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My Survival: A Girl on Schindler's List
Rena Finder was only eleven when the s forced her and her family – along with all the other Jewish families – into the ghetto in Krakow, Poland. Rena worked as a slave laborer with scarcely any food and watched as friends and family were sent away. Then Rena and her mother ended up working for Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who employed Jewish prisoners in his factory and kept them fed and healthy. But Rena's nightmares were not over. She and her mother were deported to the concentration camp Auschwitz. With great cunning, it was Schindler who set out to help them escape. Here in her own words is Rena's gripping story of survival, perseverance, tragedy and hope.
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First published December 26, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 406 reviews
December 22, 2025
Rena Finder blends together facts and memories to share her moving and impactful Holocaust survival story. She documents living conditions for Jews in Krakow openly and judiciously, prompting the reader to question and analyze motives and events both directly and indirectly. Oskar Schindler and his role in saving 1200 Jews is featured prominently, offering a bright hope to sensitive readers.
The last 25% turns more memoir-like and reads differently than the previous pages. I found these pages just as interesting but I did notice the change in tone and resulting divide. I didn't find it as jarring as it might have been as I found the whole book a mix of writing styles which is very much okay in such a personal and significant memoir. Rena Finder shared her life during the Holocaust in a short and simple read that we all can learn from, and to this end, she has fulfilled her purpose.
The last 25% turns more memoir-like and reads differently than the previous pages. I found these pages just as interesting but I did notice the change in tone and resulting divide. I didn't find it as jarring as it might have been as I found the whole book a mix of writing styles which is very much okay in such a personal and significant memoir. Rena Finder shared her life during the Holocaust in a short and simple read that we all can learn from, and to this end, she has fulfilled her purpose.
October 31, 2023
With every Holocaust book, my heart melts for each victim of Hitler's final solution. For those who died and could not tell their story, it continues through survivors' personal memoirs and books of this unforgettable atrocity. The horror never gets easier to read but keeps it real for generations to come.
"In this world of bullying and hate crimes, it’s important to teach children not to stand by – you have to go and get help. Don’t stand by and do nothing." Rena Finder
Rena Finder was only 11 years old when the Nazis forced her and her family into the ghetto in Krakow, Poland. The story is not easy to read, but there are many blessings through the help of people like Oskar Schindler. Schindler's List was made into a movie by Steven Spielberg depicting the man who went to great lengths to save as many Jews as he could. Allowing them to work in his factory, he fed, clothed, and sought medical supplies for them... relieving them for a brief time during the day of the death camps. Although tragedy occurred all around them, he saved Rena and her mother from the gas chambers.
"One person with courage to stand for the innocent can make a big difference."
This is so important in society to realize your skin color and beliefs do not define you any more or less as none other than a human being with a heart and soul. With courage, hope and perseverance, we can keep this tragedy in history from repeating itself. Six million innocent men, women and children were killed because a bully and monster could not be stopped until it was too late.
This book is perfect for even middle school level to read and understand.
"In this world of bullying and hate crimes, it’s important to teach children not to stand by – you have to go and get help. Don’t stand by and do nothing." Rena Finder
Rena Finder was only 11 years old when the Nazis forced her and her family into the ghetto in Krakow, Poland. The story is not easy to read, but there are many blessings through the help of people like Oskar Schindler. Schindler's List was made into a movie by Steven Spielberg depicting the man who went to great lengths to save as many Jews as he could. Allowing them to work in his factory, he fed, clothed, and sought medical supplies for them... relieving them for a brief time during the day of the death camps. Although tragedy occurred all around them, he saved Rena and her mother from the gas chambers.
"One person with courage to stand for the innocent can make a big difference."
This is so important in society to realize your skin color and beliefs do not define you any more or less as none other than a human being with a heart and soul. With courage, hope and perseverance, we can keep this tragedy in history from repeating itself. Six million innocent men, women and children were killed because a bully and monster could not be stopped until it was too late.
This book is perfect for even middle school level to read and understand.
