After the Holocaust

by Howard Greenfeld

Through the accounts of eight Holocaust survivors, the author of The Hidden Children examines the period of post-liberation in relation to DP camps and emigration, complete with archival photos, a further reading list, and historical sidebars. Reader's Guide available.

Genres: Holocaust, Nonfiction, History, World War II, Biography

160 pages, Library Binding

First published October 1, 2001

Reviews

[Cat. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had bought this book awhile back "for my son" so he could do reports. But even at the time I was buying it for me. As much as I've read over the years about World War II, I had not really seen an overview of what happened after the fighting ceased. This follows 8 kids, ranging in age from 11 to 16 at war's end, who somehow had to find a way to restart their lives. Written for the middle grades.

Now I'd like to read something geared toward grownups, because there were clearly a lot of omissions in this book, things that aren't really reasonable to expect a 12-year-old to read. It's horrifying enough as is. One of the most heartbreaking memories is from the woman who was barely 11 and on her own in 1945. She was told by the orphanage that took her in after the war to just go back to her old house (in Budapest). She did. When she knocked at the door she was told that if she didn't leave immediately, the new owners would set the dogs on her.

There's also a scene where someone recognizes two former SS officers on the street outside the Displaced Person's camp. The mob does what mobs do; although one escaped without too many injuries, the boy who watched this was sure the other one went directly to the hospital morgue.

It's easy to forget that even though the war ended in 1945, it took another 5 years to resettle the majority of the displaced people, mostly due to politics. Britain wouldn't open immigration to Palestine, and the U.S. and other countries were slow to raise the immigration quotas for their countries too.

[Eva-Marie Nevarez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fairly interesting book. I'm much more interested in the actual Holocaust than afterwards for the most part but one can't deny that the before and after is of great importance also.
I like my survivor stories to be more in depth and this is not that but at the same time it's not something that I couldn't stick with. The people portrayed are very interesting and didn't all have similiar experiences which made for an even more interesting portrayal.
The stories are helped along by personal pictures (with a few general pictures sprinkled in) and that was a big plus for me. Knowing what the person looked like at each time frame is something I definitely like when reading any survivor story.
There is nothing in After the Holocaust that would lead me to say this isn't fit for a younger person. I'm not sure there are very many young people quite so interested in this but this could be read by them without the nightmare inducing effects of many of Holocaust stories.

[Meaghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a study of a handful of child or teen Holocaust survivors -- not a study of what they went through during the war, but about what happened to them after. As the author notes, not a whole lot has been written about the post-war experiences of survivors. Certainly they continued to suffer even after Germany's surrender -- their families missing or dead, being unable to go home or unable to stay once they got there, often stuck in displaced persons camps for years on end. But this was a self-reliant, resourceful lot and all were eventually able to find places in the world.

The book would, I think, be suitable for age ten or so and up. Adults would also find it of value. I do think the study was somewhat compromised though, in the fact that all the people interviewed were living in America.

[Scott Slinker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a very down to earth book, it took a horrible subject that we think of as something that happened a long time ago and a far way away and revealed the people behind it. The people interviewed revealed a very human and real aspect to the holocaust.

I would recommend to anyone who wanted a more personal knowledge of the holocaust by a wide variety of people that survived it. It is very detailed and very human. I would not recommend it to any children under the age of twelve as the nature of the book is graphic.

There are no drugs really to speak of some drinking. No sex or rape. There is plenty of violence, none of it is horrible graphic. Mainly cruelty, executions, death marches, starvation.

[Cindy Wiedemer · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's such an incredibly powerful book. The experiences of 8 survivors of the Holocaust share their experiences from time of liberation. The part of the story less often told is life after the liberation, and the displaced persons struggles to find ways to move into new lives and somehow put the past behind them in order to create lives with the majority of the people they knew now gone. Liberation did not mean life became easy. This book provides powerful examples of the harsh life given beyond the end of WW2.

