My Survival: A Girl on Schindler’s List
By:
Rena Finder was only eleven when the Nazis forced her and her family—along with all the other Jewish families—into the ghetto in Krakow, Poland. Rena worked as a slave laborer with scarcely any food and watched as friends and family were sent away.
Then Rena and her mother ended up working for Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who employed Jewish prisoners in his factory and kept them fed and healthy. But Rena's nightmares were not over. She and her mother were deported to the concentration camp Auschwitz. With great cunning, it was Schindler who set out to help them escape. Here in her own words is Rena's gripping story of survival, perseverance, tragedy, and hope.
Black-and-white photographs.
ISBN: 9781338593792
JLG Release: Apr 2020
Sensitive Areas:
Violence: War/Harsh Realities of War
Topics:
Rena Finder (1929– )
, Oskar Schindler (1908–1974)
, Auschwitz (concentration camp)
, Jewish Holocaust (1939–1945)
, Holocaust survivors
, Rescue of Jews from Poland during World War II (1939–1945)
, Jewish children in the Holocaust
, Kraków, Poland
Praise & Reviews
Starred or favorable reviews have been received from these periodicals:
School Library Journal
School Library Journal
Rena Finder, a 90-year-old Holocaust survivor, challenges readers to “stand up for the innocent” in her remarkable memoir. The beloved daughter of a medical supply salesman in Poland, Rena spent her early years surrounded by her close-knit extended family. In 1939, the German army invaded Poland. Conditions for Rena and her family quickly deter Rena Finder, a 90-year-old Holocaust survivor, challenges readers to “stand up for the innocent” in her remarkable memoir. The beloved daughter of a medical supply salesman in Poland, Rena spent her early years surrounded by her close-knit extended family. In 1939, the German army invaded Poland. Conditions for Rena and her family quickly deteriorated as the Nazis placed increasing restrictions on members of the Jewish community, eventually sending them to the Krakow ghetto. Finder credits her wartime survival to Oskar Schindler, a businessman and member of the Nazi party, who was later immortalized in Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List. Despite his political affiliation, Schindler went to great lengths to protect Jewish workers at his factories. Finder openly depicts the horror of genocide: her grandparents being shot by the Nazis, the chilling murder of children at a Krakow orphanage, and the reality of the gas chambers at Auschwitz. The book is a quick read and has a significant amount of action. It will be an easy sell to reluctant readers, particularly because of the slim size. Family photographs unearthed from Finder’s childhood attic at the end of the war are included in the book. A good purchase for all libraries. An important reminder about the Holocaust, especially for reluctant readers or children with an interest in World War II literature.
Book Details
ISBN
9781338593792
First Release
April 2020
Genre
Nonfic
Dewey Classification
B
Trim Size
8 1/4" x 5 1/2"
Page Count
144
Accelerated Reader
Level 6.5; Points: 3;
Scholastic Reading Counts
N/ALexile
N/AFormat
Print Book
Edition
Hardcover edition
Publisher
Scholastic Press
Potentially Sensitive Areas
Violence: War/Harsh Realities of War
Topics
Rena Finder (1929– ), Oskar Schindler (1908–1974), Auschwitz (concentration camp), Jewish Holocaust (1939–1945), Holocaust survivors, Rescue of Jews from Poland during World War II (1939–1945), Jewish children in the Holocaust, Kraków, Poland,