December 2, 2019
A fascinating look at Schindler's List from the view of one of his chosen. I am so glad that Rena is telling her story. Her story is incomprehensible to our modern sensibilities, but she lived it. We can never forget the horrors of the Holocaust. More importantly, Rena's story is a reminder of those who resisted the Nazi regime saving lives and bringing an end to the war. This is an excellent book to have in a school library or classroom as a resource when studying WW II.
Thank you to Scholastic Press and Edelweiss for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to Scholastic Press and Edelweiss for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
November 13, 2020
It´s on the short side. The first few pages were very powerful and I might have been crying. There are several times the story cuts short to write in some facts about the war, it´s educational but it takes away from the impact Rena Finders story could have had.
May 12, 2022
"Later, I found out the reason my father had been arrested. There was another Jew in the ghetto who was jealous of my father's popularity and had lied to the police that my father was active in the underground." (PG. 34)
2.5
This is a good starter for little kids who are interested in or are ready to learn about WWII.
My rating is based on the writing of the book. I really wanted to like this memoir but ran across too many problems that took over the enjoyment of the book. Is the reader supposed to read this like the memory of an 10-13 year-old girl wrote it or a 90 year-old woman reminiscing herself at 10-13 years-old wrote it? I ask this because I saw her memories at that age and what was transpiring in her life when Hitler took over Poland but then Rena would throw in facts, like, "the ghetto was a series of streets that contained 320 apartment buildings." (PG.25) A child would not know these things. I would have loved to hear her story and have had WWII facts on Author's Note. The story would not have been disrupted as much as it was.
I didn't feel the writing had any depth or emotion in it. Rena Finder's situation was sad and heart wrenching but it was like she was talking about someone else or explaining a recipe. It didn't feel personal, I didn't feel included in her story.
Then there was the problem of fact sharing but only sharing whatever she felt was relevant. She gave many facts about Jews but it would have been nice to include other non-Jews affected by Hitler because the book is about treating everyone equally. Like a side note: crippled, old, children, Hungarians, Serbians, Gypsies, so and so were also murdered.
It kind of bugged me reading on one page how ALL of Krakow Polish people were hateful and mean but on the next page their non-Jew neighbor helped her father get a job so they could stay in Poland. That is why again, are these her child memories or adult feelings later?
I did like that the book was short and it was a nice homage to Mr. and Mrs. Schindler. They are loved and appreciated by the survivors of the Holocaust in Jerusalem. They were good people.
This is also the first book I see that Russia is thanked by a survivor and whatever you think of Russia I think even if we Google and we know history Russia stopped Hitler. Rena Finder is thankful as a survivor to Russia and was treated with kindness by the soldiers. Like I said, good starter book but would have to fill in the holes and point out more facts for the kids.
I'm very glad there are people like Rena Finder that share their stories so hopefully we never have to go through these atrocities ever again... and I mean, Hopefully.
2.5
This is a good starter for little kids who are interested in or are ready to learn about WWII.
My rating is based on the writing of the book. I really wanted to like this memoir but ran across too many problems that took over the enjoyment of the book. Is the reader supposed to read this like the memory of an 10-13 year-old girl wrote it or a 90 year-old woman reminiscing herself at 10-13 years-old wrote it? I ask this because I saw her memories at that age and what was transpiring in her life when Hitler took over Poland but then Rena would throw in facts, like, "the ghetto was a series of streets that contained 320 apartment buildings." (PG.25) A child would not know these things. I would have loved to hear her story and have had WWII facts on Author's Note. The story would not have been disrupted as much as it was.
I didn't feel the writing had any depth or emotion in it. Rena Finder's situation was sad and heart wrenching but it was like she was talking about someone else or explaining a recipe. It didn't feel personal, I didn't feel included in her story.
Then there was the problem of fact sharing but only sharing whatever she felt was relevant. She gave many facts about Jews but it would have been nice to include other non-Jews affected by Hitler because the book is about treating everyone equally. Like a side note: crippled, old, children, Hungarians, Serbians, Gypsies, so and so were also murdered.