[Florence Spurlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as interesting as I thought it would be :(

[Linda Galway · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Fairly detailed and interesting stories

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Greenfeld, Howard. After the Holocaust. New York: Greenwillow, 2001. Print.
Summary: After the Holocaust tells the personal stories of 8 Jewish survivors of the Holocaust. The book provides a biography of these individuals, along with photos of their families before and after they were interned or went into hiding. This book is not for the faint of heart, but is a realistic account of war and those who suffered through it. It also contains a rich history of life in Europe leading up to the final solution. The survivors recount their lives before, during and after the war. The book follows them through Europe, into Palestine and across dangerous borders. Eventually all of these individuals moved to the United States and became productive members of society despite their emotional and physical scars.
Ridiculously Simple Synopsis: Stories of some who survived the holocaust.
Curriculum Connection: Holocaust studies, WWII, European History, diversity studies, bullying, prejudice
Reading Level: High School
Genre: Non-Fiction, History
Characters:
Civia Gelber Basch: Born in Romania in 1928. Liberated from Ravenbruck Concentration Camp on April 30, 1945.
Judith Bihaly: Born in Hungary in 1934. Living openly as a non-Jew she was liberated in December of 1944.
Tonia Rotkopf Blair: Born in Poland in 1925. Liberated from Mauthausen Camp in May of 1945.
Akiva Kohane: Born in Poland in 1929. Liberated from Gunskirchen camp (part of Mauthausen) on May 1945.
Larry Rosenbach: Born in Poland in 1929. Liberated in April, 1945 on the way to Dachau in a death march.
George Schwab: Born in Latvia in 1931. Liberated in May 1945 on the way to a German death camp.
Ann Goldman Shore: Born in Poland in 1929. A hidden child liberated with her mother and sister in January 1945.
Alicia Fajnsztejn Weinsberg: Born in Poland in 1929. A hidden child liberated in September 1944.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the Holocaust by Howard Greenfield is a non-fiction variety of stories from World War II of Jewish children in hiding. It narrates the hard conditions these children had to live under such as starvation, cold weather, lice infestation, disease, and the worst of all-fear of being captured by the Nazis. However, these children lived to share their stories. A memorable story was of 1944 Zabno, Poland’s Ann Shore who survived hiding. Ann, her sister, and her mother spent two years in a small, dark, lice-infested hayloft. The town of Zabno was very prejudice against all Jews, and Anne was hidden by a very scary farmer who provided them with no food or water causing the girls to steal eggs and drink pond water. Even when Anne’s mother had a crippling-bone disease where she could not walk, Anne and her sister escaped and survived by rolling their mother in a wheel barrow when Russian troops finally entered Zabno, Poland. Many stories in this book were very similar to Ann’s, with heart-filled narratives of courageous Jewish survivors, and bone-chilling living conditions. It was very well-rounded because the author used factual evidence, but added quotes and short stories narrated by the survivors themselves. The book did not have any weaknesses except too much detail (Which is never a bad thing). I chose this book because I’ve always been interested in learning about World War II and I thought it was great to read about Jewish survivors during this time. I would endorse this book to others because I enjoyed it, and now I really understand what these people went through. I would recommend this to people who like to read about the survivors of the Holocaust oppose to depressing narratives which end up with fatal endings. (296 words)

[Jbussen · Rating 4 out of 5]

From "CAT"
I had bought this book awhile back "for my son" so he could do reports. But even at the time I was buying it for me. As much as I've read over the years about World War II, I had not really seen an overview of what happened after the fighting ceased. This follows 8 kids, ranging in age from 11 to 16 at war's end, who somehow had to find a way to restart their lives. Written for the middle grades.

Now I'd like to read something geared toward grownups, because there were clearly a lot of omissions in this book, things that aren't really reasonable to expect a 12-year-old to read. It's horrifying enough as is. One of the most heartbreaking memories is from the woman who was barely 11 and on her own in 1945. She was told by the orphanage that took her in after the war to just go back to her old house (in Budapest). She did. When she knocked at the door she was told that if she didn't leave immediately, the new owners would set the dogs on her.

There's also a scene where someone recognizes two former SS officers on the street outside the Displaced Person's camp. The mob does what mobs do; although one escaped without too many injuries, the boy who watched this was sure the other one went directly to the hospital morgue.

