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88th out of 402 books
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1,449 voters
I Will Plant You a Lilac Tree: A Memoir of a Schindler's List Survivor
"HANNELORE, YOUR PAPA IS DEAD." In the spring of 1942 Hannelore received a letter from Mama at her school in Berlin, Germany--Papa had been arrested and taken to a concentration camp. Six weeks later he was sent home; ashes in an urn.
Soon another letter arrived. "The Gestapo has notified your brothers and me that we are to be deported to the East--whatever that means." Han...more
Soon another letter arrived. "The Gestapo has notified your brothers and me that we are to be deported to the East--whatever that means." Han...more
Hardcover, 256 pages
Published
April 26th 2005
by Atheneum Books for Young Readers
(first published January 9th 2003)
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I Will Plant You a Lilac Tree: A Memoir of a Schindler’s List Survivor by: Laura Hillman starts off with a little girl named Hannelore finding out her Papa has died. It then goes on to explain how her life was affected by the terrible event called the holocaust. I Will Plant You a Lilac Tree shows Hannelore’s thoughts on her boarding school, family, losing her dad, forgotten memories, and the holocaust. Hannelore’s story takes place during world war two and is one of the most interesting memoirs...more
This is the thought-provoking, shocking, horrifying, and deeply touching account of a young woman’s three-year nightmare in Nazi deportation and work camps during Word War II. Hannelore Wolff (now Laura Hillman) has written down her personal story and how she managed to survive the horrors of starvation, maltreatment, brutality, rape, and the loss of family and friends as one of the women on Schindler’s list. I admire the author’s courage and determination, not just in surviving the camps but al...more
Hannelore Wolff is attending a jewish boarding school when she receives a letter from her mother informing her that her father has been taken by the Nazi’s and has died. A few days later she receives another letter from her mother telling her that her brothers and her mother were being deported to the East. In a brave move Hannelore writes a letter to the Nazi’s requesting that she be deported along with the rest of the family and is granted her wish.
She starts the journey along with her family...more
She starts the journey along with her family...more
This book is about a young jewish girl named Hannelore who is deported to several Nazi concentration camps during WW2. When HANNELORE'S brothers and mother are deported to a concentration camp and not Hannelore, she decides to turn herself in to the gestapo. She begins her horrifying journey from concentration camp to concentration camp; eight in total. She meets various people who will stay in her life forever.
This book was interesting from the beginning. Usually books only get interesting tow...more
This book was interesting from the beginning. Usually books only get interesting tow...more
No escape, broken inside the main character of I will plant you a lilac tree by Laura Hilman. Young Hannelore Wolff felt as her family were being taken by the Jewish. Heartbroke,and Assamed Of all that her family are going through and she is off at borading school crying out to help them. Throughout she is worried that things will happen to them and she not there to defend her family.Things got very suspecious when Hannelore's mom was not replying back to her message.Something went wrong. Finaly...more
Apr 05, 2010
Lynne
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone, even young adults; the prose is quite simple
Recommended to Lynne by:
found it in the school media center
Shelves:
biography-autobiography,
history
People who believe in a magical, invisible Cloud Being will find something of miracle or destiny in Hannelore and Bernard's ending up in Oskar Schindler's factory only a few months before the Russian liberation of Czechoslovakia. I see it as a) luck and b) Laura's own chutzpah to sneak out of line. Hannelore (Laura) was on her way to the "shower" when she got in a different line, screwed up the headcount at the barracks she went to instead of the shower, was reprimanded by the barrack supervisor...more
The book I read was I Will Plant You a Lilac Tree by Laura Hillman. The title of the book is very fitting, because those words are one of the best parts of the whole book.The book takes place during the Holocaust. The protagonist is Hannelore Wolff, sister of Selly and Wolfgang. Hannelore puts her life into Gods hands asking to be deported so she can stay with her mother and brothers. She goes to many different camps never knowing where any of her family is or if she will live to see them ever a...more
Memoirs of the holocaust are often hard to read. They shine a light on a very dark part of history and remind us of the inhumane acts of humanity. I Will Plant You a Lilac Tree: A Memoir of a Schindler's List Survivor by Laura Hillman is no different. The ugliness revealed within these pages should stand as a reminder of what we don’t want to happen again.
In the spring of 1942 Hannelore received a letter from Mama at her school in Berlin, Germany--Papa had been arrested and taken to a concentra...more
This personal true story of Hannelore's account of the events surrounding the concentration camps of 1942 was gripping and the book covered a lot of ground. Hannelore's story takes off and you are immediately drawn in to her life and her families as they are in different parts of Germany and in different concentration camps. As a reader you are drawn to the idea as to when they will be unite, if ever. The letters that they mail to each other are short but filled with emotion. The writer gives yo...more
What a beautiful ending to a terribly sad story. Knowing the premise of the book surrounds the Holocaust, I knew it would be heartbreaking to read, but with my ever interest in the whole aspect of the worst episodes in history, I jumped right in.
