LOST CHILDHOOD: Children of World War II

by Janet & Margaret Weis Pack ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1986

Given the critical omissions in this book, a reader might well wonder how much knowledge--or understanding--of the events affecting civilians during WW II went into it. Nowhere in this collection of six stories, including in the forewords preceding five of them, do the writers explain the full meaning of ""deportation"" and ""concentration camp."" No mention is made of the numbers of people destroyed for religious or political reasons. In one story, which takes place in the Lód Ghetto, all people over 65 and those under 10 are deported as ""undesirables."" The authors give no indication, though, that the children in this group were part of the 1.5 million Jewish children murdered in the camps solely because of their religion. The last story revolves around the unseen rape of a neighbor by a Russian soldier. The ""heroism"" is found in the children's reporting the matter to their mother so she can help the neighbor after the fact. But this story is as flimsy as another one that deals with the language and cultural differences encountered by the child of a German expatriot, who chooses to return to Germany at the outset of the conflict. Neither story deals with the life and death issues engendered during WW II. Unfortunately, this serves only to trivialize the Holocaust.

Pub Date: March 1, 1986

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Messner

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1986

Categories: FICTION