Kinderjaren: Een Novelle

by Jona Oberski

Gevoelens en ervaringen van een Joodse kleuter, die tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog met zijn ouders enkele jaren in een concentratiekamp doorbrengt.

Genres: Holocaust, War, Fiction, Historical Fiction, School, Literature, Dutch Literature

102 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

Reviews

[José Van Rosmalen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jona Oberski werd in 1938 geboren en maakte als kleuter en Joods kind de oorlog mee. In dit boekje beschrijft hij vanuit kinderlijk perspectief hoe hij met zijn ouders naar Westerbork en later naar Duitsland werd vervoerd. Zijn vader geloofde aanvankelijk dat zij in Palestina terecht zouden komen. Jona was er getuige van dat eerst zijn vader en daarna zijn moeder door ziekte en uitputting stierven. Hij beschrijft dit zoals een kind dingen half begrijpt en half niet begrijpt. Je wil niet geloven dat je mama of papa er ineens niet meer is. Als bijna achtjarig jongetje komt Jona na de oorlog als weeskind weer in Amsterdam, waar hij door pleegouders wordt opgevangen, nog vol van oorlogstrauma’s. Het boek dat uit vijf delen met korte hoofdstukjes bestaat, is een bittere getuigenis van de gruwelijkheid van de oorlog, juist door het perspectief van een kind dat nog in onschuld leeft. Bij de tweede lezing van het boek, ben ik nog meer onder de indruk dan bij de eerste keer.

[Lars Dekker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to read this for school, hence me reading the Dutch edition, and this book was so beautiful. I remember being so mesmerized by it. I even sat down with my mom to talk about it. We had to make a test about it and I nailed it because of my obsession.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't quite historical, but an autobiographical novel. It details Oberski's experiences during the Holocaust from the viewpoint of a very young child. The chapters are short, and the view is confined to that of under ten year old. It is powerful and distrubing.

[Natacha · Rating 4 out of 5]

La Guerra contada desde los ojos de un niño pequeño.
Al leer sus vivencias desde la perspectiva adulta se me hiela el corazón ante la barbaridad que tuvieron que soportar.
Nos relata con una voz infantil e inocente los recuerdos en los campos de concentración de Westerbork y Bergen-Belsen tras la persecución de su familia y de otras muchísimas personas por el régimen nazi.

<< Si no recordamos la historia estamos condenados a repetirla >>

[Ria]

Sober, ontroerend, eerlijk en confronterend rauw de fragmentarisch beschreven beleefde herinneringen door de ogen van een Joodse jongen van nog geen acht jaar.
De treinreis naar Westerbork, de treinreis naar Bergen-Belsen, de treinreis naar midden in de witte vlakte, de reis terug naar Amsterdam. En alles daartussen.
De tekst op de laatste bladzijde:
Aan mijn pleegouders die heel wat met me hadden uit te staan.

[María José · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un niño es el protagonista de esta historia, en donde va narrando desde su perspectiva la guerra que hay a su alrededor. Como es transportado con sus padres en un vagón hasta un barracon y después a otro en donde poco a poco el va perdiendo parte de su infancia ya que debe convivir con soldados que debe temer pero no sabe porque, debe chupar ollas con los sobros de la comida para poder llenarse entre otras cosas que no comprende y sobre todo debe sobrevivir a una guerra en la que perderá más que su hogar.

[Korneel Snauwaert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Met alle respect maar ik vond het niet zo'n interessante leeservaring.

[Ends of the Word · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story recounted in Jona Oberski's novella is tragically familiar - during World War II, the life of a young Jewish couple and their 7-year old son is destroyed when they are taken from Amsterdam to the concentration camp of Bergen-Belsen. What sets this book apart from other Holocaust stories is the narrative voice, which is that of the little boy. The simplicity of the narration, brilliantly rendered in Ralph Manheim's translation, fuels the tragic irony of the text. It is very obvious that the boy is describing events which he does not understand at all, whilst we, as readers, share in the adults' horrible secret. The book's brevity adds to its effectiveness - were it any longer, it would have been too harrowing. Oberski is himself a Holocaust survivor which makes this read even more poignant.