It kind of bugged me reading on one page how ALL of Krakow Polish people were hateful and mean but on the next page their non-Jew neighbor helped her father get a job so they could stay in Poland. That is why again, are these her child memories or adult feelings later?
I did like that the book was short and it was a nice homage to Mr. and Mrs. Schindler. They are loved and appreciated by the survivors of the Holocaust in Jerusalem. They were good people.
This is also the first book I see that Russia is thanked by a survivor and whatever you think of Russia I think even if we Google and we know history Russia stopped Hitler. Rena Finder is thankful as a survivor to Russia and was treated with kindness by the soldiers. Like I said, good starter book but would have to fill in the holes and point out more facts for the kids.
I'm very glad there are people like Rena Finder that share their stories so hopefully we never have to go through these atrocities ever again... and I mean, Hopefully.
January 29, 2022
4 out of 10
ревью на русском/review in russian
The first chapters were SO powerful! I thought that's my 10-stars read! My bad. The rest of the story transformed into Wikipedia or History Book Paragraphs. Numbers, names, actions (sometimes placed pretty randomly). The story ceased to flow and started to fall apart.
It's Rena's story, who was 11 when WWII began. She's the MC and narrator yet her character doesn't seem to be well-developed.
The writing is smooth, especially in the first part of the book (the first pages 50-60 were heartbreakingly awesome), the rest is more like a history article or Wikipedia as I said above.
The book's biggest problem is the way it tells and shows the story. There are illogical twists. Like Nazi kill all the children yet Rena go through lots of camps and lives. It's either wrong to say that "all children were killed" or we have to hear the reasons. I know that the heroine was very old when she told her story to the editors and her memories could be confused, but the editors should do additional research and check the facts to come up with a coherent story. Because what's said in the first chapters doesn't quite correlate with the same events repeated further. Even Rena's age differs for a year.
I also didn't like the closing thoughts. Maybe I got it wrong, but the author through Rena blames countries who fought to free Jews for not doing more and not saving them somehow in the process and guesses that this might be because of Anti-Semitism. She said they wanted to win the war, that's all. WOW. 52 million Russians died, trying to do something. It wasn't a competition. Have some respect, please. What happened with the Jews is more than horrible, but hello, other people suffered too. Plus Rena favors the parties that joined the war next to its end. I don't blame that parties, though. I understand the price of joining such an event. Everyone cares about their people first. Still, this book represents people who actually fought to free Jews as insignificant decoration. That's what one can think after reading the closing thoughts.
Also, the MC repeats not once that all people are equal, that racism is wrong. At the same time, she doesn't want to hear the German language ever again (while modern Germans did nothing wrong!) and portrays all the Polands as monsters. Yes, during the war terrible things were done by some of them, but were they all that bad? What I'm trying to say is that the book's message is quite controversial.
May 7, 2022
Absolutely spectacular! As much as I loved Schindler's List, this perspective of a young girl completes the story.
January 4, 2020
Like most Americans, I first learned about Oskar Schindler and the 1,200 Jewish lives he was able to save watching Steven Spielberg's movie Schindler's List. And yes, I am sorry to say I have not yet read Thomas Keneally's 1982 book Schindler's Ark (published as Schindler's List in the US). However, you may recall a book published in 2013 called The Boy On the Wooden Box by Leon Leyson, who was a young Jewish boy working for Schindler. Now, we have this book by Rena Finder, who was a still a young girl when she was working for Oskar Schindler.
Rena, who maiden name was Ferber, had lived a pretty happy and comfortable life in Krakow, Poland with her parents Moses and Rosa Ferber. But all that changes in 1939 when the Nazis march into and occupy Poland and World War II begins. First, friends and neighbors begin to turn their backs on their former Jewish friends, and Krakow's Jews are faced with more overt acts of anti-Semitism, even as more and more restrictive laws are imposed by the Nazis. Jews are not longer allowed to go to school, the park, the movies, they are subject to a curfew, and forced to wear a blue and white armband with a Star of David on it signifying that they are Jewish. And soon enough, arrests and deportations of Jews to concentration camps begin.
