Signs of Life: The Letters of Hilde Verdoner-Sluizer from Nazi Transit Camp Westerbork, 1942-1944

Book by Verdoner, Yoka, Verdoner-Sluizer, Hilde, Verdoner, Kan Francisca

Westerbork was a holding station in the Netherlands for Jews and other "undesirables" before they were sent off to be gassed in Auschwitz and other camps. Verdoner-Sluizer was a brave woman who was sent to her death in February 1944 at Auschwitz. Her letters are filled with concern for her parents, family, and friends. Her husband and three children managed to survive in hiding (the collection is edited by Hilde's daughters). Jacob Boas of the Holocaust Center of Northern California states in the forward that Hilde represents "the voice of the average Jew." Hilde is not philosophical; her concerns are practical. Altogether this is a very moving book, though rather slow reading. Recommended for libraries with extensive Holocaust or Judaica collections.
- Paul Kaplan, Highland Park P.L., Ill.
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