Jacob's Rescue: A Holocaust Story

by Malka Drucker, Michael Halperin

Based on a true story, and from the co-author of Rescuers , the courageous and vividly told story of one boy and the courageous family who risks everything to save him.

Once Jacob Gutgeld lived with his family in a beautiful house in Warsaw, Poland. He went to school and played hide-and-seek in the woods with his friends. But everything changed the day the Nazi soldiers invaded in 1939. Suddenly it wasn't safe to be Jewish anymore.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Holocaust, Fiction, World War II, Young Adult, Historical, Middle Grade

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Malka Drucker is an American rabbi and author living in Idyllwild, California. Ordained in 1998 from the Academy for Jewish Religion, a transdenominational seminary, Drucker was the founding rabbi of HaMakom: The Place for Passionate and Progressive Judaism, in Santa Fe for fifteen years.

Reviews

[Katja Labonté · Rating 5 out of 5]

5+ stars (7/10 hearts). So I picked up this book because a friend recommended it as having made her cry. If you know me, you know I'm a sucker for beautiful, heart-breaking stories.

Well, I didn't cry... so I felt a little cheated haha.

But the book was good. Wow. It was good, guys.

It started off much faster than I expected. It's also quite short. So the result was that I gulped it down in about an hour and a half. Had to put down my university textbooks and just finish this because it was just sooo gripping (all those hairbreadth escapes... my word).

I don’t even really know what to say about it though. Beautiful? Yes. There was so much true love displayed in this book. I loved how Jacob & David really became the Roslans’ kids and how insistent the Roslans were that it didn’t matter if Jacob & David were Jewish... they were still their kids.

Sad? Oh my word, yes. Yurek, who had so much potential. Mela, who could barely carry on under that heavy burden of fear & uncertainty. Jacob, who lost so many. I almost cried at a certain death, I admit...

Inspiring or thought-provoking? If there was anything this book was, this it was. I was left wondering... “Could I have done the same?” Would I also be willing to risk my life, my husband’s life, my children’s lives, for the sake of three little Jewish children? And not only risk life but also risk the awful, unknown punishments the Nazis invented? As my friend says, no one knows what they can do until they’re pushed to it... but if I were pushed, what part of me would stand strong? My fear or my desire to do right?

I loved Alex’s optimism and the way he kept the family going strong. I strongly admire how the whole family made immense sacrifices for the sake of Jacob, Sholom, & even David. I wish... I wish they’d forgiven their poor father, though. But oh, I love the message: saving one soul is as saving the world. 💙 God bless the brave hearts who risk everything—literally everything—for the sake of saving one soul.

Content: One blasphemy; one mention that a girl & 2 boys are undressing in a barn & are kind of nervous at doing it in front of each other but everyone is too tired to notice anything; a few mentions of circumcision & the problems it causes for David (3) since the family he’s with doesn’t know he’s Jewish (he can’t be undressed by them); a scene where Alex goes to the doctor for an examination & a certificate proving he’s not a Jew; mentions of drinking; quite a bit of lying.

Favourite Quotes:
“No. We can’t do it. Thousands of children are dying every day. What good could it do?”
Alex had replied, “We could save one life.”

“There won’t be a next time, Papa. They’re killing all the Jews.”
“No, not all,” Alex said softly. “We have one.”

“Whoever saves a single life is as one who has saved the entire world.”

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was kinda of a sad book because a lot of people died. the book is baised on a true story the main person,jacob,helped make the book. he lost his aunt hannah, a vary good friend who's name is yurek ,his mom, brother, and grandma. two vary brave people, alex and mela rosela, did the most dangrous thing you could do during the holocaust, hid not one but two jews in their house. they risked their and their kids lives to save two other kids. before the war ended one of the roselans' kids got shot by a nazi. the boys name was yurek. he thought it was safe to go out on the street but he was wrong:( he got sniped. in the end the jew kids found out their dad was alive. they didn't want to leave the rose but they had to. in the end they had a reunion with jacobs brother, kid, his father, and alex and mela.

[Annarino K · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent introduction into the Holocaust for young readers who can handle it. Jacob loses a lot of people in his life due to the horrors of Poland in WWII, and he is in constant danger himself, as are the non-Jewish people who hide him. He faces hunger, fear, and many other kinds of stress and frustration that children should never have to face.

But we are never exposed directly to the sickening graphic imagery of the brutal concentration camps. When my 3rd grader was assigned this, I immediately thought, "Whoa. A little too soon for 9 year-olds." But you can tell from the title that it has as happy an ending as possible, and there is enough hardship in the story for tweens to maybe start realizing they could feel some gratitude for their fortunate and luxurious lives.

[Madalyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book because it shows a great deal of emotion for a shorter novel. I only give it four out of five stars because I feel it ends to quickly. It doesn't really tell us everything that happens after WWII is over. The story is about a Jewish boy named Jacob. He grew up wealthy but after Germany invaded Poland he and his family are seperated. His father leaves because he knows it is not safe for him to stay, Jacob's brothers Soloman and David are sent to family in the country, and Jacod is sent to the ghetto along with his aunt and grandmother. Later the aunt sends him to live with a family outside of the ghetto, who change his name to Genyek. This family consists of a mother, a father, a daughter named Marishka, and a son named Yurek.