In 1940, Rena and her parents are issued permits allowing them to remain in Krakow while her father works, but they are forced to leave their lovely apartment and move into the Krakow ghetto - 320 apartments for 3,000 people. Then, on December 31, 1942, Rena's father is arrested despite having a work permit. Sadly, Rena will never see her father again.
Not long after her father's arrest, liquidation of the Krakow ghetto begins and the ghetto's Jews are forced to march to Plaszów Concentration Camp, a march that includes Rena and her mother Rosa. There, they both end up working in Oskar Schindler's factory, a factory that had originally been located near the Krakow ghetto, where he could use cheap Jewish labor. But now that his labor was in Plaszów, they would have to walk 2 1/2 miles each way to get to and from work. Schindler convinces Plaszów's Commandant, Andrew Goeth, to allow him to build a subcamp for the factory's Jewish workers. Amazingly, Goeth agrees to allow this.
Rena's story is told in a very matter of fact way in the first person, but also in a very intimate voice that makes you feel that she is speaking directly to you, the reader. I've given you most of the historical background, but her story is naturally much more personal, recounting what life was life for Europe's Jews under the Nazis, including the fate of some of her family and friends. She also talks in harrowing detail what it was like when she and the other people working for Schindler were sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1944. Luckily, Schindler was able to reclaim them thanks to his list of workers and take them to his new factory in Czechoslovakia. And unlike many real life Holocaust stories, Rena also talks about what her life was like after the war, meeting her husband and moving to America.
My Survival: A Girl on Schindler's List is a very accessible, age appropriate book, perfect for introducing young readers, and especially reluctant readers, to the Holocaust. Rena breaks down the different events on her personal life and how she was impacted by the things done to Jews under the Nazis. The pages of photographs of the Ferber/Finder families at the back of the book makes her story that much more real. Rena's "Closing Thoughts" bring the past into the present with her plea for today's youth to stand up for those people who are being targeted now, reminding us that genocide begins when people begin turn their backs on what is happening to others.
This book is recommended for readers age 10+
This book was purchased for my personal library.
Rena, who maiden name was Ferber, had lived a pretty happy and comfortable life in Krakow, Poland with her parents Moses and Rosa Ferber. But all that changes in 1939 when the Nazis march into and occupy Poland and World War II begins. First, friends and neighbors begin to turn their backs on their former Jewish friends, and Krakow's Jews are faced with more overt acts of anti-Semitism, even as more and more restrictive laws are imposed by the Nazis. Jews are not longer allowed to go to school, the park, the movies, they are subject to a curfew, and forced to wear a blue and white armband with a Star of David on it signifying that they are Jewish. And soon enough, arrests and deportations of Jews to concentration camps begin.
In 1940, Rena and her parents are issued permits allowing them to remain in Krakow while her father works, but they are forced to leave their lovely apartment and move into the Krakow ghetto - 320 apartments for 3,000 people. Then, on December 31, 1942, Rena's father is arrested despite having a work permit. Sadly, Rena will never see her father again.
Not long after her father's arrest, liquidation of the Krakow ghetto begins and the ghetto's Jews are forced to march to Plaszów Concentration Camp, a march that includes Rena and her mother Rosa. There, they both end up working in Oskar Schindler's factory, a factory that had originally been located near the Krakow ghetto, where he could use cheap Jewish labor. But now that his labor was in Plaszów, they would have to walk 2 1/2 miles each way to get to and from work. Schindler convinces Plaszów's Commandant, Andrew Goeth, to allow him to build a subcamp for the factory's Jewish workers. Amazingly, Goeth agrees to allow this.
Rena's story is told in a very matter of fact way in the first person, but also in a very intimate voice that makes you feel that she is speaking directly to you, the reader. I've given you most of the historical background, but her story is naturally much more personal, recounting what life was life for Europe's Jews under the Nazis, including the fate of some of her family and friends. She also talks in harrowing detail what it was like when she and the other people working for Schindler were sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1944. Luckily, Schindler was able to reclaim them thanks to his list of workers and take them to his new factory in Czechoslovakia. And unlike many real life Holocaust stories, Rena also talks about what her life was like after the war, meeting her husband and moving to America.
