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4.18 AVERAGE
4.18 AVERAGE
A deeper look into Anne Frank's last months after being snitched, as told by the women who last met her family. A heartbreaking, baffling look into life in the concentration camps. Don't know how to classify a book like this. A hard but essential read to remind ourselves of the horrendous acts that took place, and ended only 70 years ago.
This is an extremely harrowing read, I was actually quite shocked when I read that it was actually aimed at young readers. It tells the story of six women who knew Anne Frank in the months after she and her family were taken from their hiding place.
I have seen a couple of reviews that say the title is misleading, I sort of understand that. At first you assume that the book is going to be a chronological narrative of what happened to Anne in that time. Of course, if such material existed, it would have been published well before this books was (in 1988). But what it does do is give you a flavour of the live Anne and her sister must have had before they died - the horrible situations, the fear, the suffering... as you read this you realise that these people were treated in a horrific and dehumanising way.
Of the six stories, the one that sticks out most in my mind is tha second, the story told by Janny Brandes-Brilleslijper. She recalls times where she had to cut people's toes off because they had frostbite, that they used to hold secret meetings by the corpse pits at night because even the Germans woulnd't go there. The fact that it you owned a spoon you were considered rich.
I do not know how I would cope in this situation. Many of the accounts refer to an electrified fence around the camp, which some people would walk into to their deaths rather than face the gas chambers. That the corpses would be left there to remind others that the fence was electrified.
We don't learn much more about the individual stort of Anne and her family, but we do end up with an impicit understanding about how awful their lives (and indeed deaths) must have been. I would urge people to read this book - everyone must understand some of the things that happened in the lifetimes of our Grandparents, because by knowing hopefully it will never happen again.
A good companion book to the original Diary.
I have seen a couple of reviews that say the title is misleading, I sort of understand that. At first you assume that the book is going to be a chronological narrative of what happened to Anne in that time. Of course, if such material existed, it would have been published well before this books was (in 1988). But what it does do is give you a flavour of the live Anne and her sister must have had before they died - the horrible situations, the fear, the suffering... as you read this you realise that these people were treated in a horrific and dehumanising way.
Of the six stories, the one that sticks out most in my mind is tha second, the story told by Janny Brandes-Brilleslijper. She recalls times where she had to cut people's toes off because they had frostbite, that they used to hold secret meetings by the corpse pits at night because even the Germans woulnd't go there. The fact that it you owned a spoon you were considered rich.
I do not know how I would cope in this situation. Many of the accounts refer to an electrified fence around the camp, which some people would walk into to their deaths rather than face the gas chambers. That the corpses would be left there to remind others that the fence was electrified.
We don't learn much more about the individual stort of Anne and her family, but we do end up with an impicit understanding about how awful their lives (and indeed deaths) must have been. I would urge people to read this book - everyone must understand some of the things that happened in the lifetimes of our Grandparents, because by knowing hopefully it will never happen again.
A good companion book to the original Diary.
No matter how much I read about WWII it's so hard to believe people treated other people this way. I can't fathom living through a concentration camp. I feel like most of these women can't either, even though they did. These women were interviewed in the late 80s. Some of them may still be alive. It's mind boggling.
Wow. Very harrowing, but so important to hear the stories and voices of survivors of this horrific time in history. I think this is even sadder when you have read Anne's diary beforehand, as you can see how much a bright, intelligent girl had been affected by what happened to her after her diary was written.
dark
informative
sad
medium-paced
Un'ennesima e preziosa raccolta di testimonianze sull'Olocausto.
Il fil rouge che lega questi racconti è che tutte le donne intervistate hanno incrociato il loro cammino con Anna Frank nell'inferno della deportazione, sia pure per brevi momenti, restituendoci un'immagine più umana e meno letteraria della figura simbolo della Shoah. In qualche modo qui c'è il vero finale del diario, brutale e terribile.
Nessuna di esse ha conosciuto intimamente Anna e non sapremo mai cosa davvero abbia provato in quei momenti, ma ciascuna delle loro storie viaggia su binari paralleli ed è facile pensare che anche per Anna (olandese come loro, deportata con lo stesso trasporto e negli stessi campi) le privazioni e le angosce siano state simili.
Questo libro a differenza di altri sull'argomento (Se questo è un uomo e La notte su tutti) ha valore esclusivamente cronachistico, è la trascrizione a stampa di un documentario televisivo olandese degli anni '80. Ciò non rende meno toccanti le esperienze di queste sopravvissute o meno importante la loro condivisione affinché certi orrori non si ripetano, rende però molto difficile valutare il testo con spirito critico. Mi limito a dire che qualunque resoconto sull'Olocausto fatto da chi lo ha vissuto sulla propria pelle vale la pena di essere conosciuto.
Il fil rouge che lega questi racconti è che tutte le donne intervistate hanno incrociato il loro cammino con Anna Frank nell'inferno della deportazione, sia pure per brevi momenti, restituendoci un'immagine più umana e meno letteraria della figura simbolo della Shoah. In qualche modo qui c'è il vero finale del diario, brutale e terribile.
Nessuna di esse ha conosciuto intimamente Anna e non sapremo mai cosa davvero abbia provato in quei momenti, ma ciascuna delle loro storie viaggia su binari paralleli ed è facile pensare che anche per Anna (olandese come loro, deportata con lo stesso trasporto e negli stessi campi) le privazioni e le angosce siano state simili.
Questo libro a differenza di altri sull'argomento (Se questo è un uomo e La notte su tutti) ha valore esclusivamente cronachistico, è la trascrizione a stampa di un documentario televisivo olandese degli anni '80. Ciò non rende meno toccanti le esperienze di queste sopravvissute o meno importante la loro condivisione affinché certi orrori non si ripetano, rende però molto difficile valutare il testo con spirito critico. Mi limito a dire che qualunque resoconto sull'Olocausto fatto da chi lo ha vissuto sulla propria pelle vale la pena di essere conosciuto.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Through the accounts of people who met Anne Frank throughout her life, the readers are able to piece together what her final seven months of life were like. The memoirs were heart wrenching and vulnerable. Though every story was different, every person spoke of bravery and kindness in the darkest moments.
informative
sad
The title is a little misleading. I thought this was an investigation into the last 7 months of Anne Frank's life. It is just a what could have happened to her in the camps by interviewing her contemporaries and taking into account their experiences. All the women here did have some contact with Anne and her family members. But you only get very small fragments of them. What we do have here is 6 astounding accounts of life in the Nazi concentration camps from 6 survivors (each woman having her own chapter) . I felt it a shame that someone felt they needed Anne to tell stories that stood up on their own. I also felt the stories were maybe played down a little to suit a teenage audience? Still a remarkable book. I'm grateful to the women who were able to share their stories and thankful to the author for collecting them here.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Murder, War