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Survivors: True Stories Of Children In The Holocaust by Allan Zullo, Mara Bovsun
Mass Market Paperback
Published July 12, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 8, 2024
8 small true stories of horrible and hopeless situations no human should suffer but these young children relied on their courage, faith, and sometimes just sheer luck to get them through. Such an inspiration….. and a history no one should ever forget
August 10, 2024
Short, true stories of children who survived the holocaust. It’s refreshing to hear survival stories.
July 13, 2025
In Survivors: True Stories of Children in the Holocaust, authors Allan Zullo and Mara Bovsun present a powerful and accessible collection of biographical accounts centered on young people who endured and survived one of history’s darkest chapters. Through the eyes of ten Jewish children, readers are taken across Nazi-occupied Europe—from ghettos and forests to concentration camps and hiding places—witnessing not only unthinkable horrors but also remarkable resilience.
Written for a younger audience (ages 10 and up), the book skillfully balances historical truth with emotional accessibility. Each story is based on true events, with the authors having conducted interviews with survivors or their families. The children featured in the book—some as young as eight or nine at the time—faced persecution, loss, starvation, and constant fear. Yet despite the unimaginable cruelty of the Holocaust, the central theme of the book is survival, courage, and hope.
The writing is straightforward and compassionate, avoiding overly graphic detail while still conveying the gravity of the events. Zullo and Bovsun focus on personal experiences, making the Holocaust feel more human and immediate than facts or statistics ever could. The individual stories—such as a girl surviving in a sewer under Lvov, or a boy hiding in plain sight among the Nazis—offer not only gripping narratives but also moments of quiet heroism and the power of faith, family, and luck.
Importantly, Survivors also highlights the role of allies—non-Jews who risked their lives to hide, feed, or protect children. These stories reinforce moral lessons about courage, resistance, and humanity in the face of evil.
Verdict:
Survivors is a moving, educational, and deeply humane book that honors the voices of children who endured the Holocaust. Zullo and Bovsun offer a tribute not just to survival, but to the enduring strength of the human spirit. It is an ideal starting point for younger readers to begin learning about this painful chapter of history—and a reminder that even in the darkest times, hope and bravery can shine through.
Written for a younger audience (ages 10 and up), the book skillfully balances historical truth with emotional accessibility. Each story is based on true events, with the authors having conducted interviews with survivors or their families. The children featured in the book—some as young as eight or nine at the time—faced persecution, loss, starvation, and constant fear. Yet despite the unimaginable cruelty of the Holocaust, the central theme of the book is survival, courage, and hope.
The writing is straightforward and compassionate, avoiding overly graphic detail while still conveying the gravity of the events. Zullo and Bovsun focus on personal experiences, making the Holocaust feel more human and immediate than facts or statistics ever could. The individual stories—such as a girl surviving in a sewer under Lvov, or a boy hiding in plain sight among the Nazis—offer not only gripping narratives but also moments of quiet heroism and the power of faith, family, and luck.
Importantly, Survivors also highlights the role of allies—non-Jews who risked their lives to hide, feed, or protect children. These stories reinforce moral lessons about courage, resistance, and humanity in the face of evil.
Verdict:
Survivors is a moving, educational, and deeply humane book that honors the voices of children who endured the Holocaust. Zullo and Bovsun offer a tribute not just to survival, but to the enduring strength of the human spirit. It is an ideal starting point for younger readers to begin learning about this painful chapter of history—and a reminder that even in the darkest times, hope and bravery can shine through.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews