When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit

Out of the Hitler Time #1

by Judith Kerr

Title: When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit Binding: Hardcover Author: Judith Kerr Publisher: COLLINS CHILDREN'S BOOKS

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Childrens, Holocaust, War, Young Adult

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Judith Kerr was a German-born British writer and illustrator who has created both enduring picture books such as the Mog series and The Tiger Who Came To Tea and acclaimed novels for older children such as the autobiographical When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit which give a child's-eye view of the Second World War.

Kerr was born in Berlin but left Germany with her parents and her brother, Michael, in 1933, soon after the Nazis first came to power. They were forced to leave as her father, noted drama critic, journalist and screenwriter Alfred Kerr, had openly criticised the Nazis,who burned his books shortly after the family had fled Germany. They travelled first to Switzerland and then on into France, before finally settling in Britain, where Kerr has lived ever since. She subsequently became a naturalised British citizen.

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful story!

When I started reading the book I expected another sorrowful account of the worst time in history, but in the end I closed the book with a smile on my face and the thought that everybody should read this book to be encouraged to deal with change in a new way. (Me included!)

Anna tells the story the odyssey her family is forced to undertake in 1933, when Hitler grasps power in Germany and her family has to leave Berlin in a hurry - being Jewish and politically active against the Nazis. They move first to Switzerland, then Paris, and finally to England.

Anna reflects on how she and her brother adjust to the different environments they encounter, how they struggle with different school systems and languages. My favourite part is when she almost gives up learning to speak French and then suddenly realises she can do it. When the family moves on to England, she has new confidence in her ability to adapt, and she starts out with the knowledge that she might not be able to understand a word right now, but if she gives it a couple of months, she will talk without any difficulty.

In a globalised world, that is a necessary attitude!

Another charm of the book is the child's perspective of historical events. When Anna and her brother hear that the Nazis have taken all their belongings in Germany, they imagine Hitler playing with their board game collection and the stuffed pink rabbit Anna had to leave behind. Hitler's presence in their lives is personal and direct, they can't understand the actual happenings. Anna has a nightmare when she hears that the Nazis have put a prize on her father's head. She literally dreams that coins are falling down threatening to crush him.

A perfect class novel to deal with human migration, change, language difficulties, history and family life in general.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

My teacher read this to our class when I was about 10 and the name stuck with me along with a memory of waiting impatiently for the next installment each day. Finally when trying to think of a different book to read to my own kids I asked a bookseller if they knew a book of that name (not having a clue who had written it).

My two boys were absolutely riveted although rather bemused when I sobbed through the more emotional bits (nine and seven year old boys may be slightly lacking in soul!) It is beautifully written. On the whole it presents a positive view of the family's refugee experience, as would be expected from an adventurous child's view, despite the intrusion of nazism and its associated horrors into their lives. The edition we have has all sorts of facts about the war and rationing, etc at the end which really helped to bring things alive for my boys.

If you have children - read it to them, if you don't enjoy it yourself!

[Piyangie · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit is yet another story belonging to the canon of Hitler and his atrocious Nazi regime. But what stands it apart is that it is a children's classic and it's written from the point of view of a young Jew refugee. Anna, age 9, is forced to flee Germany when the Nazis acquired power in Germany. Her father, a renowned author, had been highly critical of them and had written strongly against them, opposing them coming into power. But since the wind seems to blow in the Nazi's direction, he flees Germany and was soon joined by his family. Anna 9 and her brother 12, suddenly find them in strange countries, and though hard it may be, they must adapt as best they could for their new life as "refugees".

This semi-autobiographic classic records author's experiences as a young girl of 9, who had to leave Germany with her family when the Nazis put her father, Alfred Kerr, an influential German critic of Jewish descent, in their top list of opponents. Their first home, as refugees, was Switzerland, then they settle in France, and finally in England, like that of Anna in the story.

This story is not about the holocaust or the war. It is about the struggle of the fleeing Jewish refugees to cope with different cultures and lifestyles and to meet the ends under their diminished financial status. They had to live on their own skill and with the help of kind friends, having given most of their hard-earned valuables to the Nazis. And all because they are of Jewish origin! Yes, thanks to God that they have saved their lives, their most precious thing. Still, being displaced and living like gypsies is not easy as one may think. Wherever they go, they don't feel at home; they don't feel that they belong there; they feel their difference from the others. Then there is the other side of the coin. Living as "refugees" and being of "Jewish origin" they had to be patient, submissive, and endure all the slighting with swallowed indignation. This mindset is sincerely and sensitively portrayed by the author.