The two parents, Jacob, Marishka, and Yurek change alot through out the book. The two parents start out feeling unsure of themselves; but by the end of the story they are extremely proud of what they did and sure they did the right thing. Jacob, in the begining, doesn't know what to expect. He thinks the family will only hurt him like the Polish people who threw stones at him when he was in the ghetto. He is very naive and thinks that all Polish people are the same. Through out the story, he realizes that not all Polish people are alike and that he is alot stronger than he thinks. Marishka changes alot aswell, but not very noticably. She goes from being jealuos of Jacob, to realizing how hard his life really has been. Yurek doen't change that much because he stays his noisy, boastful self' right up to his death.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes Holocaust stories. It is an easy read, so if you are not a strong reader this would be a great story for you. If you are a boy or a girl doesn't matter. This story is very to the point and doesn't have any sexist remarks. It is very sad at certain points so I wouldn't recommend this to someone who is very emotional or to anyone who is sensitive about anything dealing with the Holocaust.

[Mandie Bloom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stories of the Holocaust always bring tears to my eyes. It was a sad, sick time for Jews. Although it does not personally affect me or my family, it angers me to know that something so horrendous could happen. Read this with my fourth graders and they were all moved by help that Jacob and David got from Alex and Mela and got really emotional with all the death. This book was well written and I found it to be pretty appropriate for young readers. It's not like it speaks anything but the truth, well based on the truth.

[James OHara · Rating 5 out of 5]

My name is James and i thought that this book was a very good book. This book always had you on the edge of your heels wanting to read more. It was very action packed and it was very good. Jacob was always running and hiding for his life against the Nazis and he ends up living because the Rosland family ends up keeping him in hiding and safety, risking everything to save Jacob and their own family from the evil nazis!

[Carolyn Scarcella · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is called “Jacob’s Rescue” by Malka Drucker and Michael Halperin. I really liked the book; it was easy to read and an excellent storytelling book to explain their children who wanted to learn more about their ancestors, as well as to regular people who also asked why their family left their own nation to live in a welcoming one. I always like looking at old pictures from the book that showed their lives either before or after the war. It provides insight into the plight of children during these dreadful historical periods. I think that we are living in a frightening moment when people are forgetting the past and then repeating it today. This is a genuine account of a young boy named Jacob Gutgeld recounting his World War II memories with his daughter Marissa. He was raised in Warsaw, Poland, in a wealthy household. Alex is a wonderful and compassionate Christian, and the Roslan family has put their lives in danger to hide Jacob's identity. Did the Roslan family survive as a result? You can decide.

[Jessie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jacob was a young Jewish boy living a wonderful life with his family. He went to school, had friends, and enjoyed playing in his neighborhood in Warsaw, Poland. When German forces started invading Poland and sending Jewish people to concentration camps, Jacob had no choice but to join a new family who was willing to hide him.

While the facts of this true story are incredible, the telling of it is why I can only give it two stars. I felt like some parts of the story were very rushed and blunt, not giving me enough time to connect with the characters or build suspense. There also were a lot of characters, most of them with multiple names as disguises, so I had a hard time keeping track of them all.

While I’m glad I took the time to read this book, I feel like there are other books about the Holocaust that would be more engaging for me.

[Marianne Stehr · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very short and to the point true story. Amazingly I didn’t realize until the end it was a true story so it all of a sudden just became a much better book because of it

[Marc Angelo Imperial · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first thought of this book as fiction because it sounded too cliche to be true but the afterword told me otherwise. This book is about the Roslans, a Polish family who protected three Jewish brothers: Jacob, Orish, and David. Though Orish died due to scarlet fever, Jacob and David were still able to live on for their brother. Today, Jacob has a daughter named Marissa, who asked about her father’s and uncle’s childhoods that led to Jacob and David telling it to her. I really liked this book even though I just took it on a whim. It was surprisingly short but has lots of content and people it can relate to. For people who aren’t looking for too much inspiration or are just looking for characters to think about if your moods allow it, then this book is perfect for you.

[Marilyn Showalter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Historical Fiction
4th-6th grade reading level
The reality of the Holocaust and WWII are evident in this book. The boy in the story, now a father, is telling his daughter about his life when he was little while the family that saved his life by hiding him and caring for him as their child was over for dinner. It gives a great perspective of the circumstances that even children faced in this terrible time in history. It makes you appreciate the safety and provisions we often take for granted everyday.

[Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

very good holocaust story

[Cindy aka "The Book Fairy" · Rating 5 out of 5]

Touching and powerful!

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jacob's family was wealthy, lived in a large home in Warsaw, Poland with servants. With the coming of the Nazi's in September 1939, Jacob's home is soon gone, his father gone, his younger brothers gone. Jacob moves in with several female relatives in the ghetto, where everyone believes women and children will be safe. But one day when he is eight, he is slipped through a hole in the ghetto wall and meets "Uncle Alex." Alex promises two things: he will keep Jacob safe and will not take his religion from him. Those promises are put to the test as Alex struggles to keep his wife and two children safe as they shelter Jacob. Every knock on the door is a heart-stopping moment. Even a simple glance out the window brings danger to the family.