It's easy to forget that even though the war ended in 1945, it took another 5 years to resettle the majority of the displaced people, mostly due to politics. Britain wouldn't open immigration to Palestine, and the U.S. and other countries were slow to raise the immigration quotas for their countries too.

[Sydney2adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book because it fulfilled a non-fiction requirement for my YA lit class. I would have not picked it up otherwise, because generally I don't read non-fiction books.
I'm glad I did pick it up. As a non-fiction book I think it did it's job. It informed me about the Holocaust and a lot of the aftermath of it all. Before reading this book I had know idea what a DP camp was, or how anti-sematic poland was even after the war. I think the most heart wrenching thing about the book was the description by one survivor about returning home to find her families possessions used by others. She would walk down the street and a man would pass by wearing her dead brother's suit. She would visit another's home and see her families' curtain's hanging over their windows. It was heart wrenching to think that after she had lost so much she returned to her village to be reminded of that loss. I think the writing was dry in some places, but I think Greenfeld did an excellent job portraying the life of these individuals. I felt sick at times from the things these victims had to go through just to survive, and I admire much of their zest for living after the war was over. I would recommend this to anyone teen, or adult who is curious about the Holocaust, or history in general.

Language: none
Sex: none
Drugs:none

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really interesting book all about the effects of the Holocaust on seven individuals after the terrors of concentration camps and Nazi invasion were over. I'd never really considered what the victims' lives were like after the war was over and they were liberated, but this book made it clear that their struggles didn't end with the reign of the Nazis. I was amazed to learn about how many were forced to go home even though their neighbors still held strong feelings of anti-semitism. I'd also never considered the impact the Holocaust had on students' educations, and even after the war was over a good education for these victims was really difficult to find.

There was a lot of interesting information, and I would definitely recommend this book for a Holocaust unit--probably not for pleasure reading though. :)

Warnings (out of 10):
Sex--There are a few hints at what happened when, the girls in particular, were liberated by women-hungry soldiers, but there is nothing explicit. (1)

Drugs--0

Language--There were a few words, but none that aren't found in the Bible, so language is pretty clean. (2)

Violence--There was a bit of violence described. (3)

[Bryce Bodily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I pick this one because I wanted something that talked about the Holocaust. I didn't realize that the Holocaust actually means destruction by fire. It was a horrible event and the destruction that it left in it's wake is something that will haunt us for generations. It was very good but I also became more and more depressed as I read this book. I know it was because of the subject, but it was really hard to read these individual stories.

These people did not deserve to go through what happened to them. The horrors and the death made it really hard to read this book. I know that it is important to understand, but I had to take breaks to get away from the misery that these accounts hold. It made me so sad. It made me really appreciate where I live and made my own struggles look like nothing. These people had so much going against them but they each found ways to survive. By the end of this I really wanted to Ninja Kick Hitler in the face!

I'd recommend this to anyone 12 and up. Be warned the material is pretty depressing.

Warnings
Violence
Destruction
PURE FREAKING EVILNESS
It's about the Holocaust...

[Linda Lipko · Rating 3 out of 5]

After the Holocaust by Howard Greenfeld

Chronicling the horrific fate of those who escaped, were liberated, or came out of hiding after the Holocaust, this story begins where other books regarding the Holocaust left off.

The author interviewed eight homeless, orphaned children/young adults and carefully, clearly documented their tragic lives during and after the Holocaust.

Outlining statistics and stories with photos throughout, Greenfeld's heart wrenching portrayal of displaced, parent less children roaming throughout Europe is a must read not only for those who study history, or are interested in the Holocaust, but this should be read compassionately by all.

The author not only focuses on Germany, but also gives detailed information regarding anti-Semitism throughout Poland, Latvia, Romania and Hungary.

I did not know that after returning to Poland, on July 4, 1946, 42 Jewish survivors in the town of Kielce were killed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kielce_p...

Though it is difficult, I highly recommend reading this book.

[Seth McDiarmid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nonfiction is not my first choice, but we're talking about my second-favorite historical period here, so the task was far from a chore.

