Understanding the Holocaust Reviews

Children of the Holocaust: ISBN 978-1-60152-838-4 / eBook: 978-1-60152-839-1
Hitler’s Final Solution: ISBN 978-1-60152-840-7 / eBook: 978-1-60152-841-4
Holocaust Survivors: ISBN 978-1-60152-848-3 / eBook: 978-1-60152-849-0
Holocaust Camps and Killing Centers: ISBN 978-1-60152-842-1 / eBook: 978-1-60152-843-8
Holocaust Rescue and Liberation: ISBN 978-1-60152-844-5 / eBook: 978-1-60152-845-2
Holocaust Resistance: ISBN 978-1-60152-846-9 / eBook: 978-1-60152-847-6
Nazi War Criminals: ISBN 978-1-60152-850-6 / eBook: 978-1-60152-851-3
Association of Jewish Libraries, May/June 2017

This excellent series on the Holocaust provides detailed and focused information about the subjects covered. Each book begins with a timeline of “Important Events of the Holocaust,” followed by an introduction describing the setting for the book’s topic. They continue with historically accurate details about the subject matter, an informative narrative supported by quotes from primary sources and substantive photographs. The back of each book contains “Source Notes,” short bios of “Important People,” a “Further Research” section listing appropriate Books, internet sources and websites, and a thorough index.

Well researched and documented, the information in each title is thought-provoking and educational. The specialized focus of each book allows for interesting and timely perspectives. The introductory chapter of Children of the Holocaust quotes Heinrich Himmler, from “a secret speech… in 1943, ‘I do not consider myself justified in eradicating the men…and allowing the avengers in the shape of the children to grow up for our sons and grandsons.’ In other words, mercy was to be shown to no Jew…not even the children.” The book goes on to describe how children were murdered, how they were rescued and the long-term consequences of this non-childhood on the survivors. Holocaust Resistance begins with a chapter entitled “The Myth of Passivity,” decrying the idea that Jews were led “like sheep to the slaughter,”followed by chapters describing the many ways Jews resisted the Nazis. Nazi War Criminals ends with, “We must be vigilant against all ideologies based on hatred and exclusion, whenever and wherever they appear.” —An accurate assessment for the continued need for these series.
Kathy Bloomfield, AJL-SSC President and Forwordsbooks.com, Washington, DC.

This is a rather precise summing up in seven slender volumes of a dire topic, the Holocaust, one that has dominated non-fiction literature for pre-teen and YA readers for almost half a century. Assuming that the reader will be most engaged in reading at the point where children enter this tragic story, that is where the author begins book 1, Children of the Holocaust, when she describes in a brief space what happened to children in that period of history and why. Once the reader is hooked, book 2, Hitler's Final Solution, becomes even more specific, covering the whole range of their imprisonment, when most perish and only if they are lucky, will they gain their ultimate liberty. Book 3, Holocaust Camps and Killing Centers, is the most dire. Things look much better in book 4, Holocaust Rescue and Liberation, and even better in book 5, Holocaust Resistance. Book 6, Holocaust Survivor, is, in its way, the most poignant. In it, people try to pick up the remnants of their lives, thank those who helped to save them, but live in a state of shock forever. One survivor put it that they had to learn how to “become human again.” The final volume in the series is Nazi War Criminals, with its difficult subject matter. Each book is a slender 80 pages and is generous with its photographic reproductions and also contains: source notes, names of important people, books for further research and an index. This is a highly recommended and useful set. It is intelligently written, well-organized, and is also respectful of the student’s intellect. It is both a good survey and serves also as a guide and introduction to this pivotal point in the world’s and the Jew’s history and travails.
Recommended for ages 11 – 16.
These seven volumes are a part of Reference Point Press's "Understanding the Holocaust" series;
Review by Marcia Weiss Posner

Hitler’s Final Solution: ISBN 978-1-60152-840-7 / eBook: 978-1-60152-841-4
Holocaust Survivors: ISBN 978-1-60152-848-3 / eBook: 978-1-60152-849-0
Holocaust Camps and Killing Centers: ISBN 978-1-60152-842-1 / eBook: 978-1-60152-843-8
Holocaust Rescue and Liberation: ISBN 978-1-60152-844-5 / eBook: 978-1-60152-845-2
Holocaust Resistance: ISBN 978-1-60152-846-9 / eBook: 978-1-60152-847-6
Children of the Holocaust: ISBN 978-1-60152-838-4 / eBook: 978-1-60152-839-1
Nazi War Criminals: ISBN 978-1-60152-850-6 / eBook: 978-1-60152-851-3
School Library Journal, November 1, 2015

Each volume in this series begins with the same two-page timeline. A brief introduction discusses the main issue, followed by chapters which elaborate various aspects. Each chapter has several images, making for a quick read. The images are repeated in other volumes. Quotations are often from secondary or tertiary sources. The series is thought-provoking and gripping, particularly the volumes dealing with children, resistance, the camps, and survivors. These are attractive books that are easy-to-read and hard to put down. The series is a valuable reference source as well. Bibliography. Index. Recommended
—Norman Desmarais, Acquisitions Librarian, Providence College, Providence, Rhode Island [Editor’s Note: Available in e-book format.]

Gr 8 Up Skillfully blending narrative and well-documented primary sources, these books provide superior coverage about the Holocaust. The high level of detail goes well beyond the standard, often-sensationalized recitation of evil leaders, methods, and numbers killed, describing how Adolf Hitler and the Nazis exploited Europe’s widespread anti-Semitism, creating a climate that quickly escalated from persecution to the destruction of most of Europe’s Jews. Books are text-dense, and authors fully develop topics, drawing on primary sources to give voice to Holocaust victims and survivors, the Nazis who crushed those who opposed them and their ideas, and the brave souls who risked everything to save Jewish lives. Sidebars, occasional photos, and maps supplement the writing. Those looking for research sources will find plenty of material in this set and will also gain a better understanding of how easily evil can overwhelm good and result in catastrophe. VERDICT An excellent addition to collections serving upper middle and high school students.

Understanding the Holocaust: Holocaust Survivors Reviews