When reading this I couldn't help comparing the story to present-day situations. After the second world war, despite numerous measures being taken to avoid such a catastrophe in the future, there had been other wars, the most recent being the situation in Ukraine. And many have had, and many are to this moment, changing their once proud status to the status of a refugee. How must they feel when suddenly they are deprived of all the things they held dear in life and robbed of their right to live peacefully in their beloved land? There is so much to ponder here.

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as a buddy read with Goodreads friend Hilary, for the first time; it wasn’t her first time. I’m so grateful she told me how much she loved the book when she was a child and finally inspired me to get it off my to read shelf. It was a great book to buddy read. There was so much to discuss and it was so much fun. We were flexible each day with how many chapters we read and at some point we started reading our chapters at the exact same time, 8 time zones apart. That made the reading experience particularly enjoyable for me.

I loved the book and am so glad that I’ve read it. I want to go on and read the next two books. It would have been a huge loss (even if I had never realized it) if I’d never gotten to this book. It’s an excellent book.

There are lovely illustrations, one each, on the title page and at the start of every chapter. They give just a hint of what is to come in the story.

I would like to read a biography about the author. This is historical fiction but closely based on the author’s childhood experiences, and I’d love to know what really happened and what was changed or made up, and also what was left out. It all seem so real that it read like an autobiography. I kept forgetting that it was fictionalized.

I loved the writing style and storytelling style. It’s a very well written book.

The child’s voice and point of view are done wonderfully and authentically.

The descriptions are wonderful and I felt as though I was in the various settings and experiencing what the family members were experiencing. German, Switzerland, France and all that was going on in those places vividly came to life. The food, the customs, everything were vivid and evocative.

The account perfectly captured the feelings of being a refugee, an immigrant, of belonging and of not belonging. Their experiences and the places they were and the relationships were all interesting and had some depth. A lot was packed into a relatively short book.

Even though I knew they got away I felt so nervous from the suspense. There was quite a bit of suspense at several points in this story. I was so anxious when they went to France (until I read the author bio blurb and saw the year they left for England) and so eager for them to get out of France and to England before the Nazi occupation. Even though I knew Anna and her family would get away and be safe I felt scared for them several times during their story.

I love the family. They’re flawed characters but good people and I loved them all. I appreciated that in Germany, and in Switzerland and France, and England, that they had people “100% on their side” – decent good people supporting them and not supporting Hitler’s policies.

There were some people who were bigots, and there were also a few heavy things for a middle grade book, including two things toward the end. One was unexpected for me and left me feeling very sad. I was expecting a bad outcome in this case but didn’t think it would come in this book (maybe in book two, if ever?) or happen in this exact way.

I was grateful for all the humor in the book, especially that included toward the end and at other times the book dealt with serious subjects, because otherwise it would have been depressing, even though it’s not at all a depressing book.

The ending felt too abrupt because I wanted more, but that just makes me glad there are 2 more books.

This would have been a favorite book of mine at ages 9-12. And it’s 5 star worthy now.

[Hilary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I reread this childhood favourite as a buddy read with Lisa Vegan. This was a wonderful book to read as a buddy read, so much happening in short chapters made it really enjoyable to discuss each day after reading.

This is a very readable book, ideal as a read aloud or reading to yourself. Interesting for any age to read and a very interesting book for children as we experience the start of war through 10yr old Anna's eyes. There are two parts of the book, each only a paragraph long that aren't suitable for young children as they are disturbing, these were easy enough to leave out as a read aloud which I did when I read to my daughter when she was 2yrs old and once when she was 5.

After the family escapes from Berlin, we follow them to several new starts in different countries. It was so interesting to experience this with the children, whose experiences were largely positive, it was fun hearing about the different customs, food, friends and clothes. It's a great slice of life book, I love books like this that use everyday detail to help you experience life in that place and time.

There are lovely illustrations at the top of the start of each chapter in Judith's distinctive style. Although the book comes to an end in some ways they reach England and therefore a country that will finally be a safe place from the nazis There are two more books in this series which I am greatly looking forward to reading.

