Auschwitz Explained to My Child (Explained to My Child)

Rating:
Summary: Concise answers explained clearly
Review: "Auschwitz Explained to My Child" is an excellent starting point for explaining the Holocaust to an older child or an adult. This book is a quick read. It provides an overview of the concentration camps, the ghettos, and gives a very brief history of anti-Semitism. This is not a complete reference but does gives some basic answers to questions including: the difference between a concentration camp and a death camp; an overview of the census, roundups and deportations; information on why all the Jews could not flee Europe; a reference to the Jewish resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto; as well as a brief explanation of the ideology behind Hitler's "Final Solution". This is a great resource for young adults, people who want quick answers, or those who have a short attention span.

Rating:
Summary: Read first, then use some judgement
Review: A dialogue between a parent and an inquisitive and fairly sophisticated child, this book presents itself as a model for discussing the horrors of the Holocaust with older children. Fair enough. I personally did not care for the selective history exercised in several of the passages, including the only-in-passing reference to other groups persecuted ("20,000 gypsies" is all that is mentioned, when there were in reality millions of gypsies, Catholics, Communists, homosexuals, mentally & physically handicapped and others exterminated), and some stinging criticism of the rest of the world for passively ignoring the situation (omitting some of history's most courageous and altruistic efforts, such as the evacuation of the nation's Jews by the people of Denmark). Read carefully first, then use your own judgement about what to share and what to revise for your own children. Selective or revisionist history is, after all, what books like this are supposed to be fighting against.