This edition forms part of Pushkin Press' "Pushkin Collection"

3.5 *

[billur · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book is about the holocaust from the point of a kid too young to fully understand what's happening, and the seemingly simple events make the book incredibly heartbreaking. i remember reading somewhere "you don't write about the horrors of war. you write about the children's socks lying in the middle of the road" and that's exactly what this book manages to do. made me very emotional.

[Tina Coppola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Forse sopravvivere è più difficile che morire. Dopo l'infanzia nei lager, l'impresa è "ripulire" per continuare - e "ripulire" è parola finale del libro. Poi solo la dedica di chiusura: "Per i miei genitori adottivi, / che con me hanno dovuto patire non poco".

[Booklunatic · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Sterne

Die Einfachheit und Unbedarftheit des Erzählstils nimmt der Geschichte nichts von ihrer emotionalen Wucht, eher im Gegenteil.

[Ikra Amesta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mulai dari judulnya saja buku ini sudah mengandung tragedi. Bayangkan, memberi judul "Masa Kanak-kanak" untuk menggambarkan kisah pengalaman mendekam di kamp konsentrasi Nazi. Ya, Oberski harus menjalani usia 3 tahun sampai 8 tahun di dua kamp konsentrasi (Westerbork dan Bergen-Belsen) bersama ayah dan ibunya. Masa yang semestinya jadi masa yang paling indah seumur hidup manusia itu harus dilewatinya dengan menjadi tawanan karena kebetulan ia lahir di waktu yang "salah" sebagai orang yang "salah".

Tidak seperti Night-nya Elie Wiesel yang secara mendetail menarasikan horor saat menyintas di kamp Auschwitz, buku ini menggunakan bahasa yang relatif "polos" dari sudut pandang anak kecil yang masih tidak seutuhnya paham apa yang sedang terjadi. Tidak juga dibuat sekomikal film Life is Beautiful (1997), karena tidak ada yang jenaka dari menyaksikan tumpukan mayat terbengkalai dalam gudang barang, atau menyaksikan sakratul maut ayah sendiri dengan kondisi fisik yang nyaris tak dikenali.

Formulanya adalah meleburkan innocence dengan disaster; semesta anak-anak dengan realitas dunia yang sarat hukum rimba. Beruntung ibunya Oberski selalu menjejalinya dengan pil tidur sehingga ia pun tidak perlu berjumpa dengan lebih banyak trauma.

Barangkali setiap tragedi memang selalu menggunakan formula yang sama. Menyerang di titik di mana dengan polosnya kita menyangka "life is beautiful" padahal sebenarnya tidak. Lalu kita pun kaget secara dramatis, menyadari kalau telah jadi bagian dari drama tanpa ingat pernah menyepakati pilihan peran yang dimainkan.

Syukur, Oberski berhasil "lulus" dari masa kanak-kanaknya itu alias selamat dari kamp Nazi. Setelahnya, ia pun belajar merasakan betapa pedihnya berpisah tanpa sempat mengucap salam perpisahan. Belajar memaknai kembali apa yang telah ia lewati, tentu dengan mengenakan kacamata yang baru sebagai orang dewasa.

Boleh jadi, ia malah baru ngeh menyadari kalau yang ia alami dulu sebagai anak kecil ternyata adalah serentetan tragedi. Kalau begitu, ia malah beruntung karena mengalami semuanya saat masih cilik dan polos; saat segala hal terburuk sepertinya tidak mungkin terbayangkan selama Ibu hadir menemani.