Although Judith calls this a fictional account from what I have read about her life most of Anna's experiences and events were the same as Judith's.

[Manybooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

For me, one of the most important things to realise if one wishes to read Judith Kerr's When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit is that her semi-autobiographical children's novel is in my humble opinion NOT an account of the Holocaust but rather a story of how when and immediately after the National Socialists gain power in 1933 Germany, the first individuals to really feel the wrath and hatred of Adolf Hitler and his ilk are generally the Nazis' political opponents, Socialists, Communists, politically active authors, journalists, artists.

Now while and yes indeed, in When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, Anna and her family are advised by allies and friends to immediately, to post haste flee Germany, the main threat hanging over the family in 1933 is still to and for me that Anna's father is and continues to be very much politically and economically left-wing and represents therefore an active, well-known and vociferous opponent of the Nationals Socialists (and albeit that the family's secular Jewish background of course also makes them personae non gratae and especially the father as someone to be arrested, in my opinion, most of the danger in 1933, right after the Nazis have taken over the government of Germany, really does for the most part still emanate from the fact and truth of the matter that any and all governmental criticism is from henceforth on seen and regarded as treason, and that yes, the more radical left-wing philosophers, economists and political writers of whom Anna's father is one, are definitely all and sundry being en masse targeted, being spied on and often arrested, with the original concentrations camps actually having been constructed for so-called enemies of the state, for basically ANYONE being critical of the new regime and therefore deemed as traitors, and in particular members of the Social Democrats, the SPD, and declared Communists). And with this fact in mind, When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit also often does portray instances where persons are being actively encouraged to leave but refuse, where individuals think and naively believe that the National Socialists would not consider politically neutral or mildly left of centre them as possible enemies of the state (such as Anna's Uncle Julius, who is repeatedly warned by Anna's father that the situation in Germany is becoming more and more dire, that he really should consider leaving Germany because his grandmother was Jewish and that he also identifies as a Social Democrat but who refuses to listen with ultimately tragic results, which is indeed something that actually often and sadly did occur with more than a few left wing, critical of the National Socialists political activists, artists and authors, unfortunate persons who often had multiple early opportunities to escape from, to leave Germany during the early years of the Third Reich, who were actually sometimes even erroneously and naively of the belief that the Nazis would somehow calm down and and would become more reasonable and increasingly democratic and who tragically ended up stuck in Germany and destined for prison and the concentrations camps).

But of course, aside from being a novel of the early days of the Third Reich, and portraying Anna's family's escape from Germany and journey to first Switzerland, then France and ultimately England, When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit is also a novel of immigration and moving, relocation and especially once Anna's family has settled in France, how Anna adjusts to French culture and slowly but surely learns to master the French language (with for me personally, and mainly because it happened in a very similar manner to me when I was learning English after we had immigrated from Germany to Canada in 1976, one of the most evocative and joyful moments of When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit being when Anna realises that she has indeed become proficient and increasingly fluent in the French language because she now does no longer first have to translate a French question into German before being able to answer it in French, that she is now naturally speaking French and no longer needing her German as a language crutch).

And therefore, I do not only recommend When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit as a story of the early days of the Third Reich (and how Anna and her family flee National Socialism and likely arrest and torture especially for the father had they remained in Germany), since Judith Kerr also very meticulously and with much detail shows and demonstrates how especially Anna deals with and handles culture shock, how once in France, she learns French fluently and finally realises that yes, she is becoming totally familiar with France and with the French language, When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit is also a perfect novel to share with young immigrants or emigrants, to show them the stages of acclimatisation and assimilation that Anna must pass through before she feels at home and at ease in France (before of course, things change once again, before Anna's father is offered a job in England and they finally at the end of When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit all relocate to the United Kingdom, another stressful move and change, but of course with hindsight, this being a total blessing, as we all know that France was eventually invaded and occupied by the Nazis and that those refugees who had found shelter in France were of course suddenly very much in harm's way).