I am so glad "Laura" was able to tell her story. Each individual's recount of what happened during that terrible time is so alike, yet unique in their own way. "Laura" counts the days she is in many camps and her "jobs" she had to do to endure. Meeting...more
I am so glad "Laura" was able to tell her story. Each individual's recount of what happened during that terrible time is so alike, yet unique in their own way. "Laura" counts the days she is in many camps and her "jobs" she had to do to endure. Meeting...more
Hannelore Wolff (Laura Hillman) was one of the Schindler list survivors, and it took her many years to write the memoir of what happened to her during WWII in the Jewish Ghetto and Nazi working and concentration camps. Born in 1923 in Aurich, Germany, Hannelore's life turns upside down while attending a Jewish boarding school in Berlin, Germany. Hannelore receives a letter from her mother telling her that her father was killed in Buchenwald. Hannelore decides that she must go to her mother and t...more
Hannelore Wolff is a teenage girl who requested to go to a concentration camp to see her mother and two brothers.
In the spring of 1942, Hannelore Wolff recieved a letter stating that her mother and two brothers were being deported to the east. Hannelore wrote to the Gestapo asking them if she could be deported with them. She was granted her wish. After a few months, the family was seperated and sent to different camps. When she was sent to another camp, Hannelore met Dick Hillman. Dick helped he...more
In the spring of 1942, Hannelore Wolff recieved a letter stating that her mother and two brothers were being deported to the east. Hannelore wrote to the Gestapo asking them if she could be deported with them. She was granted her wish. After a few months, the family was seperated and sent to different camps. When she was sent to another camp, Hannelore met Dick Hillman. Dick helped he...more
I really wish I could give this book 3.5 stars. I thought it was very good. The book itself I liked, the story and Hannelore herself. The pictures of her family that she saved through her time in the camps were also nice to see because it was mentioned so many times how she saved these pictures under a bench, in her shoes, and even hiding them in her hands during a shower. I could sit down and probably read this whole book in one sitting just because it flows easily and while reading it you hard...more
The story was authentic. Yet I did not enjoy the writing very much, maybe because the author was not really a writer.
It was more of a "listing" sequence of her life, "in the morning, she did that" then "in the evening, she returned to her barrack and did this", yeah, so I did not feel like I was being swept away by the supposedly touching and heart-rending story.
Besides, when you read it you would always be reminded that it is a memoir, the author wrote it years after she had experienced the w...more
It was more of a "listing" sequence of her life, "in the morning, she did that" then "in the evening, she returned to her barrack and did this", yeah, so I did not feel like I was being swept away by the supposedly touching and heart-rending story.
Besides, when you read it you would always be reminded that it is a memoir, the author wrote it years after she had experienced the w...more
The pages vividly paint pictures depicting the horrors, darkness, despair, heartbreak, love and loss, and the worst of times that one can find themselves in. Throughout the pages, the reader is taken on her dark, and incredible journey through the depths of horror, one that she writes about without trying to sensationalize in any aspect. She relays the situations she was forced into in a forthright manner, and with straightforward prose. Within the darkness, she found courage and strength, and s...more
This is book is about Hannelore and her family as they go through several concentration camps during the Holocaust. Hannelore tells her story and describes what motivated her to keep fighting to live. She meets lots of friends on the way that help her to keep moving forward and survive. The book takes you on a long journey and you see what it was really like to live in the concentration camps.
This book has not been made into a movie.
I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone unless they like to...more
This book has not been made into a movie.
I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone unless they like to...more
I hate giving a Holocaust memoir less than three stars. I think Hillman had an important story to tell, but the story struggled with a few things. First: Just because you have a story to tell doesn't mean you shouldn't hire a writer to tell your story. Not everyone with a story to tell is a writer. Second: The format of this book was distrating to the story. The book is set up somewhat like a textbook with several words and phrases bolded and a glossary at the bottom of the page. I found this ve...more
This non-fiction book “I Will Plant You A Lilac tree” is about a young girl named Hannelore who is sent to many different concentration camps during World War 2. Her and her family were seperated when she was deported to another camp that her brother and mother were not at . She had to fight to get through many hard times she encountered. She was forced to work all day everyday getting hit by men if she was not working hard enough. Hannelore suffers from starvation and lack of water. She meets m...more
I sort of stumbled on this book while hunting something to read at work. The subject matter is so sad and terrible. But the book was OUTSTANDING! I wanted to cry and cheer for Hannalore through the whole book. I wanted to scoop her out of each and every camp and feed her and keep her safe. This was one of the best memoirs I have ever read of the Holocaust. Mrs. Hillman was so incredibly brave and strong. I would have given up and let myself die or be killed to escape the pain and torment but she...more
Jan 09, 2012
Deena
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
european-history,
holocaust-memoir
First, a disclaimer of sorts: I always hesitate to critique Holocaust memoirs. Who am I to judge or asses the manner of writing such a thing? That the author was brave and strong enough to write it at all says so much - why quibble over details of style or method?
