Parents often ask what they can give their middle school children to read about the Holocaust. They want to their children to be informed and inspired but not frightened, not horrified, by an event that in essence is both frightening and horrifying. No one wants to have their children waking up in the middle of the night by nightmares.
Scholastic Publishers has now produced a series of books written by Joshua M. Greene telling the story of young girls and women who went through the Holocaust. Each is inspiring in its own right; the series itself is worthy of attention.
Greene has chosen his subjects carefully. One book in the series, which he co-wrote with the survivor, tells the story of Renee Hartman, the only hearing member of her family, who ended up going through concentration camps with her deaf sisters, responsible not only for her own survival but her sisters’ as well, doubly endangered as a Jew and as hearing-impaired. Recently, Marlee Matlin announced that she will be making a film of this moving work.
Greene retold the story of Vladka Meed, the nom de guerre of a young Jewish woman, Feigele Peltel, who lived on both sides of the Warsaw Ghetto wall as an arms merchant purchasing vitally important arms for the ghetto fighters. She was stuck on the Aryan side of the wall as the fighters she had armed fought unto their last breath. She lived to tell the story, but something deep within her remained with them.
Another book, the story of Rena Finder, also co-written with the survivor, tells the story of Rena’s survival on Schindler’s List. Even though its intended readers presumably have not yet seen the classic film released some 31 years ago, either because they are too young or because even a canonical film is ancient history after three decades, the evocation of Schindler’s List means that the reader expects to grapple with the Krakow Ghetto, the Plaszow Concentration Camp and the Jewish workers who staffed Schindler’s factory. The cultural influence of the film is so great that the factory has become an indispensable stop on a visit to Krakow for all visitors, Jews and non-Jew alike. Greene and Finder make this story accessible, meaningful, powerful and inspiring for middle school readers who can identify with Rena.
His latest book tells the story of Celia Cimmer (Kassow) and her family from their prewar life to ghetto and then her escape. A gentile teenage boy snuck into the ghetto with the goal of rescuing her and bringing her to his family farm to live. Teenage readers might wonder: Is this mere gallantry and decency or did he have a boyhood crush on a pretty young girl – or both. Greene leaves the issue dangling. And yet bringing a Jewish girl home to his Polish Christian family was extremely risky, as Poles could be killed for hiding Jews. The reward for turning a Jew in to the Gestapo was so great that friends might turn against friends. Despite all the boy’s good intentions, as the occupying forces kept coming to the farm Celia was forced to live in a hole dug under the barn. She lived in darkness. Her companions were rats. Her situation became even more dangerous when her younger sister Slava escaped the ghetto’s liquidation, implored by her dying mother to join her sister in hiding. Two now lived in the hole, coming up for air only in darkness. The forest became their only option – they were most fortunate that the ghetto was located near a forest, as urban ghetto inhabitants had no such escape route. First Celia’s sister came to the woods where she joined her brothers, who were apparently so good a fighting team that they could protect a preteen sister and soon Celia joined her. Celia became a daring resistance fighter, of necessity learning to pull her weight in order to survive.
Greene tells a complex story without being complex. Terms are introduced. Historical events are explained. He presumes that the story is of such import that the reader will welcome the historical background allowing them to understand more. His prose is sparse, avoiding the dramatic and the cliché but allowing the drama of the situation to engage the reader.
He relies on Celia’s testimony given more than four decades ago to the Fortunoff Archives at Yale University just as the now “ancient” VHS technology became available. And he was aided by Celia’s son, the brilliant historian of the Warsaw Ghetto Samuel Kassow.
Greene’s scholastic series is a wonderful way to engage young readers. One welcomes what we have and the greatest compliment that one can give to a writer of books for young readers: “More” — please!
Michael Berenbaum is director of the Sigi Ziering Institute and a professor of Jewish Studies at American Jewish University.
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