Tracking the Holocaust

The author chronicles her experiences in Berlin, a concentration camp, and during her escape to Switzerland, as well as presenting firsthand accounts of the Holocaust by Jews from Poland, Holland, Belgium, France, Lithuania, the Ukraine, and Hungary

Gr 6 Up-In this shortened version of Haas's These I Do Remember (Cumberland, 1982; o.p.), eight accounts of heroism, survival, and tragedy have been greatly abbreviated. Here, the author focuses on the historical context of the Holocaust and on tracking Hitler's expansion of power. The inspirational description of her own harrowing escape from Nazi concentration camps begins the book. Also included is a vignette of Fania Fenelon, a French singer whose voice helped her survive Auschwitz. But the other six stories are more briefly told and lack the important detail and emotional impact of Haas's and Fenelon's. Rather than accentuating the tragedies of the Holocaust, the personal experiences melt into the historical narrative. However, full-page maps clarify this information, and the excellent black-and-white photographs help to personalize the sketchy details. A valuable supplement to Barbara Rogasky's Smoke and Ashes (Holiday, 1988) and Milton Meltzer's Never to Forget (HarperCollins, 1976).-Jack Forman, Mesa College Library, San Diego

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