Hidden from the Holocaust : Stories of Resilient Children Who Survived and Thrived

Rating:
Summary: A review of Hidden from the Holocaust by Dr Kerry Bluglass
Review: A moving and well-researched testimony to the courage and fortitude of the forgotten children who, although saved from the camps, suffered because they were Jews. The people interviewed tell, in a matter-of-fact way, of their experiences as hidden children and how they have fared since. They often pay tribute to the courage and care of their 'hiding families' with whom many have remained in contact. One survivor, Henry Birnbaum, says that what stays with him is the "funny mixture" of stretches of boredom interspersed with extreme terror.

Dr Bluglass concludes with a sensitive appraisal of the after-effects on the survivors. She suggests that the reason they have all thrived could be that they either came from secure and loving families, or were nurtured by their 'hiding families'. Later they also came to understand more fully why their birth families had had to give them up.

A rewarding and highly recommended read which, perhaps surprisingly in view of the subject, leaves one with a sense of hope.

Rating:
Summary: Most Telling Perspective
Review: I've read many books by and about Holocaust survivors, and have found that those told "in their own words" to be the most immediate and telling. What differentiates this book from many others is that it adds the singular perspective of how each survivor adjusted to a new world that offered not dire, but significant ordinary challenges.