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Desengane-se quem pense que aquilo que é afirmado na capa e contracapa desta obra é verdadeiro - esta narrativa não aborda a Segunda Guerra Mundial, mas sim os anos anteriores ao início desse conflito atroz.
Retrata uma história parcialmente (?) autobiográfica de uma menina judia e de sua família que, em 1933, pressentindo o perigo que lhes traria a iminente eleição de Adolf Hitler, abandonam a sua vida confortável e desafogada em Berlim e buscam uma vida mais segura e livre fora das fronteiras alemãs.
E mais não quero contar para não abrir-vos demasiado o pano de uma obra de cariz juvenil, é verdade, mas que aborda uma realidade ainda tão, tão presente nos dias de hoje.
Recomendadíssima, para mais miúdos e graúdos.

NOTA - 08/10

[Jana Heinzelmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit is a book for kids and teenagers. I know that many friends of mine had to read it in school but for some reason, I never had to. Nevertheless, I always thought that it is an important novel that I should have read. Thus, last year, I bought it but then forgot about it again. Last week, when I was in bed sick with the flu, I was going through the books in my shelf I have not read yet and there it was and grabbed my attention. I started reading it in the morning and read it in one day even though I had to take breaks because I couldn‘t concentrate anymore due to my illness.

Being German, I was always interested in the past of my home country even though the history of Germany is so cruel and sad. But especially because it is like that I think that it is really important to educate our kids about this dreadful part of our history and to explain why things have happened and how they could have been avoided in order to make sure that something like this will never happen again. In Germany this is done very well in school and after reading this novel, I can see why many people read it during their school time.

Judith Kerr did a fantastic job describing this part of the German history from the view of a Jewish family escaping from Nazi Germany. She finds a way of explaining things in a kids and teenager friendly way as well as delivering a story that is entertaining and nice to read. In some parts it is even funny and the reader forgets about the terrible things that have happened at the same time.

The story is based on her real life and describes how she and her family escape from Germany first to Switzerland, then to France and finally to Britain. It shows a young girl growing up under extremely difficult circumstances. She needs to adapt to new countries, new surroundings, new people and, even more difficult, to new languages over and over again. But while all this is happening the only thing that matters to her is that her family stays together. She manages all problems no matter how hard situations may appear. This is something everybody should see as a role model because it can even help nowadays. The story shows that no matter how difficult life can be there is always something that matters more than money or valuables and that are the people surrounding you.

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit is a story that gives hope and perfectly explains the most important bits of history of the Nazi time. The book can be read by young and old equally. In the end, I felt as if I was part of this little family who just wanted to live a normal life together somewhere without having to fear for their lives. The family does not even feel at home anywhere because their home was taken away from them and at the end they are still on the run but I like how even this horrible situation is turned into something positive by the father in the end: “We‘ll belong a little in lots of places, and I think that may be just as good.“ They always kept their chins up and eventually they got out of their situation even stronger than before and that is something I consider as the most important message of this novel.

Thanks to Judith Kerr for sharing her own experiences and for enriching us with this great book!

Read more of my reviews here: http://booksaroundtheworld.wordpress.com

[Mahdiye HajiHosseini · Rating 4 out of 5]

.
این پیش زمینه ای که از کودکی سخت ایجاد کرد، شاید یه کم باعث شد جانب دارانه نگاه کنم که تو خیلی خوشبختی نسبت به اون چیزی که ممکنه و هنوز حتی جنگم ندیدی.
اون اواخر دیگه این دید رو ازم گرفت، چرا نشه تو یه موقعیت فاجعه بار دنبال خوشی گشت؟ چرا نشه تو یکی از ناراحت کننده ترین موقعیت های کتاب به خوشحالی برای لباسا فک نکرد و ازشون شعر ننوشت؟
قرار نیس اگه لبخند میزنی زشتی ها رو انکار کنی.
قراره زنده بمونی.

لینک طاقچه

[Glorrry · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5'tan 5

[Sally906 · Rating 4 out of 5]

WHEN HITLER STOLE PINK RABBIT is semi-autobiographical as it is based on the true life story of author Judith Kerr. Her family fled Germany just before Hitler came to power because her father was a well-known writer, and had been openly criticizing the Nazis. Anna is 9 when the story opens and she first learns she is a Jew. She hadn’t realised she was one as her family didn’t follow any of the customs or worship as Jews. One day her father disappears he has been told he is a wanted man by the Nazi’s and if they come to power he will be in big trouble. Not long after the family also sneak out of Germany as they are worried their passports will be taken. Not wishing to arouse suspicion all they can take is one small bag each – Pink Rabbit is left behind as Anna thinks they are coming back. Just after they arrive in Switzerland to join Anna’s father Hitler wins the election and now has supreme power in Germany.

