Surviving Hitler: A Boy in the Nazi Death Camps

by Andrea Warren

Book Overview

The life-changing story of a young boy's struggle for survival in a Nazi-run concentration camp.

Narrated in the voice of Holocaust survivor Jack Mandelbaum, this harrowing true story includes black-and-white photos from the archives of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

When twelve-year-old Jack Mandelbaum is separated from his family and shipped off to the Blechhammer concentration camp, his life becomes a never-ending...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060007672
• ISBN13: 9780060007676
• Release Date: September 2002
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 7.2" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Great

I read this book in one night it was great enough said

Great read for youth and up

I read this book when i was 13. I hated school and books. I picked this book out in 8th grade and we had to read during study hour... And by the morning the book was done!!! I did not want to put it down. I now am an avid reader!!!

Surviving Hitler

Imagine urinating in the same cup you eat in. Imagine feeling fleas crawling all over you and sick people coughing on you. It doesn't exactly sound pleasant but that is the lifestyle the concentration camp prisoners had to go through. The book, Surviving Hitler, is a memorable and sad memoir that focuses on The Holocaust during World War 2. The book has a moving story, and a powerful message that has truly put a different perspective in my eyes on how crule people can be and how understanding people have to be. This book is about a boy named Jack, who is a very fortunate Jewish boy living in Europe. Jack and his family move in with his uncle who lives in a nearby town. Jack's father stayed behind to get organized and then he would meet up with them after. He had to close up his shop, sell his place, and pack up the big furniture. Unfortunately, before he could meet his family he was put into a concentration camp. Three years later Jack is working and supporting his mom and little brother while his sister, Jadiza, goes to their Aunt and Uncles house to help them with aetheir new baby. Hitler's soldiers invade the town they are living in and later group all the Jewish families into the town square to send them to concentration camps. Jack gets separated from his family and starts a whole different life in the concentration camps. He learns to survive on his own and take what he can get. It is a very rough experience for him, and you have to read the book to see the outcome. I really enjoyed how the author put black and white photographs in this sad but true story because it really helps you imaging the living conditions back then. The structure of the book is not terribly long, making it an easy read. What I truly love about this book is that the author is always keeping you on your toes and never drags on about one topic. This book sends out a powerful message that I never truly understood until I finished he novel. It taught me to never take anything for granted and to enjoy every moment possible. Of course I forget this message a lot and I do take a lot for granted but when in doubt I always try to remember this book. Jack also gets a message out of his experience in the concentration camps. He learns to live life to its fullest and try to help as many people as he can but still be cautious of his own well being. "Three years as a teenager in the death camps he survived through courage, luck, help from others, and sheer will. Like all survivors, he has much to teach us about bravery and self reliance, and about history and the lessons of the Holocaust." Surviving Hitler is a very moving book that can really make people change some of their views of the world. In my opinion Surviving Hitler is one of the best books I've ever read. Not only has it intrigued me to know more about the Holocaust, it has actually interested me a little more in history in general. I would defiantly recommend this book and hope that the next pe

As An Adult Reading This Book...

I found this book to be a good starting place for a middle school aged student to begin learning of the Holocaust. I think this is a very difficult subject for young kids to even grasp but they do need to start somewhere after they have read the assigned 'Diary Of Anne Frank' in school. I bought this book for my 14 year old to read as his class is studying WWII this semester and he has an interest in learning more outside of what is being discussed in class. I am buying another copy of this book to be donated to our middle school library.

Great- from a teacher's view point

I teach 4th grade and believe in being honest with my kids. In order to understand the world they live in, they need to understand past events. History has a way of repeating itself. My kids were very interested in the this aspect of WWII after reading Number the Stars. This biography is a neat tie-in to the historical fictional piece.

wonderful and disturbing book

It's very hard for me to read anything about the Holocaust but I needed to make sure this book was appropriate for my young daughter. I try to keep her protected from the worlds horrors as much as possible since she's only 10 but she wanted to read this book. It is entirely appropriate for her age and I'm glad she'll know about the atrocities that happened so long ago and I hope as she grows up she'll fight for human rights.

Utterly honest

This book follows a young man readers can relate to as he endures the terror of being rounded up, of being ripped from his family and then surviving in a death camp. You can smell it, you can understand his fear, you can feel his bewildered relief at surviving. Much of what is depicted is stark and painful, although it is written clearly and without sensationalism (really, the events are so sensational, they don't need to be amplified.) Even as an adult, I got a visceral, gut-wrenching feel for this boy's experience. I recommend parents read this along with their child and be prepared for important discussions. Lest I scare someone off, let me clarify that it is not too harsh for a pre-teen or teen reader. It's just bound to bring up strong feelings and discussion-inspiring questions.