We Survived the Holocaust

School Library Journal

Gr 7-12-- Poignant and moving memories, presented in a straightforward manner. Sixteen first-person narratives describe the Holocaust from the perspective of Jewish adults remembering their experiences in several European countries after Hilter became the German chancellor in 1933. Common themes include their surprise at the first experiences with anti-Semitism, gradual awareness of the seriousness of the Nazi threat, attempts to reach safety, horror at the desecration of Jewish religious objects, and accounts of arbitrary cruelty in the concentration camps. In many cases, these are people who are still trying to make sense of a world turned inexplicably topsy-turvy. The individual stories reflect the resourcefulness and ingenuity of the young people involved, many of whom became the primary support for their families. Because each entry is brief, (three-to-eight pages), readers won't necessarily identify with any particular person, and the book as a whole does not have the impact of other single-person Holocaust narratives such as The Cage (Macmillan, 1986) by Ruth Minsky Sender and Aranka Siegal's Upon the Head of a Goat (Farrar, 1981). The accounts also have a certain similarity, which becomes repetitive and unfortunately tedious. --Susan Kaminow, Arlington County Public Library, VA