Franklin Watts ISBN 9781445150444 £12.99
What a really good idea – the stories of six survivors of the Holocaust told largely in their own words. It makes a moving testament to one of the most evil events of the Twentieth Century. The simple statement of such troubling times brings home the enormity of the event. Each of the six survivors brings a different aspect to the events of the Holocaust, helping to build up the ‘bigger picture’ of the times. The stories of Heinz, for example, who escaped Germany only to be interned in Britain, or Martin, who managed to get from Poland to England only to experience the Coventry Blitz, both bring a human perspective to the story.
Yet I was left feeling vaguely disappointed by the whole. The comic-book style illustrations seem to me to detract from the power of the story. Your attention is grabbed by the strong images, rather than what the six individuals have to say. At times the language is too complex for upper Key Stage 2, yet at other times the simplification of events reduces understanding of the grossness of the Holocaust. And the timeline isn’t a timeline, just a list of dates and events. The causes and events of the Holocaust are extremely complex and complicated – sometimes simplifying them doesn’t do the topic justice. Shame really, because the six stories together are a very moving testament to people and survival under extreme conditions.
Alf Wilkinson, The Historical Association
