Anne Frank and the Children of the Holocaust

Reviewed by Anne Marie Medema (age 12) for Reader Views (2/08) I am impressed that the author Carol Ann Lee has been interested in Anne Frank since she was 6-years-old. Carol Ann Lee has a unique ability to bring the Holocaust and the main character of Anne Frank to life. Carol Ann Lee has lived in Amsterdam, a town where portions of the Holocaust took place. Thus, she was probably able to thoroughly research and to visit the places where the holocaust took place. I have read some of Carol Ann Lee's other books and she is very good with descriptions of characters, settings and places. She also adds historical information about the Holocaust in the back of the book. Some of the things she adds are interesting statistics about the Jewish population before and after the war. Maps showing the areas where the Nazi's controlled Europe are also given along with locations of the death and concentration camps. All these references helped me to link together the chain of events occurring during the Holocaust. This book includes references of the diary of Anne Frank. The areas which the diary does not include, Carol Ann Lee covers by putting it into her own diary as if she were Anne Frank hiding. Carol Ann Lee also talks about other children who lived during the Holocaust and whose lives were affected by the Holocaust. The mentally and physically abused were used as experiments or were put to death. In some cases the women that were mentally and physically wronged were deprived of having children because the Nazi's only wanted purebred healthy children. The anti-Nazi children were normally hidden or if discovered by the Nazi's were killed or died while working for the Nazi's. The Nazi children at the age of 14-years were enrolled in Nazi Youth. Nazi Youth is where they would learn what is wrong with the Jews. Anne Frank died three weeks before the allies liberated the death camp Auschwitz. Her father was the only family member that survived the Holocaust. Meip Gross is the woman who hid the Frank family for over two years and she found Anne's diary. She hoped that Anne Frank would still be alive so she could hand back the diary to Anne. Sadly Meip Gross was only able to hand back the diary to Anne's father Otto Frank. This is one of the most heartbreaking books I have ever read because of what the Nazi's did to poor, innocent children. It is also interesting to see what actually happened during the Holocaust. You would definitely want to read this book because it is realistic. If you love history I would recommend that you read this book because it educates the reader about the Holocaust and Anne Frank. Carol Ann Lee makes this story come alive by detailed pictures and words. Dive into "Anne Frank and the Children of the Holocaust" and discover how fortunate we all are to live freely in a country.

Unfortunately, so many students today get their entire knowledge about the Holocaust entirely from Anne Frank's diary. With this book by Carol Anne Lee, students will get some of the background necessary to understand this event in history as well as Anne's diary. Using other materials to document the historical background and to give a different view of events that actually happened, gives a clearer picture of Anne and the events that occurred. The book does give a clearer picture of Margot than we get from Anne's book. This helps explain some of Anne's feelings towards her sister when the actual diary is read. This is not a substitute for Anne's diary; but a supplement to it. If a teacher had to choose one book to use to teach about the Holocaust, this would be an excellent choice.

Carol Ann Lee has made a bit of a career writing books on Anne Frank and the Frank family. As someone who considers himself a bit of an amateur Anne Frank scholar himself, I can respect this. Fortunately, Ms. Lee is a very engaging writer and does an excellent job with her material. This time around, Ms. Lee uses the story of Anne and her family as a way to delve a bit more deeply into the events of the Nazi era. She sketches out Anne's story again but she also writes more about the anti-Jewish laws, the experience of the occupied countries and the function of the transit camps, concentration camps and death camps. She also reaches further outside of the Frank's experience to pull in diaries, memoirs and interviews from other young people who lived (and died) during this period. Anne's diary remains one of the most powerful written expressions to survive that time but the use of this other material adds a different flavor to the prose. In some ways, it deepens the impact to hear the experiences of others in counterpoint to Anne's. Which brings me back to a question I often ask myself: why bother with these biographies of Anne when her diary is such a strong document? Ms. Lee answers that question well with this book. Scholars today can help fill in the gaps not covered in Anne's diary and add color to her experience by highlighting it with other documents from the time. When the resulting book is as well-written and user friendly as Ms. Lee's, it makes fine additional reading once Anne's diary has been experienced.

Most people are familiar with Anne Frank's story, but in this book the author has added additional information about other children and teenagers who suffered during the Holocaust. Lee does not shy away from the graphic details of everyday life in hiding, during the transports, and in the concentration camps. She describes the fear and horror of those times, but refrains from giving the reader more information than is age appropriate. The bibliography is extensive, including standard Holocaust history books as well as interviews and unpublished memoirs. Sources of quotes are not always clear; a timeline and map would have been useful. Literature for young adults often concludes with a hopeful note, in spite of overwhelming problems. A quote from Anne's diary ends this book: "I want to go on living, even after my death!" The author paints a picture of friendship, bravery, loyalty, and fortitude. She demonstrates why Anne's diary is a symbol of ultimate victory over evil. Books like this will ensure that the one and a half million children who died in the Holocaust will not be forgotten. For those who question whether we need yet another book about Anne Frank, the answer is: decidedly yes. For ages 12 and up. Reviewed by Anne Dublin