s/o Holocaust Literature—alternative to Night

[Susan in KY]

Joane posted on the general board, asking if Night by Elie Wiesel was appropriate in high school.

 

I just wanted to post to let everyone know about All but My Life by Gerda Weissmann Klein as an alternative to Night.

 

I encourage everyone to go read the reviews on Amazon. This book is one of my favorite in all of Holocaust literature (I read a lot b/c my major in uni was Jewish history, and the Holocaust in particular). It is brilliantly written, portrays the history accurately, and I think is an excellent first hand account in that it doesn't leave the reader in the depths of the concentration camps. It walks out the gates, blesses life in the face of the horror that was all-consuming. I really think it should be a must-read on every high school reading list.

 

Here is a link to a

of Gerda Weissmann Klein at the Oscars, after a documentary based on her life won. Her part starts at about 1:30.

[Faithr]

Just as an aside, I taught religious ed to public school kids this past year, 7th grade girls. Two were in the PS GT program. Guess what they read in 7th grade? Yep, Night by Elie Wiesel. My jaw just about dropped. What are these teachers thinking??????

 

So glad I homeschool!

[regentrude]

Just as an aside, I taught religious ed to public school kids this past year, 7th grade girls. Two were in the PS GT program. Guess what they read in 7th grade? Yep, Night by Elie Wiesel. My jaw just about dropped. What are these teachers thinking??????

!

 

Just to put things into perspective:

I am from Germany, and kids there are taught about the holocaust much earlier and more thoroughly. In 8th grade we had a class field trip to a concentration camp.

 

regentrude

[Miss Marple]

In 8th grade we had a class field trip to a concentration camp.

 

I would think that would be a life changing experience! How I wish I could do that for my kids.

[Miss Marple]

Thanks for the suggestion. My boys read Night 2 years ago and I was looking for something else for this year (9th, 10th and 12th).

[Faithr]

I most definitely believe in learning about the Holocaust, just later in high school (though of course some info filters through before then). I see no reason to rush things and ruin childhood innocence. There is time enough to discover the unspeakable horror that adults have done to each other. And I guess I just have sensitive children because at age 12 they were not ready for such information. And the girls in my class, no matter how GT they might have been, in no way ever displayed being mature enough to tackle such difficult and troubling material.

 

I guess it's good Germany teaches about the Holocaust. It would be nice if they made homeschooling legal and didn't persecute those who wish to do so.

[Ester Maria]

A good, but often neglected one (neglected outside of Italy, that is) is Primo Levi's "If This is a Man". In my opinion it's suitable even for upper middle school - the point is that ANY book on the topic will be difficult, and I'd personally go not with the "least difficult" one (unless I have an extremely sensitive child - since I believe that it's healthy to be disturbed by such literature and I would not wish to deprive my children of that experience, no matter how bitter one), but with the "most culturally relevant" one in this case - so between Anne Frank's diary, Wiesel, Levi and others I suppose everyone might find the one they believe their children should read.

[Susan in KY]

...so between Anne Frank's diary, Wiesel, Levi and others I suppose everyone might find the one they believe their children should read.

 

I don't disagree with you wrt this! :) And, of course, Levi's book is a standard. HOWEVER, I think that All But My Life is phenomenal on so many levels.... She's also lived a long, productive life following the Holocaust—whereas Levi committed suicide. Her take, "Why did I make it? I was no better," drove her to live her life fully and in honor, whereas it drove Levi to despair. There's such a difference in the reaction to the horror.... Incidentally, I think the way Weissmann Klein draws you into her perspective, particularly that of a young lady, is doubly relevant to high school kids. FWIW, it's just a suggestion....

[Ester Maria]

I don't disagree with you wrt this! :) And, of course, Levi's book is a standard. HOWEVER, I think that All But My Life is phenomenal on so many levels.... She's also lived a long, productive life following the Holocaust—whereas Levi committed suicide. Her take, "Why did I make it? I was no better," drove her to live her life fully and in honor, whereas it drove Levi to despair. There's such a difference in the reaction to the horror.... Incidentally, I think the way Weissmann Klein draws you into her perspective, particularly that of a young lady, is doubly relevant to high school kids. FWIW, it's just a suggestion....

Sure, I got it. :) I'm sorry, maybe I misunderstood the topic, I thought it was more general in nature (that we should all add in suggestions), rather than a topic about a specific suggestion only - reading it back, I was probably wrong. So it wasn't me contradicting you or anything, just adding another example since it was incidentally on my mind today (I'm an Italian Jew so I suppose that for us Levi is more or less the "default" reading that we encounter in culture and educational system, though I plan to have my children read more).

 

Thanks for the suggestion of the reading in any case, nice to see that some diversity is being added amongst those few traditional choices that are usually taught.

[Amy in TX]

I have read and admired All But My Life. The author is indeed an amazing woman, and the book is a good choice for high school reading.

 

But I wanted to add a plug for Levi's work (and postwar life). His books on his Auschwitz experiences (US titles: Survival in Auschwitz and The Drowned and the Saved) deal thoughtfully and eloquently with the issue of survivor guilt.

 

I also highly, highly recommend his The Periodic Table, a collection of short stories about his life both before and after the war. Each story is related in some way to one of the elements. (It would make a good "living book" on chemistry.) Ingenious, humorous, heartbreaking, heartwarming.

 

BTW, it has not been proven that his death was a suicide. Wiki lists some of the arguments against, here:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primo_Levi

 

Again, not to disagree with All But My Life as high school reading, but to agree with Levi's works as additional good choices.

[asta]

My son read Hearing a Different Drummer by Benjamin Hirsch. He had the honor to meet him at the Atlanta Homeschool Expo at one point. My son said it was an excellent book, albeit one from a different perspective.

 

 

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[mcconnellboys]

Susan, I'd like to hear you also suggest some other related books that are not standard fare. We've already read ourselves out on Anne Frank and similar books. There's a lot out there that I haven't heard about....