[Joost · Rating 4 out of 5]

Getuigenissen van naziconcentratiekampen zijn belangrijke kost voor iedereen. Art Spiegelman schreef Maus vanuit het perspectief van de zoon van een Auschwitz-overlevende. En Jona Oberski schrijft zijn eigen belevenissen als 7 a 8-jarig kind op, vanuit een kinderlijk perspectief. Hij diet het razend knap. De korte monochrome zinnetjes, waarin het onderwerp vrijwel steeds vooraan staat, worden staccato op je af gevuurd. Zij zei... Ik zei... Ik dacht... Zij vroeg... Het is wel bijzonder eenvoudig om te lezen. Misschien wel zo eenvoudig, dat het bijna storend wordt. Maar je bent je als lezer ook voortdurend bewuste dat dit het getuigeverslag van een kind is. En zoals de ik-verteller in Kinderjaren vertelt, zo vertelt een kind.
Waar ik The boy with the striped pyjamas volledig mank vind gaan onder het gekunstelde taalgebruik en de evidente onechtheid van een veel te uitvergrote naïviteit, daar weet Oberski te overtuigen.
De ik-verteller blijft op afstand, observeert en beschrijft in zakelijke maar rage bewoordingen terwijl hij trein in, trein uit, van Westerbork naar Bergen-Belsen en uiteindelijk, door Russen bevrijd, terug naar Amsterdam gaat. Verplichte kost voor de jeugd, daarom vier sterren.

[Bella Alijaj]

Ik vond dit een heftig verhaal, het kleine jongetje maakt erg veel mee op zo’n leeftijd. Ik raad dit boek zeker aan.

[Pascal Laseur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ik vond dit een spannend en aangrijpend boek met soms wel echt heftige stukjes

[Anabel van Linn · Rating 2 out of 5]

nee.

[Archwood YIPPIE · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prima maar sprak niet helemaal naar mij.

[Maaike Kerkhof · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 ster

[seray · Rating 3 out of 5]

slow paced, but cute

[‘nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this and annoyed this for my Dutch class and I felt so proud of the assignment that I made for it bc I really felt I understood the book, but she ended up giving me a bad mark. I’m not blaming the book, it’s something different that I usually read, the copy pov was a different way to look at the world.

[Donna Stroo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mooi non-fictie verhaal over een joods jongetje, helemaal geschreven in kinder stijl erg indrukwekkend

[Pilar Gradolph · Rating 3 out of 5]

Relato en primera persona, con su voz de niño..De su infancia feliz a la ausencia de sus padres..Salir de Amsterdam y volver a Mokum...con 8 años, ya solo...

[Christian Engler · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the canon of Holocaust literature, there is a vast litany of authors that one could choose from. From Primo Levy, Cynthia Ozick, Tadeusz Borowski, Imre Kertész and Eliz Wiesel to Isaac Bashevis Singer and W.G. Sebald and onward and onward, each of these authors and even those numerous others not mentioned, have a singular and powerful voice that offer a universal cry for those of the past and present whose cries went unheeded or were violently silenced. And sadly enough, Holocaust authors are so rare indeed, writers whose voices are the clarion call for the global community to wake up and say, Never again. One such author is Jona Oberski, author of Childhood, a novella of such stark simplicity it belies the graphic horror of what he is writing about. Told from the point-of-view of a four-year-old boy with a simple, inexperienced and naive outlook, he bears traumatized witness of the evolution from his joy-filled and carefree life to the fathoms of human hell that are beyond description.
Happily living life with doting parents who give all of themselves for the sake of their little one’s happiness, Oberski’s young protagonist has all that a very young life could possibly want; he is coddled and protected and is the apple of his parent’s watchful and tender eyes. He has comfort, security, food, toys and above all, love. But as the story unfolds, darkness begins to filter in to the tranquility of family life. Hushed whispers and concerned looks soon replace the smiles, warmth and joviality. Ordinary clothing suddenly gets adorned with the yellow Jewish Star of David. People get taken away. The young boy accepts this with resigned curiosity, for he is still too innocent to understand what lies ahead. And in looking up to his parents, he senses that what he is experiencing is only a small unpleasant annoyance which has come in to all their lives, but it hasn’t dominated them, at least not yet. Emigration out of Amsterdam to Palestine is still on the schedule. When that happens, all will be well, and he can revert to the way things formally were. That does not happen, however, for at night they get taken away and transported to the nightmare of their imagination: Bergen-Belsen. At first, the cramped train ride and the camp itself just seem to be matters of gloomy inconveniences, if one can call them that; yet, when it is perceived from the eyes of a child, I do believe that that is how it is assimilated into his being: annoyances, aggravations. The camp is filled with depressed and shell shocked souls. But as the story progresses, the horrors soon become manifest and an understanding of why the prisoners are depressed and shell shocked soon becomes revealed. Oberski’s young protagonist hangs tight to his mother but eventually follows the protocol of the camp. His separated parents do occasionally get to see each other, and when they do, the child is exposed to other matters that are of a grown up nature: sex. Within the confines of this new grim life, he grows alongside the horrors. However, he keeps the atrocities at bay and is still able to maintain-through what I would call, delayed-stress syndrome, his normal inner self. He does, however, break the rules of the camp-with the prodding of the other youths who are interred there along with him. He does so not against the Nazis or Nazism in general but to fit in with the other kids, to belong. The dare that they impose upon him in order to belong is unspeakable, and it gets worse for him after that.
Childhood is unlike any work of literature on the Holocaust that I’ve read before; it is new, in a sense, because the story, the mindset, the perspective, comes from that of a child. It does not convey the adult sense of understanding, but rather, maintains the fragility of youthful innocence, an innocence that has been corrupted by the dark evil that is trying to overcome the visceral purity of the child. An inner battle has been planted within the him. Sanity versus insanity. By the novel’s end, the boy is fighting to maintain the remnants of his childhood, despite his numerous losses. His future life is about living a death that is unseen, and it makes you just ache for him.
The novella is simple, streamlined and disturbingly clear. There too is an aloofness about the work. The voice is not dictating how the reader should feel, because the protagonist is too young and undeveloped to be preachy or filled with a fiery advocacy against the evils that he is experiencing. His childhood is the lesson; as a reader, you’re just walking along with him and intellectually and humanely absorbing the trauma that he can’t fully grasp. You are the adult for him. A superb read!

