I Will Plant You a Lilac Tree: A Memoir of a Schindler's List Survivor

by Laura Hillman

Book Overview

"HANNELORE, YOUR PAPA IS DEAD." In the spring of 1942 Hannelore received a letter from Mama at her school in Berlin, Germany--Papa had been arrested and taken to a concentration camp. Six weeks later he was sent home; ashes in an urn. Soon another letter arrived. "The Gestapo has notified your brothers and me that we are to be deported to the East--whatever that means." Hannelore knew: labor camps, starvation, beatings...How could Mama and her two...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0689869800
• ISBN13: 9780689869808
• Release Date: June 2005
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.0" x 7.0"
• Age Range: 13 years and up
• Grade Range: Grades 8 to 12

Customer Reviews

A Moving Story

This is the first-person account of Hannelore Wolff, a survivor of Nazi death camps and a Jew on Schindler's List. The story chronicles Hannelore's time when she leaves safety to accompany her mother and brothers to first a Jewish ghetto and then to a concentration camp in an effort to keep the family together. Hannelore then spends the next three years living day to day as she survives the disease, death, and horrors of the Holocaust. Her story is by turns one of luck, faith, and perseverance as she ultimately finds herself on Oskar Schindler's famous list and thus brought to the relative safety of his factory. Along the way Hannelore meets and falls in love with her future husband, Dick. Mrs. Hillman gives us a chilling account of a desperate time and helps us all to remember those who should not be forgotten. A tremendous story that will touch you deeply. Highly recommended.

Powerful Memoir

This is a must read for any high school or middle schooler learning about the Holocaust. Hannelore is a strong young woman who survives against all odds. I had a hard time putting it down until the end.

best book ever

I read this book for a book report for my reading class. It was awesome! The gripping plot keeps you craving for more. I loved it! I would reccomend this book to anyone who ebjoys reading about the Holocaust. Another book like this is Daniel's Story.

A woman's struggle to survive Nazi concentration camps

Laura Hillman's memoir of a Schindler's list survivor takes the form of a first-person account and tells of one Hannalore, who receives notice her family is being deported to a concentration camp, and who leaves safety to join them so they can be together. When Hannalore meets and falls in love with Polish POW Dick Hillman, they look to Oskar Schindler to survive: an effort which may well prove impossible. Specifically written for young readers, I Will Plant You A Lilac Tree is a gripping first-person account of one woman's struggle to survive Nazi concentration camps.