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A review by linkalipski
Adieu Birkenau: Ginette Kolinka's Story of Survival by Ginette Kolinka
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Survivors accounts are a must read no matter what.
This particular story is presented as flashbacks while the survivors is off to visit the camps in Poland with school children. I understand why they chose to do that way. I believe showing the contrast between what was and how things are after is important and powerful.
At the same time, it doesn’t allow to be fully immersed like other memoirs. To really emphasise the horror of the story, perhaps more time with her flashbacks would have been best.
That said, the advantage is that it’s a more « palatable » retelling which can be a good entryway into learning about Holocaust for younger readers.
I thought representing camp prisoners as black silhouetted mass was a clever illustrative choice: it really captured the ghostly aspect of their souls while representing their loss of personhood.
The scene when she returns to her mother made me weep burning tears.. the contrast was heart wrenching.
I didn’t know she was one of Telephone’s member mother and I’m glad to see that her legacy, in surviving, is both one of advocacy and of a musician son who livened up my teenage hood.
May she feel at peace and leave her guilt to rest in that cruel land and may all of those shadowy soul be at peace also. 🤍
This particular story is presented as flashbacks while the survivors is off to visit the camps in Poland with school children. I understand why they chose to do that way. I believe showing the contrast between what was and how things are after is important and powerful.
At the same time, it doesn’t allow to be fully immersed like other memoirs. To really emphasise the horror of the story, perhaps more time with her flashbacks would have been best.
That said, the advantage is that it’s a more « palatable » retelling which can be a good entryway into learning about Holocaust for younger readers.
I thought representing camp prisoners as black silhouetted mass was a clever illustrative choice: it really captured the ghostly aspect of their souls while representing their loss of personhood.
The scene when she returns to her mother made me weep burning tears.. the contrast was heart wrenching.
I didn’t know she was one of Telephone’s member mother and I’m glad to see that her legacy, in surviving, is both one of advocacy and of a musician son who livened up my teenage hood.
May she feel at peace and leave her guilt to rest in that cruel land and may all of those shadowy soul be at peace also. 🤍