My Survival: A Girl on Schindler's List is a very accessible, age appropriate book, perfect for introducing young readers, and especially reluctant readers, to the Holocaust. Rena breaks down the different events on her personal life and how she was impacted by the things done to Jews under the Nazis. The pages of photographs of the Ferber/Finder families at the back of the book makes her story that much more real. Rena's "Closing Thoughts" bring the past into the present with her plea for today's youth to stand up for those people who are being targeted now, reminding us that genocide begins when people begin turn their backs on what is happening to others.
This book is recommended for readers age 10+
This book was purchased for my personal library.
March 27, 2020
I read this book with my 5th grader. It was a wonderful story of courage and I’m glad we read it together so she could ask questions.
September 13, 2023
I needed a short nonfiction book for a reading day and am glad I choose this book. Definitely hard content to hear but very nicely written and a perfect way for middle grade and up to hear Rena Finder’s story. That time period is horrific and difficult to even fathom what truly happened to all those innocent people. So heartbreaking 💔. It is great to hear a personal story about Schindler’s List and such a good reminder that people can make a difference. As stated in the book by Finder, “You don’t have to love everyone, but everyone deserves to be treated fairly.” If only everyone followed that simple motto.
July 6, 2022
Every time I read a book about the Holocaust I am amazed at the will to survive the human spirit has. Rena’s story is remarkable and heartbreaking. I am glad that she chose to share her story. We must NEVER forget what happened to the 6 million Jews who were murdered. It is sad for me to think that there are so few survivors left.
February 11, 2020
Another typical Holocaust survivor story? Not by a long shot! Most of us have seen the movie Schindler's List about a German businessman who uses Jewish slave workers from the Nazi concentration camps for his business supplying goods to the Third Reich (and if you are one of the few who hasn't seen it, you should!). In this book, My Survival: A Girl on Schindler's List by Rena Finder, one of the people on his list tells us of her experience and perspective. Rena Finder was only eleven when she and her mother were rounded up with other Jews and put in concentration camps with all of the harsh conditions, brutal treatment, and starvation found in the camps. Fortunately, the author and her mother were selected to work in the factories of Oskar Schindler where the treatment was humane and they were properly fed and cared for. Late in the war, through a bureaucratic mix up, Rena and her mother were transferred to Auschwitz along with hundreds of other Schindler Jews intended for disposal. Through the heroic efforts of Schindler, they were all returned to his factory where they were able to survive through the rest of the war.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 7, 2021
I really enjoyed this book. It's something I picked up at my son's school book fair as a possible read together book. I decided to read through first and it didn't disappoint! The story of Oskar Schindler is well known thanks to the popular film "Schindlers List" however, to hear the story through a person on his list was an entirely new feel. Rena Finder's memoir is a must read. I think this is a great book to begin the discussion on the Holocaust for middle grade readers. Its one I will keep to introduce this terrible time in history to our children so they may learn the impact of one person bring kind and brave.
April 16, 2021
This lady was born the same year as my grandfather. She survived the Krakow ghetto and Auschwitz-Birkenau, and is sharing her story with others so that history is not forgotten nor repeated. This is a gently powerful memoir. So heartbreaking, yet demonstrating that heroes were to be had in the midst of the horrors of the Holocaust; and how two such heroes, Oskar and Emilie Schindler, made such a merciful difference in the lives of Rena, her mother, and many others, and were paramount to their survival of the war.
January 19, 2022
Together, my son and I read the tragic yet informative memoir My Survival: A Girl on Schindler's List by Rina Finder. This book holds many important pieces of our history, in particular about the Holocaust, that should never be forgotten. It is good that Finder was able to get her memories written down and published for others to read for generations to come.