WHEN HITLER STOLE PINK RABBIT is written from a child’s point of view, so innocently we see how a once well-off family finds themselves to be now poor and struggling to make ends meet. This loss of income results in Anna’s practical mother learning to cook and sew, which is contrasted by her impractical father who didn’t understand that his children were growing and needed new clothes. Downsizing their rent and increasing her father’s employment prospects by moving from Switzerland to Paris and then on to London was another adjustment the family needed to do. As an adult reading between the lines I could see how the rise to power of one small angry man could affect millions of lives across Europe, and the impact on the family of being in extreme danger from the Nazi’s and then having no money for food or heating would really have been – rather than the adventure that Anna thought she was on. Overall it is very well written, the right voice for the age of the narrator, funny even in parts with some bad events alluded to rather than in your face.

[Coco · Rating 3 out of 5]

-3.5-

"Algunas cosas habían sido difíciles, pero siempre había sido interesante, y a menudo divertido: y mamá y papá y Max y ella casi siempre habían estado juntos. Mientras estuvieran juntos, no podría tener nunca una infancia difícil."

Es curioso ver un hecho histórico a través de los ojos de un niño inocente.

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book. Such an amazing way she describes her life as a child refugee from Germany in the 1930s , both sensitive, lively and intelligent, Anna is such a lovable child xxx

[Takoneando entre libros · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hace unos días, la hija de un familiar me pidió consejo sobre lecturas; buscando di con este libro, que para mi vergüenza no conocía. Me llamó mucho la atención, decidí leerlo y puedo asegurar que es una lectura absolutamente recomendable. Recomendable para adolescentes (o niños según su nivel lector y debatiendo con sus mayores).
El libro me ha impresionado, la verdad. Cómo en una narrativa cercana y por boca de una niña, la autora nos cuenta de semiautobiográfica la experiencia como refugiada.
La novela tiene ya unas cuantas décadas, pero todo lo que en ella se narra se puede interpretar comparándolo con nuestra situación actual. Nuestro país recibe refugiados y hay opiniones muy diversas en la sociedad sobre ello. No entraré a opinar personalmente, pero creo que el libro es una gran oportunidad de acercar a nuestros pequeños lectores una gran realidad, pasada, presente y por desgracia también futura.
La llegada de Hitler al poder va a cambiar radicalmente la vida de Anna y su familia. En su huida del horror nazi, deberán abandonar su país y dejar atrás muchas cosas queridas, como su conejo de peluche. Con él también se quedará su infancia.
Una historia que tras su aparente inocencia es durísima cuando sabemos lo acaecido. Pero a la vez es una lectura bonita, y con un toque de esperanza.
Si me preguntáis por la edad recomendada de lectura para este libro, diría que sería a partir de los doce años... Pero si el niño tiene alto nivel lector, probablemente desde los diez, pero siempre acompañando la lectura con un adulto, ya que hay reflexiones muy sutiles que nosotros les podemos hacer entender.
¿Recomendaría este libro? Sí, sin duda alguna. Un clásico ya en lectura juvenil y que habría que dar a leer a nuestros niños. Sería un magnífico regalo para que estuviera en casa esta Navidad.

[Mathew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adored this book and gave it full stars mainly after watching the Judith Kerr documentarydocumentary . What I appreciate more now is the naivety with which many children saw the danger of war through. Anna is excited about leaving the country and become a refugee in Switzerland, France and the UK and this innocent ignorance is fascinating and more like John Boyne's The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.

[Silvéria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Até há 5 dias, nem sabia que este livro existia. Até que "tropecei" nele na prateleira de destaques da biblioteca e... ainda bem!
Não só o adorei como o li na íntegra durante o dia de hoje. Mas que delícia de livro! Que bela introdução à temática da Segunda Guerra Mundial.
Não se esqueçam, contudo, que é um livro infanto-juvenil.

[Dora Santos Marques · Rating 5 out of 5]

A minha opinião em vídeo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JFiK...

Que livro tão bonito! Adorei a versão da Anna, uma criança que se torna numa refugiada, pois por ser judia, tem de sair do seu país...