[Anthony Bekooy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ik heb de laatste tijd het boek Kinderjaren gelezen. Ik vond de inhoud van het boek erg interssant. Ik heb genoten van dit is zeker een aanrader.

[Finn Willigenburg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ik vond dit een best moeilijk boek maar wel leuk. Ik vind dit wel echt een aan rader omdat het wel een spannend verhaal is

[Padmin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Burattini e burattinai

Ma non è Anne Frank, che il suo diario lo scrisse veramente da ragazzina.
Occorsero più di trent'anni all'autore -anch'egli ebreo d'Olanda- per elaborare attraverso la scrittura quanto aveva vissuto.
Libro solo apparentemente "bambinesco", carico di simboli e di messaggi.
L'incipit:
“Non spaventarti, va tutto bene, ci sono io con te”.
La mano che si posava sulla mia guancia era quella di mia madre. Il suo volto era accanto al mio. Riuscivo appena a vederla. Lei sussurrava e mi carezzava la testa. Era buio. Le pareti erano di legno. C’era un odore sconosciuto. Dai rumori pareva che ci fossero anche altre persone. La mamma mi sollevò la testa e vi passò sotto il braccio. Mi attirò a sé. Mi baciò sulla guancia.
Domandai dov’era papà.
“C’è stato uno sbaglio, ma tutto si sistemerà. Siamo in viaggio per qualche giorno con tanta altra gente. Presto torneremo a casa e allora ci sarà anche papà. Ma intanto si sono sbagliati e così adesso dobbiamo restare qui un paio di giorni in visita, proprio come poco tempo fa, quando siamo stati in visita da Trude. Te ne ricordi ancora, no? […]
“Papà ieri mattina è dovuto andare in ufficio. Poi sono venuti a prenderci, ma tu avevi tanto sonno. Ti ricordi? Abbiamo dovuto fare un lungo pezzo di strada. A casa ho lasciato un biglietto per papà, perché c’è stato uno sbaglio, noi non saremmo dovuti affatto andar via con loro. Ora daranno il biglietto a papà e fra un paio di giorni ritorniamo a casa. Qui c’è molta altra gente con dei bambini, così non ti annoierai. Non abbiamo portato molti giocattoli, perché siamo partiti tanto di premura. Non ho neppure fatto in tempo ad avvertire la nostra vicina. Per fortuna poi abbiamo incontrato molti conoscenti. Ti ricordi? Quel signor L. così gentile, che ha anche scherzato con te. Anche lui ha promesso di dirlo a papà. A quest’ora lo avrà fatto da un pezzo. Forse domani, quando si fa giorno, troviamo già una lettera di papà.
Qui c’è tanta altra gente, per questo dobbiamo parlare a voce così bassa. Altrimenti gli altri si svegliano. Qui sono tutti molto stanchi. Anche tu, vero? In treno non hai fatto che dormire. Ti ricordi ancora del treno? No, vero, tesorino, avevi tanto sonno.
“E’ proprio stupido che si siano sbagliati, ma fra un paio di giorni siamo di nuovo a casa”.
Qualcuno fece “ssst”. La mamma ora mi bisbigliava così vicino all’orecchio che mi faceva il solletico. “Adesso dormi, addormentati da bravo. Io resto qui con te. Domani andiamo a dare un’occhiata al campo e fra un paio di giorni torniamo a casa, dal papà”.

