What World is Left
Written By: Monique Polak
I finally finished reading the historical fiction book that I picked out to read for the Week 6 assignment. What an amazing story! I can't say that the book left me with a happy feeling, but it really was an amazing story about life in a concentration camp.
The story is told from the perspective of Anneke, a 14 year old Jewish girl from Holland. Her father is a well know cartoonist for the local paper and she has a mother and a younger brother, Theo. Her family is not religious and does not attend any Jewish services. When the Germans invaded Holland her family was given notice that they were to get on a transport to a concentration camp. Transport means that the prisoner is being ordered to leave their current location. Because Anneke's father is a well know artist, the family is being sent to Theresienstadt, a concentration camp for prominent Jewish families. The conditions are horrible, but it is not known as a death camp. There are no gas chambers.
Anneke spends two years of her life in Theresienstadt. She and her family survive on next to nothing. Her father helps to ensure their survival by drawing propaganda posters for the Nazis. It is not something that he is proud of, but he feels that he has to do it in order for his family to survive. Anneke questions her father's courage. She is ashamed of what he does, but feels guilty for enjoying some of the privileges that they have. The family is allowed to remain together in a one room living space as a payoff.
Anneke experiences many of the things that young people do when growing up. She has a best friend and likes an older boy at the camp. Unfortunately her reality is that she is living in a concentration camp and she sees people that she loves being sent to death camps on a weekly basis. There are numerous times in the book that it really seems as though Anneke will not be able to survive.
The author wrote the story based on her own mother's experience. She was send to Theresienstadt when she was 14 years old with her family. Her father was an artist who drew propaganda posters. The story was purely fictional, but the setting and tone of the book was accurate. I would highly recommend this book for anyone, especially young adults who are learning about world history.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This is a nice selection, particularly with the ambiguous moral choices faced by Anneke’s father. I think it will be relevant to my adolescent students who can make connections with both the historical and contemporary voices. These students can generate their thematic thinking to different individuals struggling with their blurred moral choices in a variety of situations.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I am curious...have you started thinking about nonfiction book for our group reading?
-RJ
I love historical fiction books related to World War II. I agree with RJ that the moral struggle her father goes through is very intersting. This is a book I will add to my "Need to read" list. I think students would be entrigued by the themes that are in this book.
ReplyDelete