[Els Book Hunters · Rating 3 out of 5]

Que difícil és haver de marxar de casa, canviar de país, d'escola, de llengua, d'amics. La família de l'Anna ha de fugir de Berlín per por a represàlies. Som a l'any 1933 i Hitler és a punt de guanyar les eleccions. Ha promès que expulsarà tots els jueus, i ells ho són. A més, el pare és un famós escriptor i articulista que s'ha posicionat molt en contra dels nazis. Mala peça al teler.

Abandonar Berlín és també deixar enrere una manera de viure. L'Anna, els pares i el seu germà Max són una família acomodada, viuen en una casa fantàstica i tenen servei. El periple que els porta a viure a diferents llocs d'Europa és també una pèrdua de privilegis, aprendre què és ser refugiat polític i els inconvenients socials que això comporta. Els costa veure rebaixat el seu estatus, però al llarg del llibre en van prenent consciència.

Es tracta d'una novel·la centrada en la visió de l'Anna, de només 9 anys a l'inici i, per tant, de caire molt juvenil. L'assalt al poder dels nazis, la persecució als jueus i els horrors d'aquella època hi apareixen com a pinzellades i només es genera alguna situació tensa, però majoritàriament viurem l'adaptació d'una preadolescent a un canvi de vida tan rellevant.

El llibre aporta una aproximació a l'auge del nazisme i al concepte de ser refugiat, sense aprofundir ni explicar cap tragèdia de manera crua i explícita. Situaria el seu públic objectiu entre 10-12 anys, perquè les vivències de l'Anna els poden interpel·lar i a més els introdueix en un període històric convuls. De gran se'n fa una altra lectura, potser el relat preadolescent hi té massa pes pel gust d'algun lector adult, però jo he de dir que m'ho he passat molt bé llegint-lo. Gran clàssic juvenil, basat en l'experiència de l'autora, a més.

(SERGI)

[Lydia Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve no idea how this escaped me as a child (I would have devoured it) but extremely thankful to find it as an adult. A really wonderful & uplifting read of the pre -war era in Germany as the Nazi’s started their terrifying climb to power which must have been horrendous to live through. Beautifully written from the pov of 9 year old (at the start of the book) Anna but cleverly spotlighting the tensions surrounding life for the adults.

Best of all, it’s the first of a trilogy by the wonderful Judith Kerr so now it’s time for Bombs on Aunt Dainty!

Update February 2023- my third read of this. It won’t be the last!

[Rita Araújo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Para o projeto #leromundo ❤️

País - Alemanha 🇩🇪

[Sanemsrgz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Güzel ve sonu bir nebze hüzünlü bitem bir kitaptı.
Anna, kardeşi Max ve ebeveynlerinin Hitler yüzünden nasıl Almanyadan kaçmak zorunda kaldıklarını okuyoruz. Büyük aksyonlu bir kitap değil. Ailenin gündelik hayatlarını ve başlarına gelenleri okuyoruz ama yazar bizi sıkmadan anlatmış. Kitap sayesinde çok net olmasa da o dönemde olup bitenler hakkında bir fikre sahip olabiliyorsunuz. Puan kırdığım nokta o zaten, keşke o dönemi daha fazla yansıtsaydı yazar, çünkü genel olarak maddi sıkıntılarını ve spoiler kategorisine girer diye söylemediğim şeyleri okuyoruz. İkinci kitabı da var. Sonu merak uyandırıcı bitti bana göre o yüzden devamını okumak isterim. Umarım yazar ikinci kitapta o dönemi daha iyi yaşatmıştır bizlere.

[Abigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

It comes as no surprise to discover that this outstanding British children's novel, which chronicles the childhood experiences of a young German Jewish girl named Anna, whose family must flee their comfortable home shortly before the 1933 election and resultant Nazi rise to power, is based upon Judith Kerr's own life-story. So convincing is it, so real does it feel, that I found that I had to continually remind myself that it was fiction, rather than autobiography. Opening in Berlin, where the oblivious young Anna is more concerned with school than with Hitler, who seems a distant disturbance in the adult world around her, rather than an immediate concern in her own life, the story moves on to Switzerland, where her family settle for a time. Unable to go back to Germany to collect the belongings - including Anna's stuffed pink rabbit - that they left behind, and unable to earn a sufficient living, the family move on to Paris, where Anna's writer father briefly finds work for a German expatriate newspaper being published there. When even this small source of revenue dries up, the family must move on again, this time to England.

