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A review by felinity
Surviving the Angel of Death by Eva Mozes Kor
4.0
4.5 stars
This may be targeted at older children, but adults will also gain from its reading. From the now-chilling phrase "we did not think it could happen to us" to the shocking propaganda films that I hadn't heard about ("How to Catch and Kill a Jew") Eva tells the story of two little girls in Romania, whose friends are turned against them and are eventually selected by Josef Mengele. In Auschwitz they begin to lose even more, and every day risk being chosen for some of the terrible experiments.
The story is told simply, in a child's words, and in a way this gives it greater impact. Auschwitz is not glossed over, but neither does she dwell on the horror; instead, she states the facts, including showing the humanity of some of the Germans, choosing to show more of what happened after they were liberated. They were taken away into yet another country, suffered nightmares and other losses, but with Eva I mourned the loss of her childhood as she recounted being given beautiful toys that she no longer knew how to play with.
Towards the end, she explains how she came to create a group for the survivors, and then a museum and education center, and then how she discovered the miraculous power of forgiveness, and how freeing it was *for the victims*.
It's an incredible story, and not a familiar one, but not one that will leave you shaking or weeping. Read it with your children. Talk about how things we see or hear aren't always true. Ask them how they would feel if they were taken away into a different country where they didn't speak the language, or if someone has ever been unkind to them. Show them how gradually, insidiously, things change if no-one ever says "no". And then talk to them about forgiveness.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This may be targeted at older children, but adults will also gain from its reading. From the now-chilling phrase "we did not think it could happen to us" to the shocking propaganda films that I hadn't heard about ("How to Catch and Kill a Jew") Eva tells the story of two little girls in Romania, whose friends are turned against them and are eventually selected by Josef Mengele. In Auschwitz they begin to lose even more, and every day risk being chosen for some of the terrible experiments.
The story is told simply, in a child's words, and in a way this gives it greater impact. Auschwitz is not glossed over, but neither does she dwell on the horror; instead, she states the facts, including showing the humanity of some of the Germans, choosing to show more of what happened after they were liberated. They were taken away into yet another country, suffered nightmares and other losses, but with Eva I mourned the loss of her childhood as she recounted being given beautiful toys that she no longer knew how to play with.
Towards the end, she explains how she came to create a group for the survivors, and then a museum and education center, and then how she discovered the miraculous power of forgiveness, and how freeing it was *for the victims*.
It's an incredible story, and not a familiar one, but not one that will leave you shaking or weeping. Read it with your children. Talk about how things we see or hear aren't always true. Ask them how they would feel if they were taken away into a different country where they didn't speak the language, or if someone has ever been unkind to them. Show them how gradually, insidiously, things change if no-one ever says "no". And then talk to them about forgiveness.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.