Hidden Children: Forgotten Survivors of the Holocaust

by André Stein

Tells the stories of Jewish children who survived the Holocaust through the help of brave adults

Genres: Holocaust, History

288 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1995

Reviews

[Karin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A compilation of 10 different accounts of a child who was hidden during the Second World War to keep him or her away from the Nazi's and the consentration camps. These are the 'last survivors' of Hitler's War of Extermination. Tales that weren't told because people wanted to think that the 'hidden children' didn't have any more problems adjusting to post war life than all the other children affected by it.

They were wrong. These children all had varying degrees of personal adjustment as well as re-adjusting to their parent/s or their new status as orphin. Those who were in the care of loving surrogate parents fared better than those who weren't. That would be a normal conclusion to come to. But that's not all the problem. Other problems included guilt and shame for surviving when other family memebers didn't, not remembering their parents or having to adjust to a parent who is seriously depressed or otherwise now incapeable of raising a child thanks to their horriffic experiences.

Each case study also focuses on the life each adult creates for him or herself.

An excellent book that dispells the myth that children just 'bounce back' from trauma and are completely resiliant without some kind of healing that begins by telling their truth.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

10 stories of children that were hidden during WWII. Not one of their stories was the same, some were heartwrenchingly sad, others were very much the opposite. But each were the same wherein after the war they were forgotten, they weren't allowed to talk about what they went through because they were considered survivors and so it was assumed they didn't go through any hard times. Fifty years later they had a reunion where they could all tell their stories and begin the healing process. Andre Stein chose 10 children's stories to form his book. Very moving and a part of the war I never considered before. These children felt guilt because they were Jewish, guilt because they survived and felt they must be bad because their parents abandoned them.

[Kori Messer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating, horrifying and profoundly sad. This book focuses on the children who were hidden to stay alive. Ten individual stories with ten different experiences of survival and how they have handled life after liberation.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

difficult true stories of the tragedy of Jewish children who were persecuted during WW2