With its distinctly memorable title and its influential role in the teaching of World War II history to both British and German schoolchildren, When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit is one of those books that I have long been meaning to read, making its selection as our November title over in The Children's Fiction Book-Club to which I belong particularly fortunate. By turns humorous and heartbreaking, it is a story of one family who, despite confronting terrible times, managed to stick together and to flourish. Although the historical details are specific to a particular time and place, many of the general experiences that Anna and her family confront - trying to learn new languages and to find new friends, in strange places; trying to find a job and make connections, in one's field of work; confronting a significant loss of affluence, and learning to make do with less - will be familiar to refugees and immigrants the world over.

Stealing 'Pink Rabbit' is clearly not the worst of Hitler's crimes, but then, this is not a book about the Holocaust. It is a book about the refugee experience of one fairly well-to-do family in pre-WWII days, and is told from the perspective of the nine-year-old daughter of that family. Although the more disturbing realities of what is going on back in Germany do enter the story - most notably, in the tragic figure of Onkel Julius, a family friend and naturalist who does not flee Germany when he has the chance, and who sees his entire world destroyed, even to the point that he is forbidden to visit his beloved animals at the Berlin Zoo - those realities are fairly distant. As they would be to the child narrator, living in safety in Switzerland, Paris, and England. I think that it is this very quality, this feeling of distance from the full horrors of the war (which, after all, hadn't happened yet!) and the Nazi regime, that makes this an ideal introduction to the topic for younger readers, and am bemused to note that some reviewers have taken the author to task for not writing a story horrific enough to suit their taste.

Highly, highly recommended, to all young readers who enjoy historical fiction, and who are interested in the story of World War II. When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit will serve as an excellent entree - truthful, sometimes tragic, but often hopeful - to a very disturbing moment in history. For my part, I intend to read the two sequels, The Other Way Round and A Small Person Far Away .

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

After hearing a Holocaust survivor, Eve Kugler, speak at a Holocaust memorial day event in my department last week, I read this book, aimed at older children but really for readers of all ages, which is a fictionalised account of the author's own childhood experiences in Germany in the early 1930s. Her father, journalist Alfred Kerr was a prominent Jewish journalist and critic of the Nazis in Berlin. Warned of a plan to take away his passport, he was able to smuggle his wife and children to Switzerland on the very day of the election in March 1933 where the Nazis became the biggest single party (though, despite being emboldened by Hitler's appointment as Chancellor and brutal intimidation against their opponents, without achieving an overall majority). The family, here fictionalised as the Papa and Mama of Anna (Judith) and her brother Max, later move to France when Switzerland's neutral state is compromised by Nazi pressure. After nearly getting sent by a porter onto the wrong train, bound for Stuttgart, the family settles in Paris and makes a decent life there, though suffering some hardship as Anna's father tries to get work. After a couple of years they move to London. Told from Anna's point of view (she turns ten shortly after they arrive in Switzerland), the story shows how she views her life as a child refugee, punctuated by the odd incident of anti-Semitic behaviour, though thankfully it never gets worse for her than bad words and rejection by some non-Jewish families. The author continues to live in this country, now in her 90s still illustrating children's books (and there is a bilingual English-German school in south London named after her).

[Laleh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've always been quite keen on childrens books about the second world war. There's a kind of simplicity in the way they cover it, that always makes it feel more real to me.
Carrie's War, Goodnight Mister Tom, The Kingdom by the Sea, The Machine Gunners, Blitzed...have all at some point or other been one of my favourite books

I'd been looking for this book for quite a while, and chanced upon it a while ago.
It was a sweet book, with the main difference being that it didn't dive as deeply into the War as the others did. There was no talk of bombs, and death was only lightly mentioned. Hitler was mostly shown as a terrible man who was a very long way away and so didn't cause much bother, except for it being harder to make money...

