Smoke And Ashes

Smoke and Ashes

An account of the tragic fate of the six million Jews killed during the Holocaust is set against a chronicle of the roots of Nazi anti-Semitism, Hitler's rise to power, World War II, and the Nazi program of extermination From Publishers Weekly Aimed at the same age group as Miriam Chaikin's recent A Nightmare in History, this book also examines Hitler's rise to power in the context of long-standing anti-Semitism, and the devastation and horror wrought by his policies of imprisoning and exterminating the Jews. Whereas Chaikin moved readers by fleshing out stories of individuals, Rogasky elicits considerable power from an unexpected sourcestatistics and lists, and the cold-blooded notations of officers carrying out their duties: "3208 people had to be transported three miles before they could be liquidated. . . . " She compares the numbers and aspects of other holocauststhose suffered by American Indians, Armenians, etc.to implore readers to understand what made this Holocaust unique. Other areas of focus include the late, inadequate response of the United States and United Kingdom, and the rise of anti-Semitism in the '80s. Most compelling is the attention given to rebellion and resistance by Jews; it stuns the imagination to read of the man who leaped from a body-filled pit to tear out the throat of an SS commander with his teeth. Perhaps the saddest statistic is the one revealing that many were too weak to live even when liberated. "In the areas freed by the Americans, French and British, 60,000 Jews were found alive. Within one week, 20,000 had died." Black-and-white photos from archival collections, documents and maps give this volume accessibility, and add to the tragic mood that pervades each set of sobering numbers. Ages 11-up. Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. From School Library Journal Grade 6 Up Rogasky's graphic and moving chronicle of 20th-Century genocide in the western world tackles enormous questions of ethics, values, and history. She begins with an analysis of the roots of anti-Semitism, and sketches in how Hitler came to power. Then Rogasky details the dark horror of Nazismfrom the beginning pogroms the Nazis organized against German Jews to the setting up of concentration camps and death factories. She utilizes many primary sourcespersonal narratives of victims and survivors and the records left by the Nazisto tell the story of mass murder. In clear and simple prose, she relates how the Jews lived and died in the camps, how they fought and prayed, how a few escaped, and how a small number of non-Jews helped them in their struggle. She concludes with an account of the Nuremburg Trials and the many instances of contemporary anti-Semitism that have outlived Hitler. Black-and-white photosmany of them vivid reminders of the genocideunderscore the dark events described. Milton Meltzer's Never to Forget (Harper, 1976) remains the best narrative account of the Holocaust for older children and teenagers, but because of the pictures here and the accessibility of Rogasky's text, Smoke and Ashes is highly recommended. One Holocaust survivor stated, ``There is only one thing worse than Auschwitz itself, and that is if the world forgets there was such a place.'' Young readers of this book won't forget. Jack Forman, Mesa College Library, San DiegoCopyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.