We Are Their Voice: Young People Respond to the Holocaust

by Kathy Kacer

Overview

Do young people today find meaning in the Holocaust? That’s the question that prompted a writing project across North America, Italy, and Australia asking young people to share their ideas about this time in history. Some students wrote short stories. Some discussed the impact of books they had read and wrote about the messages that they understood from these books. Several interviewed survivors and recorded their impressions. Many talked about how they have tried to make sense of this history in the world in which they now live. Others created works of art. Children wrote from their hearts with sensitivity, thoughtfulness, and great insight. Their teachers saw this opportunity as a gift, and it proves to all that young people can make a meaningful connection to the Holocaust. Their contributions give hope for a more peaceful and tolerant future.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781926920986
Publisher:	Second Story Press
Publication date:	09/15/2012
Series:	Holocaust Remembrance Series for Young Readers , #13
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	232
File size:	7 MB
Age Range:	9 - 13 Years

About the Author

Kathy Kacer’s books have won a number of awards, including the Silver Birch and the Jewish Book Award. A former psychologist, Kathy now travels the globe speaking to children and adults about the importance of keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive. Kathy lives in Toronto with her family.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Foreword 4

What is Happening to Us? 7

Can We Stay Together? 23

Where Will We Hide? 40

The Fear Is Overwhelming! 50

The Goodness of Some 61

Hot Everyone Is Willing to Help 85

How Will We Ever Survive? 99

It Gomes Down to Luck 117

We Have to Have Hope 127

Looking for Justice 151

Fighting Back 166

We Are Their Voice 174

Putting Words into Actions 195

Glossary 211

References 222

Members of the Panel 225

Participating Schools 229

Acknowledgments 231

Editorial Reviews

"The question, Do young people find meaning in the Holocaust? prompted a writing project in Canada, the United States, Australia, and Italy that generated responses from sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students, both Jewish and Gentile. In a collection of essays, stories, letters, poems, and drawings, they lend their voices in ways that go beyond expectations."

Association of Jewish Libraries, Reviews - Barbara Krasner

"On the back cover of the book the question Do young people find meaning in the Holocaust? is asked. This collection of writings, as well as all the other pieces submitted in response to the project, shows us emphatically that they most certainly do."

The London Jewish Community News

"Journal entries, letters, drawings, and descriptive passages created by students throughout Canada, with some added entries from other countries as well, are brief but thoughtful, showing clarity of feeling and understanding of the role of memory in giving meaning to sacrificed lives."

Booklist

"These students' reactions help to make this piece of history come alive for young readers. Their interpretations may help other middle school students clarify their own understanding of the Holocaust, with the hope that history might never repeat itself."

The Fall Book Review - Marge McCormick

"The volume, edited by Kathy Kacer, describes the impact of the Holocaust on the lives of the children, each entry marked by a determination to speak for those whose voices were stilled and to confront a painful past with hope and compassion."

Hadassah Magazine

"These child-authored stories are testimonies to the skill of each author to place himself or herself in the minds of Holocaust survivors."

The CJN

The volume, edited by Kathy Kacer, describes the impact of the Holocaust on the lives of the children, each entry marked by a determination to speak for those whose voices were stilled and to confront a painful past with hope and compassion.

From the Publisher

Gr 7 Up—Useful to both students and educators alike, this volume is a compilation of present-day students' responses to the Holocaust. It includes imagined diary entries, reflections on archival photographs, artwork by students, letters to relevant figures such as Anne Frank, and, finally, the retelling of stories told by Holocaust survivors. These original student works are organized by topic, such as Hope. Each chapter is framed by an informative introduction that delivers context while also providing factual anecdotes. At times, the students' writings become historically impossible, but excellent editing points out the anachronisms and allows the synthesis of the time to be interesting rather than distracting. Finally, a glossary and reference list are easily accessible and provide fluid recommendations for further reading. This is an innovative way to have young people process and respond to historical events.—Maura Bisogni, Pratt Institute, New York City

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