Berne, Emma Carlson. Escaping Nazis on the Kindertransport.

Berne, Emma Carlson.  Escaping Nazis on the Kindertransport.  Capstone Publishers   2017  112p  $29.99. ISBN 978-1-5157-4545-7  ms  Nonfiction  VG-BN

This insightful book presents primary-source information about the Holocaust.  Of the six million Jews killed by the Nazis, more than 1.5 million were children. The Kindertransport succeeded in rescuing nearly ten thousand children from the clutches of the Nazis.  It began after Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, in November 1938, and lasted until the formal start of the war.  The idea was proposed by a delegation of British Jewish leaders and members of the Society of Friends who requested their government offer sanctuary to Jewish children under the age of seventeen.  Well-researched and well written, this book provides an excellent examination of one of mankind's darkest periods.  It begins with a brief explanation of the rise of Hitler and his plans to annihilate the Jewish people, and discusses the Kindertransport through the first-person accounts of seven children who escaped.  The difficulties and struggles these children had in leaving their families and going to a strange place are not minimized but explained in context.  The author continues with a description of their trips by train and boat, their lives in England during and after the war and, while a few were amazingly lucky to reunite with their parents, their ultimate discovery that most of their families had perished in the concentration camps.  Berne offers the information in a well balanced, succinct, and lucid manner.  The writing is clear and concise, presenting the topic through both primary sources and narrative accounts.  The text is enhanced by the inclusion of black-and-white photographs and documents, and maps.  The book ends with a glossary, a timeline, a bibliography of books and Internet addresses, source notes, and an index.

Summary: This insightful book presents primary source information about the Holocaust.  Of the six million Jews killed by the Nazis, more than 1.5 million were children. The Kindertransport succeeded in rescuing nearly ten thousand children from the clutches of the Nazis.                     

Kindertransport, Holocaust-Jewish                                 -- Susan Ogintz

Hodge, Deborah. Rescuing the Children.

Hodge, Deborah.   Rescuing the Children.  Tundra Books  60p   $17.95    978-1-77049-256-9 2012  ms   E-BN        History     

This insightful book presents primary-source information about the Holocaust.  Of the six million Jews killed by the Nazis, more than 1.5 million were children.  The Kindertransport succeeded in rescuing nearly ten thousand children from the clutches of the Nazis.  It began after Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass, in November 1938, and lasted until the formal start of the war.  The idea of the Kindertransport was proposed by a delegation of British Jewish leaders and members of the Society of Friends who requested their government offer sanctuary to Jewish children under the age of seventeen. 

Well researched and well presented, Rescuing the Children provides an excellent look at one of mankind's darkest periods.  It begins with a brief explanation of the rise of Hitler and his plans to annihilate the Jewish people and discusses the Kindertransport through first-person accounts of eight still-living children who escaped.  The difficulties and struggles that these children experienced in leaving their families and going to a strange place are not minimized but explained in context.  The author continues with a description of the children’s trips by train and boat, their lives in England during and after the war, and their ultimate discovery that most of their families had perished in the concentration camps.  The book also contains brief biographies of several of the Righteous who helped these children.  Hodge offers the information in a well-balanced, succinct, and lucid manner.  The writing is clear and concise, presenting the topic through both primary sources and narrative accounts.  The text is enhanced by the inclusion of black-and-white photographs and documents, colorful quilted squares representing the children, and maps.  The book ends with a glossary, a timeline, a bibliography of books and Internet addresses, and an index.

Kindertransport                                             --Susan Ogintz