May 22, 2025
l read this a few years ago and remember crying my eyes out. l really loved it. It's super, super sad, but also very eye opening.
l still want to name one of my kids "Emilie" after Emilie Schindler. ☺️
l hope to read it again sometime; definitely recommend. 🙂
[12-13+... Definitely depends on maturity level]
l still want to name one of my kids "Emilie" after Emilie Schindler. ☺️
l hope to read it again sometime; definitely recommend. 🙂
[12-13+... Definitely depends on maturity level]
September 4, 2023
Für mich zu kurz, als Schulbuch für Jugendliche konzipiert. Das sollte man wissen, aber die Geschichte ist jedenfalls hörenswert und gut vertont.
Disclaimer:
Ich bewerte bei Biografien nicht das Leben der Protagonisten, sondern ausschließlich die literarische Umsetzung!
Disclaimer:
Ich bewerte bei Biografien nicht das Leben der Protagonisten, sondern ausschließlich die literarische Umsetzung!
April 14, 2024
➳ 3 ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚
this was a good, informative, simple story of a young girl in WWII. i enjoyed it and i’d recommend for young readers getting into the historical genre
୧ ‧₊˚ 🍓 ⋅ ☆
this was a good, informative, simple story of a young girl in WWII. i enjoyed it and i’d recommend for young readers getting into the historical genre
୧ ‧₊˚ 🍓 ⋅ ☆
December 9, 2024
Despite it being a scholastic read - for children - the impact is still powerful.
***QUOTE***
"How did it feel to be yelled at in a foreign language, beaten by sticks, and not know what we were supposed to do? How did it feel to be starving and not knowing if we were going to live one more day? How did it feel to be surrounded by prisoners who looked more dead than alive? It felt like the Nazis had taken away my soul"
***QUOTE***
"How did it feel to be yelled at in a foreign language, beaten by sticks, and not know what we were supposed to do? How did it feel to be starving and not knowing if we were going to live one more day? How did it feel to be surrounded by prisoners who looked more dead than alive? It felt like the Nazis had taken away my soul"
June 26, 2024
To be a book that is written on a middle school level it is a short and powerful read. Like many of the books centered around Holocaust survivors a story is told of what they have come from. This book is just the same, only simpler. An accurate representation of the evils of the Holocaust. One that is can be understood by all, but certainly does not lack a clear, and meaningful message.
Read
April 23, 2021This book is amazing I totally recommended it in all ways. It just unbelievably amazing it gave me a clear picture of the actually things they were going through.
Read
March 2, 2020A powerful and heart-wrenching novel about a girl's survival during the Holocaust and the life-saving, heroic measures the Schindler's took to save her life.
March 31, 2022
My daughter is a fifth grade teacher and gets the best books for her class. At the school’s Scholastic Book Fair she got some new WWII books. She loaned four books to me because she knows me so well: how I read all I can about this era, how moved we were on our visit to Krakow and Auschwitz in 2017, and how, as a retired teacher, I love middle grade and YA books. What a well-written story for young people and even for older ones. It took me back to standing in the Krakow ghetto and visiting Oskar Schlinder’s factory. Most young people will not be able to do that, but they can read this book. May we learn. May we do better. May we never forget.
January 12, 2021
This is an unusual read... it is the true memoir of Rena Finder who was one of the lucky Jews on Schindler's List.
The story is a very powerful one... and fascinating for lovers of history. But it feels a little bit more like a history lesson than a story, as such. It is not badly written and the story is gripping, but I feel it could have been structured in a more effective way.
Having said that, it is a pretty quick read and would definitely appeal to anyone who wants to know more about this era of history.
The story is a very powerful one... and fascinating for lovers of history. But it feels a little bit more like a history lesson than a story, as such. It is not badly written and the story is gripping, but I feel it could have been structured in a more effective way.
Having said that, it is a pretty quick read and would definitely appeal to anyone who wants to know more about this era of history.
May 27, 2020
Probably would give this a 3.5. I liked that it was a memoir, but have read so many Holocaust books and this one just didn't "jump out" at me. Overall it was good and think my students would like it.