Must-read for anyone interested in the Holocaust, World War II or historical fiction in general.

[Dorien · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this to my kids (age 11 and 8) when studying Poland in school. It's a good insight into what life was like for Jews in hiding during WW2. It brings history to life, and is not written to overload you with facts. My kids loved it. It's true to the horrible facts of the war without being dramatic, and not too horrid for kids' ears. There are a few scenes in which kids die, but the wording is sensitive and the story doesn't dwell on it. The author does a good job showing the majority's attitude of "don't stick out your neck for whoever isn't your problem", contrasting it to the main character's choice to stand up for what is right.
Now and then the writing is a bit clumsy, but it doesn't take away much from this beautiful story.

[Ryne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great Holocaust narrative, based on a true story. It's a short read that doesn't pull any punches; though the horrors of concentration camps are not depicted here, there was certainly plenty to be horrified about while living in occupied Poland. I wasn't necessarily a fan of the frame story (it reminds me of a ton of 90's children's films that did that, too), but I can concede that it provides some valuable context as well. Definitely a good short read for any young person who wants to learn more about the Holocaust or WWII.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fabulous children's/young adult (but great for everyone!) about a young Jewish boy named Jacob and his younger David. They lived in Poland during World War and saw their family members disappear one by one. A man and his wife bring Jacob into their family at great risk to themselves and their children and later bring David. Through much heartache but also joy, they learn to live as a family.

Loved this book! Not too long and a good pace to the story. It really illustrates just what these people went through during one of the darkest times in our world's history.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Jacobs Rescue. last year my friends Talitha was reading this book and she said you should read this book so I decided to read this book.
Jacob has always lived happily with his family. All these changes when he and his family have to adapt to the fact that they are going to have to face a war, and even more. He gets separated from his family and lives secretly as a jew hiding in a house. Every day the soldiers come looking for jews and he scares each day will bring them closer to when he gets found.
I recommend this book to people who like war stories and adventures.

[Nicole Johnston · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great story for young readers to begin to learn about the Holocaust. "Jacob's Rescue" details an account of a young boy who escapes a ghetto in Warsaw, Poland to live with a family he has never met. Jacob's transition to his new family is not easy; Jacob is often hiding under the floor when unexpected guests arrive. Jacob then faces many deaths of family and friends, illness, surgery, and moving again with the family that is protecting him. Jacob survives the ordeal and is able to be reunited with his brother and father.

[Kaitlyn Rease · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jacob was a real boy living a very real and scary war with him family. They were Jewish living in Poland, Warsaw during the middle of the Holocaust. A couple comes to the rescue so they can hide. Some loved ones lived and others perished. Jacob was one of the few to survive this war and Malka Drucker made sure we got every piece she knew from Jacob. The back matter was my favorite. The back of this book has real pictures of Jacob and his family during the Holocausts. Pictures all the way up until Jacob reached his oldest ages.

[Alessia Riley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book because it was a great story about a Jew being hidden by his family members. His family/ relatives struggle into protecting him. It has a great explanation of this boy, Jacob. Jacob worries deeply about how uncomfortable iving conditions are and the huge trouble everyone could get into. This novel provides a great understanding of the kind of things that went on and how it would be solved consequentually.

[Brianna Gutierrez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great book for young readers to dive into some non-fiction/Holocaust stories. The very beginning was a little difficult to get through and remember who everyone is. Everyone is introduced at the same time - but at the end of the book it ties the story back together to the beginning.

A sad, true story of what happened to a young boy. I finished it in a day, so it was an easy read! It also really gave a glimpse of what was happening day to day in the communities Jacob was at.

[Artie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It was kind of short but besides that, it was good. I really liked how the author didn't try to keep it sunshine and rainbows but actually informed the reader about some dark things that happened at the time of the holocaust. That's the best way to give the reader pure facts

[Tabi · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first read this book as a teenager, I thought it was a fictional story similar to Number of the Stars, but when I read the information about the family and the brothers, it was actually a true story. The writing is so incredible that I read this book several times during my eighth-grade year.

[Darci · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a quick read aloud. It is also a good, emotional introductory book of the Holocaust for children. I read this to ages 8-12. They got a decent grasp of how devastating and terrible this was in history. Would definitely recommend.

[Cassandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars for quality. But worth reading since it is a true story. Contains photos of the family as well.

Poland- the story of a Polish family who risks protecting Jewish children for the duration of the war.

[Shauna Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I read a book like this, I always wonder how people can treat people like this!

[Kerrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this with my students. Loved that it was a true story and that it has a great message.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Difficult subject for children. But fascinating personal story. How grateful we are for the brave souls who risked their own lives to save Jewish friends and neighbors.

[Katrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this to my 12 yo and she was disappointed there wasn't more action and active danger. But I thought it was realistic, given the circumstances, and it was neat to realize it's a true story.