Polak released the book What World Is Left in, The plot centers on Anneke Van Raalte's time in Theresienstadt during World War Two, The events that occurred in the book are the reallife experiences of Polaks Mother,
The book was a pleasure to read, Unlike other memoirs, this one had a bittersweet ending even though the war was over, there were still vivid recollections of it and a tremendous deal of loss.
To keep the reader interested, the author maintained the facts realistically, However, one minor drawback of the plot of the story is the lack of detail on political issues, For instance, not all readers will comprehend the reason Germany worked with the Danish,
Overall, What World Is Left is an intriguing book and is highly suggested, Although enthusiasts of historical fiction will undoubtedly find it appealing, this work is highly recommended to all readers, This book is a great read and resource for people who want to understand and learn about the Holocaust, The writing and material is lighter compared to other books I have read though the experiences and horror are no less, The voice of the story is very relatable and well done,
I really enjoyed this book, I felt like it didnt add parts to the actual individuals experiences to make it more “interesting” for lack of a better term.
There was no love story added in, only a relatable teen relationship/crush,
When reading you really feel what the individuals are feeling, You experience and share their fear and sorrow as you read along and experience their story,
This story had moments of violence and a few explicit scenes, such as sexual assault, murder, and cruelty, but it is mostly a story of experiences and survival.
The reader is in Anneks head and with her through her years in the camp, With that, there is a level of innocence, but also horror,
As I have noted, this story is on the “lighter” side in relation to violence and explicitness, Although, that is NOT to lighten or make less of her experiences, It is in some ways “easier” to read for those who want to learn and understand concentration camps and the Holocaust, but are sensitive to more intense accounts.
Great for young people, Monique Polaks new novel features Anneke, a young Jewish teenager, who is sent with her family to Theresienstadt Terezin, a concentration camp situated in what is now the Czech Republic.
In the Acknowledgements section, the reader learns that the authors mother, Celien Polak, had been a prisoner in Theresienstadt, She agreed to share her story with her daughter afteryears of silence and while the book is fiction, the author based many of the events on her mothers experiences.
Anneke is a privileged young girl growing up in the Netherlands, Now, having been rounded up by the Nazis, she and other Jews face the long and terrifying journey to the camps, The psychology around leaving her home is interesting, While Anneke loves her parents dearly, she cannot help but blame them for not leaving Holland when it was still possible for Jews to leave the country.
She feels betrayed and left to her own devices, Annekes father, an artist, is compelled to help with the Nazis propaganda campaign for Theresienstadt a choice he makes to keep his family as safe as he can.
The biggest fear for everyone is finding a strip of paper with ones name on it and the word “Included, ” This was the sign that you would be sent on a “transport” and the suspicions about what that really meant were felt by all.
Romance briefly finds its way into Annekes life in Theresienstadt, Handsome Franticek proclaims his love before stepping onto a “transport” and leaves her with his kisses and the leather strip he wears around his neck.
While even love can exist in the camp, theres nothing lovely about starvation, hard labour and brutality, However, despite the pain, Anneke does learn that she has what it takes to survive it all, While full of details of the horrors of a concentration camp, the novel is also full of hope as Anneke wishes to bear witness to all that she has experienced.
Polak also includes a useful list of websites concerning Terezin, the Jews of Holland and the Holocaust in general, This volume makes for great reading and an excellent
ed by Ann Shantz in Canadian Children's Book News
SpringVOL.
NO.It was a great book, I absolutely loved it. This is a hauntingly, heart gripping tale that was far from joyous to read however, it is such a beautiful story of strength, courage, and perseverance.
I don't read books like this because I enjoy them, It's impossible to enjoy the tales of these poor people, but I read them because they deserve to have their stories told.
I've never read a more beautiful book that shows the love of a family and what it takes to keep hope, Please read this book, it needs to have it's story told, and for the world to know another piece of World War Two.
Whenever I read a book like this it makes me thankful for what I have, and how much I take for granted.
I'm thankful for the people whom made it through this horrible piece of history and lived to tell their story to preserve history.
Het is indrukwekkend om te lezen hoe het leven jn Theresienstadt was, vooral het stuk over de verfraaiing, Zelf ben ik niet zon fan van de schrijfstijl, I have read the book What World is Left by Monique Polak, This book is about the life of a Jewish girl in WWII, She has to work everyday, She misses her old life very much, She learns how to live in a labor camp and is constantly scared that any one of her family members or friends will get a yellow slip of paper under their mattress.
Want to know what that yellow slip says Read the book!
I liked how the author was so detailed about everything.
Some people might find it annoying, but I kind of like it, Monique Polak uses really descriptive words, She never seems to write anything in past tense even thought this happen a long time ago, I think it makes it sound more interesting, I can relate to this book, I can relate because I am Jewish and I have studied WWII in Israel, I never knew some of the things I learned from this book, I liked it and I recommend it to anyone who likes historical fiction,
Monique Polak's mother was imprisoned in Theresienstadt a concentration camp in Czechoslovakia during WWII and she was inspired by her mother's experiences there.