Visto? Ti ricordi?... Te ne ricordi?... Ti ricordi ancora del treno?
La forza della Memoria. Senza slogan, senza frasi ad effetto. Scrittura asciutta e priva di melensaggini.
Ci sono poi due capitoletti - Il burattino e L'osservatorio (in realtà è l'obitorio)- che illuminano tutto il libro.
Ne Il burattino, Oberski racconta un momento di vita ancora sereno: è in casa con la mamma ed il babbo, sta scartando alcuni regali. Tra i pacchetti ricevuti, un buffo burattino di legno snodabile, che si muove con la cordicella. Un momento di grande gioia e divertimento.
L'osservatorio/obitorio del lager è "altro", ma non del tutto "altro".
"Allora vidi i morti. Erano fagotti fatti di lenzuola. Da alcuni sporgevano gambe e braccia. Certi corpi erano nudi. Altri avevano ancora i calzoni. Giacevano lì, gettati disordinatamente uno sopra l'altro, per verso e per traverso. Uno stava rovesciato all'indietro in cima al mucchio, la testa gli penzolava giù. Lo guardai in faccia. Aveva grandi occhi scuri. Le braccia penzoloni, molto magro. Un altro giaceva con la testa posata su un braccio teso. L'altro braccio non c'era. Sparsi intorno c'erano anche pezzi staccati, braccia, gambe."
-----------------------------
Siete mai stati nel laboratorio di un burattinaio?

[John Jansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

De gruwelen van het concentratiekamp door de ogen van een kind. Knap geschreven. Geen kindertaal, maar sober en beknopt. En toch de hele verschrikkelijke ervaring weergegeven van wat er zich toen afgespeeld heeft.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I first read the synopsis in the backcover, I thought I'm going to read a book as good as Elie Wiesel's Night.

I was wrong.

Kinderjaren was a story about a Jew kid, told in a first person point of view, who lived in Amsterdam with his parents. One day, they were taken by the mof, German's army in Dutch language, and sent to an internment camp.

As we all can guess, bad things start to happen to little Jona. His father was severely ill, his mother was very depressed. Thank goodness there was a family friend name Trude who helped him get through all those.

[Ceridwen Price · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a quick and simple to read account of a young child's experiences of the Second World War. I'm a little unsure if it's a fictional account of real life events or a genuine autobiography written as a child, nevertheless, it is a tidy and touching story.

I am wondering if the book is more enjoyable if read in Dutch or if there is a more comprehensive translation out there? I felt that some of the lexical character may have been lost in translation, or maybe that was the authors intention all along.

[mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of course we are all done reading books about the Holocaust - but this one yet merits attention. It is the story, perhaps fictionalized, of a Dutch-Jewish boy interned in Bergen-Belsen from the ages of 4 through 7, written by himself as an adult. It reminded me not so much of the horrors of the Holocaust, perhaps because I don't need so much to be reminded of that, but rather of the unique stance of children in the world, their curiosity and playfulness, their selfishness, their need of us, and of our kindness.