; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2001, Raintree Steck-Vaughn, 64p. PLB Levine

School Library Journal

Gr 5-9-Levy has spun a tale of multiple historical, religious, political, social, and economic threads that, when interwoven, led to the tragic tapestry known as the Holocaust. Other books have included one or two or at most three of its causes. Levy offers a much more comprehensive, yet succinct, treatment. Throughout, she cites quotes that reveal her extensive research and illuminate the point she wishes to make. In Death Camps, Sheehan correctly distinguishes between the work camps where people died from overwork, disease, accident, and cruelty, and the death camps that existed for the purpose of murder. The author discusses the latter in detail. Where they were, how they were run, who oversaw them and ordered the murders, and what daily life was like for the prisoners are all addressed. In both titles, the photographs, charts, and reproductions are clear, and various resources are listed, including films and places to visit. These titles present many complex issues in a complete and understandable format.-Marcia W. Posner, Holocaust Memorial and Educational Center of Nassau County, Glen Cove, NY Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.