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Os encariñaréis con Dita y no podréis evitar querer descubrir qué será de ella y de muchas de las personas con las que se cruza. Lo único que me faltó fue adentrarnos mejor en determinados acontecimientos, aunque puedo entender que era complicado condensar tantas cosas en una novela gráfica. There were so many mature and graphic themes as you would expect. This is an important book for young adults to get them aware and ready for novels that describe how young people like them survived and persevered against all odds.
Dita and her family are in the concentration camp of Auschwitz. Where thousands of innocent lives are taken every day, horrific experiments are done on children, families are ripped apart, they are forced to live like cattle, fighting for beds with barely any food. It's horrific and really is quiet difficult to read. But it was a reality which makes it all the more raw and gut wrenching. I want to read the book to learn more about this decoy family camp that she lived in. I will say the comment that Mengele said was so horrifying and it's not the worst of what they did and there were images that would need to be explained cause gassing and mass genocide seem like content for fiction not real life. I saw documentaries and read books in school but it hurt to know that this was happening and that this is what we can do to each other cause we don't practice the same religion or look the same.
The librarian of Auschwitz
After reading some classic Holocaust novels such as Night| by Elie Wiesel and the classic The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank or even great young adults novels such as The Edelweiss Express, or the amazing The Book Thief.
Violence: Nazis beat men, women, and children; deaths due to illness and starvation; constant fear and threats from soldiers and Nazi doctor (Mengele) A book is like a trapdoor that leads to a secret attic; you can open it and go inside. And your world is different” Who knew that a family unit existed at Birkeneau? For what purpose would such a unit exist??? In an environment in which people are being killed daily and survival rate is low, unit 31 provided at least a small portion of the prisoners with a moment to disconnect with their reality. Books - a contraband punishable by death - are used to teach the children in unit 31, to escape the harsh reality and feel a sense of normalcy. Dita, a 14-year-old girl, arrives at the family compound and is given the risky yet prestigious job as librarian at the secret school. The SS are unaware of the library's existence so everyday brings the risk of discovery; yet Dita would have it no other way. To her, books are a saviour and a reason to keep fighting and living.Dita, as she is called for much of the novel, is living with her parents in Czechoslovakia when WWII starts. Eventually the family is restricted in movement and then deported. Once in Auschwitz, Dita becomes a librarian helping out with lending books out to people, a form of resistance. This graphic novel is the same story as the novel by the same name and written by Antonio Iturbe, so I'm not going to summarize it again. Suffice it to say it is the story of teenage Dita Adlerova, who was first sent to the Theresienstadt ghetto in Czechoslovakia with her parents and other Jews, and who were all later transferred to Auschwitz-Birkenau. There, they were living in a separate area of Birkenau, called BIIb and referred to as the Theresienstadt Family Camp. These Jewish prisoners were allowed to keep their clothing and their hair wasn't shaved, though living conditions were still as deplorable as in other parts of Auschwitz. If you haven't read the novel, you can read what I originally wrote HERE. The novel is a big book but one that is totally worth spending time with, IMHO. Families can talk about the strong bonds between parents and children that are part of The Librarian of Auschwitz. Can you imagine you and your family going through what Dita and her parents experienced? Like Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, it’s a sophisticated novel with mature themes, delivering an emotionally searing reading experience. An important novel that will stand with other powerful testaments from the Holocaust era." — Booklist, starred review, on The Librarian of Auschwitz
I'm not sure why this is considered a teen book--it is as intense as any I have read on this time period. Bearing that in mind, I'm not sure how a lot of kids would respond to reading it. Please do a thorough review with the Common Sense Media information, especially the violence section, before having your child read it. It's definitely not for the middle school crowd; mature high schoolers will probably be okay with it and be able to take away the overall message without being overwhelmed by human's cruelty to other humans. THE LIBRARIAN OF Auschwitz is a very poignant, raw, and thought provoking read, it's an atmospheric and powerful read. The Librarian of Auschwitz is based on a true story. I had not heard of Dita Kraus prior to reading this graphic novel. I love that this was based on a true story of an unsung teen hero. Dita was courageous in the face of real danger and threat to her life. She was afraid, but she didn’t let her fear control her actions. In the most violent and terrifying times, there will be people of all ages who show great courage and compassion and are willing to sacrifice themselves for others.however, i found the story of dita to be very encouraging. as a fellow bookworm, its quite heartening to read about how books were the source of her courage, inspiration, and escape. i thought the epilogue, author postscript, and 'what happened to…' sections at the end were highly redeeming, so much so that i feel justified enough to round up my rating. these sections are the personalisation and connection i so desperately needed to these people and story, so it is a shame that it came so late in the book. Thank you to Tracy at Compulsive Readers Tours for this copy which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily. Dita Strauss was a mere fourteen years old when she and her parents arrived at Auschwitz. They were assigned to the family camp and as all were assigned to work, Dita went to work in the school. There she meets Freddy Hirsch, the Jewish leader in charge of the children of Auschwitz. He gives her an assignment. She is to be the protector of books that have been hidden. Dita is only fourteen and yet she strives to do her job as the books are a link to a world of sanity. She secrets the books away as she carries them to others. A book is like a trapdoor that leads to a secret attic: You can open it and go inside. And your world is different.” The narrative closely follows Dita Kraus, a 14 year old girl in the Auschwitz family camp and her experiences as the keeper and protector of eight forbidden books. I was interested that one of them was a history text by H.G. Wells, as I have been cataloguing a large collection of Wells’ writing during my work hours. I was also glad to see that they had several people that they designated as “living books” because they could tell certain stories (one woman could recount The Count of Monte Cristo). The concept of living books has recently been used at our city’s public library, so I was thrilled to see an example of the history of the practice.
This story needs to be known because it’s one of survival amongst such evil, as well as an amazing feat of triumph despite the astronomical losses. Adults wear themselves out pointlessly searching for a joy they never find. But in children, it bursts out of every pore.” The strongest athlete isn’t the one who finishes first. That athlete is the fastest. The strongest athlete is the one who gets up again every time he falls, the one who doesn’t stop when he feels a pain in his side, the one who doesn’t abandon the race, no matter how far away the finish line is. That runner is a winner whenever he reaches the finish line, even if he comes in last.”Como estive em Auswichtz há 2 semanas, ainda o livro me tocou mais porque consegui visualizar tudo o que era descrito. Although prisoners were only considered children until the age of 14, Fredy succeeded in getting those between the age of 14-16 designated as “assistants”, doing all types of work from sweeping the floor or helping with the distribution of the daily soup.
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