The life of Anne Frank serves as the frame for this photomontage of the rise of Nazism in Germany and the Netherlands. The volume begins with a history of the Frank family in Germany; a photo of Otto Frank, Anne’s father, wearing his uniform as a soldier in the German army underscores the family’s integration into German society. Following the family photographs, the scope widens to depict the dire economic times in Germany in the 1920s, the rise to power of the Nazi party, and the acquiescence of German institutions from the judiciary to the churches. Anne’s story is reintroduced in the context of Jewish refugees seeking safe haven outside Germany. Photos illustrate the reaction of the Dutch government and people to German occupation and racial laws. A section on the Frank family in hiding includes photos of the Secret Annex with captions from Anne’s diary. The emphasis here is on the response to the rise of Nazism more than on the fate of the victims and few concentration-camp photos are included. The last section looks at present-day manifestations of hatred with photos of neo-Nazis marching in Austria circa 2000 and a Ku Klux Klan cross burning. As Rabbi Julia Neuberger writes in her introduction, the message of Anne Frank’s diary and of this chronicle of her life and times is tolerance. While there are other excellent photo histories of the Holocaust, this slim volume has the attraction of Anne Frank to draw young people in. (Nonfiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-375-81177-X
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
A vivid yet even-handed account of the ill-fated Donner Party—the California-bound wagon train that was forced by impassable snow to camp for the winter of 1846—47 on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada, resorting to cannibalism when there was literally nothing else to eat. Calabro neither shrinks from nor sensationalizes this aspect of the story. Instead she places it in a carefully constructed context beginning with the start of the journey in Springfield, Illinois, on April 15, and chronicling each unfortunate decision along the way that ultimately led to the company’s entrapment. Making good use of primary sources, especially the letters and memoirs of Virginia Reed, who turned 13 on the journey, the author tells of Virginia’s excitement at having her own pony to ride west. However, she doesn’t limit the story to Virginia’s perspective, but skillfully profiles many members of the party, including Virginia’s dynamic father, James, who strongly favored taking an unproven shortcut, and the intelligent and perceptive Tamsen Donner, who was firmly against it. The result is a combination of well-researched factual detail, a gripping narrative, strong characterizations, and a thoughtful analysis of the historical record. (b&w photos, chronology, further reading, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: April 19, 1999
ISBN: 0-395-86610-3
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
In a sequel to the well-received I Have Lived a Thousand Years (1997, not reviewed), Bitton-Jackson writes of her life as Elli Friedmann in 1945, when she, her brother, and mother were liberated from Auschwitz and sent back to their former home in Czechoslovakia. Finding only a shell of the place they had known, they struggled to rebuild some semblance of life and waited for the return of Elli’s father. When they realized he was gone for good, their only hope through all their efforts was the prospect of obtaining papers that would allow them to emigrate to America. Through the long years that they waited, Elli found work teaching, and helping other Jews escape to Palestine, a dangerous and illegal undertaking. When they finally arrived in New York City, relatives welcomed them; an epilogue collapses most of the author’s adult life into a few paragraphs so readers will know the directions her life took. Interesting and inspiring, this story makes painfully clear how the fight to survive extended well beyond the war years; the discomforts and obstacles the author faced and articulates in such riveting detail will make readers squirm at the security and ease of their own lives. (Memoir. 12-14)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-689-82026-7
Page Count: 258
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
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