Common Sense Media Review
Powerful stories from young Holocaust victims.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
Among the Holocaust's millions of victims were many children and adolescents. Here, in their own words, are some of their powerful stories: vivid excerpts from the diaries of five Jewish teens, with concise commentary by Holocaust survivor Jacob Boas. The diarists come from different parts of Europe, yet they share common themes of hope, ambition, fear, and resilience.
Is It Any Good?
These sobering diaries show how the Nazi terror blankets Europe, touching the home countries of each teen. The records of the three who spend time in Jewish ghettos are especially harrowing. Though his comments may at first seem intrusive, Jacob Boas proves a trustworthy guide, filling in details that enrich the diaries and eloquently showing how the teens are united in life as well as in death.
Few Holocaust diaries are as finely observed, or offer the same narrative opportunities, as Anne Frank's. Yet reading excerpts from these five journals is a powerful reminder that every victim's story deserves to be known. Each of the teen writers reveals emotions that will resonate with readers: David's tenderheartedness, Yitzhak's idealism, Moshe's ambition, Eva's longing for her mother, Anne's desire for independence. They speak and act as adolescents do, yet the day-to-day events they chronicle grow increasingly horrifying.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the teen writers in We Are Winesses: Five Teenagers Who Died in the Holocaust. In what ways can you relate to them? How do their voices illuminate the Holocaust for you?
What did you learn about the Holocaust from We Are Witnesses? Does the history have more of an impact when told in the voices of teens who experienced it?
Do you keep a diary? How does it help you?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : History
- Topics : History
- Book type : Non-Fiction
- Publisher : Marshall Cavendish Corp.
- Publication date : January 1, 1995
- Number of pages : 196
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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