June 7, 2021
Written for students, this is a bare bones but first hand account of what happened to Jews during the Nazi regime. A very quick and undramatized telling of a dark time I’m human history. Rena Finder ends with the thought that you don’t have to love everyone, but everyone must be treated fairly.
February 27, 2020
I loved this book. It got a little sad at times but who likes a perfectly boring book?
June 28, 2021
Amazingly tragic. One person can make a difference, if even for one person.
January 14, 2022
Let us face it - it is short - a quick read. And it has a purpose, the continuing education and memory of the Holocaust. In that I think it meets its intentions very well. I have been a student of the Holocaust soince doing A Level German fifty years ago. My holocaust library has been extensive. When I was first a student the memories of survivors were quotes buried in historic or academic tomes. Over the last thirty years, it seems to me, the actual testimony from survivors has increased - perhaps because old people look back and need for their descendants to know and remember who they were - but also because there has been a resurgence of racism and anti-semitism and the old folk are stepping up to challenge holocaust denial.
We should thank them for that. Anti-semitism and racism is rising in the Uk, in the US, across France and Germany, and, most of all, in Eastern Europe - especially in Hungary, Poland and Russia. Who would have thought that these hateful ideologies could possibly re-emerge into mainstream politics?
It happens because politicians, especially, seek a base and a voice that will give them support. THey think they can control it, as the conservative parties in Germany thought that they could control Hitler when they allied with him, but they are wrong. We watch this in the US as Republican politicians seek support from the worst of bases, the people who went to Charlottesville and who revere the Confederate flag. History always judges such politicians ill.
I was a politician once and I was proud to be part of the first Holocaust Memorial Day in the UK. A friend of mine made a powerful speech in Council. He had been on the working group in Government creating the day - he spoke movingly of a visit to Auschwitz. In contrast I remember a visit to Dachau where a group of Spanish students laughed and joked and took selfies in front of the "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign on the gate.
Thank you, Rena, your work continues to be needed. Thank you for your book.
We should thank them for that. Anti-semitism and racism is rising in the Uk, in the US, across France and Germany, and, most of all, in Eastern Europe - especially in Hungary, Poland and Russia. Who would have thought that these hateful ideologies could possibly re-emerge into mainstream politics?
It happens because politicians, especially, seek a base and a voice that will give them support. THey think they can control it, as the conservative parties in Germany thought that they could control Hitler when they allied with him, but they are wrong. We watch this in the US as Republican politicians seek support from the worst of bases, the people who went to Charlottesville and who revere the Confederate flag. History always judges such politicians ill.
I was a politician once and I was proud to be part of the first Holocaust Memorial Day in the UK. A friend of mine made a powerful speech in Council. He had been on the working group in Government creating the day - he spoke movingly of a visit to Auschwitz. In contrast I remember a visit to Dachau where a group of Spanish students laughed and joked and took selfies in front of the "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign on the gate.
Thank you, Rena, your work continues to be needed. Thank you for your book.
March 10, 2020
This books gives a first hand perspective to what it was like for Jewish people during the Holocaust as Rena tells a very personal and intimate account of what life was like for her and her family during the Nazi reign. Rena recalls a number of events throughout the books and how they impacted her; from being moved to the ghetto, the rising death toll, being helped by the Schindler's, being taking to Auschwitz-Birkenau and being helped again by the Schindler's prior to the concentration camps being liberated.
This is a powerful story that everyone should read and can be used to introduce younger generations to the topic and severity of the Holocaust.
Rena's gratitude towards the Schindler's is prominent throughout the book and she presents thought-provoking "Closing Thoughts" at the end of the book that plea to today's generations not to stand for people being mistreated.
Thank you so much Scholastic for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest
This is a powerful story that everyone should read and can be used to introduce younger generations to the topic and severity of the Holocaust.
Rena's gratitude towards the Schindler's is prominent throughout the book and she presents thought-provoking "Closing Thoughts" at the end of the book that plea to today's generations not to stand for people being mistreated.
Thank you so much Scholastic for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest
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