After the Holocaust does a beautiful job of using authentic photographs to bring an angle on a period that saw the worst genocide in human history that rarely is focused on. It expands the understanding of the reader without coming across as preachy or morbid.

I rated it low because I don't think young adults will enjoy it at all. In an ideal world they all would, and they'd see the same value in it that I do, and pass it on to their kids, but the truth is the diction is a bit heavy and plodding, and the type is so small that about two pages in you're already flicking ahead wondering how many of these you have left to go. I hate to let a review of such beautifully human stories devolve into technical and design quibbles, but there you have it.

I'd recommend this book to everyone, but I think only older young adults, perhaps those interested in history or already on their way to higher education will get what's intended out of it.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was nice to get out of the fiction sector of young adult literature and focus on something a little bit more realistic. It could be seen as a boring read but learning what happened to the survivors of the Holocaust after the Holocaust was cool. I thought it made it much more personal by having actual pictures of the family members and survivors themselves. The stories were sad and kind of heart wrenching but it wasn't too bad.

Howard Greenfeld did really good at keeping the book professional. He kept out the emotions and feelings, only including the quotes from the actual survivors. I would recommend this book to teachers of young adults and to students who are doing research about the Holocaust. Otherwise, this isn't just a book you would sit down and read for enjoyment. It's very much an informational book.

[Jared · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not what I expected. I guess the title "After the Holocaust" would have given be a hint, right? This was a very refreshing take on one of histories darkest moments. We always talk about the terrible things that happened during the holocaust, but how many of us really think about what came after? How do you go back to living after something like that? This book tells the stories of how many Jews did just that. Amazing book.

I think this book would be good for anyone who likes stories about WWII or is interested in the Holocaust. And it could be could just just anyone to learn about the mistakes of the past and how not to repeat them.

Warnings: This book does deal with intense subject matter, war and the holocaust, so some violence.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Children who survived the Holocaust often had no home to return to, or family to comfort them, and had a difficult time adjusting to post-Nazi Europe and continued anti-Jewish sentiment. The author tells the stories -- in their own words -- of 8 orphaned, homeless young adults as they struggled to create new lives out of the ashes of their horrific experiences. Because he divides the book into four sections, it is often difficult to remember which child had which experience in an earlier section. I flipped back and forth between sections frequently. A new perspective on the Holocaust, and a solid addition to the library of Holocaust remembrances.

[Sydney · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very interesting read. I found it heartbreaking to read the stories of the people who lived through the Holocaust. I found it interesting how similar yet how different all their stories were.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about the Jewish People that weren't in Germany during the war. And those that want to learn more about what they went through.

WARNINGS
Language: some racist remarks
Violence: some violence, not very detailed
Drugs: smoking
Sex: some kissing

[Lennard Mazyck · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book gets in depth with what happened to the jewish people and how they suffered for so many year. The book starts off at a concentration camp with everyone being divided between men and women. It goes on and on but I think it is an excellent book for people who are in history of germany. So get the book to find out more.

[Zona · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic read. I was so intrigued, I read it in less that two hours. I recommend this book to anyone teaching the Holocaust, looking for more information, or just a different view point, as this is from the memories of the Kinderlager... the youngest victims/survivors of such a horrific past.
"If we forget the past, we are doomed to repeat it."

[Conner · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was alright in my opinion. It had good facts, but it was kind of boring. So maybe if it had more interesting writings.
It was about the holocaust. Some of the people that were in the holocausts time gave thier stories. It had some of the thing that they had to go through. It was an allright book.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was interesting because I have read a lot about the holocaust, but I never really considered what it was like after. Things weren't just magically better after their liberation. Most people didn't have a family or home or country to go back to. This book chronicles the story of 8 young people and what they went through after the holocaust.

[Liz B · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked that it followed several different people, following both how they survived the Holocaust and their experiences afterward (DP camps, emigrating to Israel or the US).

[Stefanie Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the personal interviews from people who survived the Holocaust. The personal photos that were saved or found later were so moving to see. This was a really good book.