All in all I liked it, the text was simple and smooth, but if you're looking for a childrens book on the war, Goodnight Mister Tom is a better option (it gives a better overall picture, but does not have the sometimes disturbing scenes that crop up in the other books I mentioned)

[Princolitas · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5. Desde que comencé a leerlo me pareció sumamente interesante, está escrito de forma muy bella. La historia trata sobre una familia que tiene que huir de Alemania por culpa de los Nazis, quienes quemaron los libros del papá de Anna (la protagonista, una pequeña niña que le encanta la escuela y quiere ser una famosa escritora como su papá). Lo único que no me gustó fue el final, ya que sentía que faltaban páginas, me hubiera gustado saber más de la historia, sin embargo me gustó y lo disfruté muchísimo.

[Beth Bonini · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is probably best aimed at the 9-12 age reader, and yet -- like all well-written books -- it will appeal to many older readers. It is Judith Kerr's memoir of being a German/Jewish refugee as a child, and it is both fascinating and poignant. Although the author sticks to facts and memories, as much as possible, the book is presented as fiction -- she distances herself with the third-person point-of-view, and by referring to herself as "Anna" (which actually was one of her names, as she explains in the Author's Note).

As a popular and well-known critic of Hitler's Nazi party, Judith's father Alfred Kerr was at the top of Hitler's enemy list. Tipped off by a sympathetic policeman, Kerr left Berlin for Prague the week before the election which swept the Nazi party into totalitarian power. Judith, her older brother and mother left the day before the election; just in the knick of time, it turns out, as their passports would have been confiscated the next day. The family then become refugees, moving from Switzerland to Paris and then finally to England -- where they settle. Anna, from a child's point of view, describes each new world -- and her experiences of learning how to fit in, make friends, negotiate a different educational system, and in the case of France, learn a new language. For the most part, Anna presents a positive, optimistic view of the change in her circumstances . . . for her, it is all an adventure. An adult reading the book will interpret things rather differently, particularly as the family's economic situation becomes ever more precarious. There are a few moments of true sadness -- the fate of their friend Onkel Julius comes to mind -- but you rarely feel an adult consciousness impinging on the perspective of the more innocent Anna. There are hints of the worsening situation for German Jews in the years of 1933-36, but the book doesn't really touch on the horrors to come.

[Cudeyo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un maravilloso libro que narra desde el punto de vista de una niña de 9 años el exilio de una familia judía alemana a la llegada de los nazis al poder, al ser el padre un escritor de éxito que no se mordía precisamente la lengua. Y no por salir de Alemania a tiempo dejan de sufrir los efectos del antisemitismo. Y es que este no se circunscribe a Alemania sino que es un mal común, presente en muchos países; una realidad que muchos quieren negar.

Pero el libro no es una historia triste, sino que se ve desde el optimismo y la alegría de una niña que se siente amada y protegida, a salvo, pero que empieza a entender que no toda la gente es buena.

Un libro que os recomiendo encarecidamente.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this! It is told so well from a child’s perspective but with the underlying story that an adult can pick up on easily. I loved reading about Anna’s resilience as she adapts to Switzerland and then to Paris. I especially loved the Paris section because Anna and her brother Max have to learn a whole new language. Their struggles and how they eventually feel at home is so well told. And then the abrupt moving again to England at the end — thank God they moved when they did (1935)! I wish the story had gone on but by then you know Max and Anna will adapt yet again. It will be hard but they have done it before and they get to be together as a family. Such a moving story and funny too!

[Mónica Cordero Thomson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me ha gustado está historia. El título me pareció curioso, pero si lo piensas bien, si fue un robo.
Me parece que la escritora tiene una forma muy sencilla y bonita de contar los avatares de una familia judía-alemana, que decide emigrar de Alemania ante el ascenso de Hitler. Es totalmente creíble (supongo que porque la propia autora vivió experiencias muy parecidas). Los personajes son entrañables y tienen bastante personalidad. También me ha gustado la perseverancia de todos ellos para superar el porvenir y las dificultades.

[Zai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una deliciosa novela infantil que trata el tema de los alemanes que tuvieron que emigrar cuando Hitler subió al poder por no estar de acuerdo con las ideas nazis y de las dificultades que pasaron en ese tiempo.

Narrado en la voz de una niña judía de 10 años, esta novela esta escrita de manera que la puedan comprender todos los públicos, es en parte autobiográfica ya que la autora, tuvo que emigrar de Alemania junto a su familia ya que su padre había criticado a los nazis.