This camp, like all the others, had way too many people for the size of it, This one was the site of a hoax the Nazi's planned to share with the rest of the world, They had a playground built, flowers planted, and days when visitors arrived to view it, they served food that none of the people held there had ever had before.
The Raalte family who were deported there inare just one of many families there, Because Anneke's dad is an artist, he was compelled to help in this hoax by helping the Nazi's with their plan,
Based on her own mothers experiences in Theresienstadt, Monique Polak delivers a chilling, heartbreaking view of life in a concentration camp through the eyes of a teenager.
Anneke Van Raalte and her family are non practicing members of the Jewish community in Holland, That doesnt stop them from being deported once the Nazis invade the Dutch country, Her fathers status as an artist manages to keep them safe during their internment by working for their captors but that doesnt mean they wont be subjected to the horrors that await those that the Germans deem undesirable.
Unlike other concentration camps, Theresienstadt is not a killing center, It is actually the camp the Nazis gussy up and use as propaganda to the world that theyre treating their prisoners well.
Trying to be strong becomes more and more difficult as time passes, Anneke sees and experiences things that invade her dreams and begin to break her, She doesnt agree with what her father is doing to keep them safe and it isnt until the Russians liberate them that she realizes the lengths her father went to that kept her entire family alive until the tanks rolled in.
Originally published in, this is a beautiful ode to the authors mother, As she states in her authors notes, we must listen to the stories of those that survived the Holocaust so that we never forget and never repeat the atrocities that were committed during WWII.
Because this is written from a teenagers perspective, I feel like it is easier to understand the feelings and emotions that drip from each page.
I havent read any stories that take place in Theresienstadt so this was a unique perspective for me, I highly recommend this for young adult audiences,
Thank you to NetGalley, Orca Book Publishers and Monique Polak for access to this story and a little bit of history that I didnt know much about.
A Child's View of Theresienstadt
Inspired by a true story this is the story of a young
girl, Anneke, coming of age in the German concentration camp Theresienstadt.
She was a happy pampered child living in Holland before the war, Her father drew cartoons for the newspaper, Her life was good and she was happy,
Inthat came to an end when the Nazi's invaded Holland and deported Anneke and her family to Theresienstadt, She learns to live the cruel life of hunger and work in the camp, She is more privileged than most as her father draws signs and pictures for the Nazi's in the camp which means the family is allowed to stay together.
Anneke is conflicted by her father's work and it causes her to question her father, The Nazi's are making a pretend model camp of Theresienstadt to fool the Danish Red Cross into thinking they are treating the people in the camp good which is not at all true.
So she cannot figure out why her father is helping them by drawing pictures and signs for them, As she experiences loss of friends and the cruelty in the camp she becomes cold toward her father, until she finds the other picture her father has drawn.
It is a picture of what it must have been like for a child to be uprooted from her home and all she knew and transported to the worse place on earth where hunger is so great that a rotten potato is a treat and a crust of bread can mean life or death.
It focuses on the hoax that the German's portrayed to the world in the camp of Theresienstadt and how they actually had the world believing their lies.
This was an interesting historical book written for young people so that they could understand this time in history, It was very sad in spots but not so violent that it would be too much for a child, I think that it would be a good book to explain the holocaust to childrenand older, I would recommend it.
Thanks to Monique Polak for writing the story , to Orca Book Publishers for publishing it , and to NetGalley for making it available to me.
ed by LadyJay for TeensReadToo, com
Anneke and her family live a privileged life in Amsterdam,
She and her brother go to school, wear fine clothes, and never want for anything, Their world is turned upside down after the Nazis take control of Holland, They are forced to wear yellow on their clothing, they must attend a Jewish school instead of their own, and, inevitably, are forced to relocate to Theresienstadt, a "model" concentration camp in Czechoslovakia.
Life is difficult in the camp, Every member of Anneke's family must work to stay alive, They face disease, hunger, and violence on a daily basis, Anneke works hard to maintain her dignity and pride while in the camp, but her will is constantly tested, She watches as her father, a celebrated cartoonist, is forced to create propaganda materials for the
Reich,
Anneke does not understand how her father can help the Nazis while they are suffering, His reasons are made apparent once the war has ended,
WHAT WORLD IS LEFT is a work of fiction inspired by true events, Polak's own mother spent a little over two years in the Theresienstadt camp, Many of the events in the novel were taken from stories that Polak's mother related to her, including the family's means of survival.
Polak's grandfather, a Dutch artist, created propaganda drawings for the Nazis, thereby securing their safety while in the camp,
Ms. Polak has taken great care in telling this story because it is so very personal, It is an excellent novel a great tale of overcoming adversity in a time of such dark despair,
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