The Holocaust Survivors

VOYA - Heidi Borton

For years Holocaust survivors were virtually ignored; now their stories are being told. New books focusing specifically on the survivors are a welcome addition and these two are complementary in their coverage of the topic. Yeatts' book (sixth in the Holocaust Remembered series) does not presume that the reader has any knowledge of events preceding the Holocaust. In simple, straightforward language, an overview of Hitler's rise to power is presented first. The camps themselves are described very briefly and the author tells the story of one survivor's liberation experience. Most of the book is concerned with political and judicial events such as the Nuremberg trials and the creation of the state of Israel that occurred after the Holocaust, making the title somewhat misleading. Ayer's book (seventh in the Holocaust Library) is exemplary both for its quality of writing and its thorough treatment of the situation faced by the survivors themselves, both as a group and as individuals. (Be advised, however, that neither book covers the issue of Switzerland and confiscated Jewish assets.) Emphasis is placed on the suffering of survivors after the Holocaust, including the anti-Semitism they encountered in displaced person camps, their difficulties in being allowed to emigrate, and the crucible of violent conflict preceding the creation of Israel. Shaded boxes of text deal with related topics such as the fate of Jewish war orphans, the story of the Exodus ship, and the problems of the children of survivors. Glossary. Index. Illus. Photos. Maps. Charts. Source Notes. Further Reading. Chronology. Note: This review was written and published to address two titles: The Survivors and The Holocaust Survivors. VOYA Codes: 3Q 2P M J (Readable without serious defects, For the YA with a special interest in the subject, Middle School-defined as grades 6 to 8 and Junior High-defined as grades 7 to 9).