That being said, as a reader I am also entitled to an opinion. And I didn't include the above as a prelude for a hack job on this book. My used copy indicates that a library somewhere classified it as YA, with which I disagree - althoug...more
That being said, as a reader I am also entitled to an opinion. And I didn't include the above as a prelude for a hack job on this book. My used copy indicates that a library somewhere classified it as YA, with which I disagree - althoug...more
This is a compelling, sad and dramatic book written by a survivor of eight! concentration camps.
In the spring of 1942, Hannelore Wolff and her family were torn apart by the Nazis. In page after page of vivid description, the reader travels with Hannelore as she writes of the atrocities of each camp.
After witnessing the nightmares from which she thought there was no escape, Hannelore was fortunately placed on Schindler's list. The Russian army liberated Brunnlitz. After three long, incredibly bru...more
In the spring of 1942, Hannelore Wolff and her family were torn apart by the Nazis. In page after page of vivid description, the reader travels with Hannelore as she writes of the atrocities of each camp.
After witnessing the nightmares from which she thought there was no escape, Hannelore was fortunately placed on Schindler's list. The Russian army liberated Brunnlitz. After three long, incredibly bru...more
This was an extremely inspiring story about how a younger girl continued to live her life during the Holocaust. I had to read this as part of an 18 week study of the Holocaust, and even though the book had parts that were both depressing and upsetting, it was a good, eye opening read.
Hannelore is a character anyone could easily become attatched to. Throughout her life, she suffered 8 labor and concentration camps. This book had details that really surfaced the reality of this awful time period....more
Hannelore is a character anyone could easily become attatched to. Throughout her life, she suffered 8 labor and concentration camps. This book had details that really surfaced the reality of this awful time period....more
Stories of the horrors of Nazi concentraton camps never fail to rip my heart open. This true memoir of Hannelore Wolff, a Schindler's list survivor had a profound impact on me. I began the book this morning and read straight through. The absolute uncertainty of every single moment for the imprisoned and tortured Jews is plainly laid out in a rather matter of fact language. It felt all the more unsettling and truthful, I found myself able to imagine sitting with the author as she told her story....more
This is a remarkable account of Hannalore's survival of the Nazi holocaust as a Schindler's list survivor. The journey of evil that this young woman endures shows us that there is no mistake as to her survival. It is very hard for me to even imagine a world so full of evil and hate. It is important for us to be reminded of these horrific accounts so we remember not to stand by and allow this type of hatred to take hold again. Laura tells her story simply, I felt like she was sitting at the tabl...more
In the spring of 1942 Hannelore received a letter from Mama at her school in Berlin, Germany--Papa had been arrested and taken to a concentration camp. Six weeks later he was sent home; ashes in an urn.
Soon another letter arrived. "The Gestapo has notified your brothers and me that we are to be deported to the East--whatever that means." Hannelore knew: labor camps, starvation, beatings...How could Mama and her two younger brothers bear that? She made a decision: She would go home and be deport...more
Soon another letter arrived. "The Gestapo has notified your brothers and me that we are to be deported to the East--whatever that means." Hannelore knew: labor camps, starvation, beatings...How could Mama and her two younger brothers bear that? She made a decision: She would go home and be deport...more
It's so important for stories like Hannelore's to be put into print.
Though is is not the best one I have read from a literary standpoint, it was really interesting in that Hannelore took a lot of very aggressive actions to try to change her life. Knowing she might never see her family again if they got relocated without her, she actually made an official request to be allowed to leave the relative (though temporary) safety of her Jewish boarding school to join her mother & 2 brothers wherev...more
Though is is not the best one I have read from a literary standpoint, it was really interesting in that Hannelore took a lot of very aggressive actions to try to change her life. Knowing she might never see her family again if they got relocated without her, she actually made an official request to be allowed to leave the relative (though temporary) safety of her Jewish boarding school to join her mother & 2 brothers wherev...more
Laura Hillman‘s I Will Plant You a Lilac Tree: A Memoir of a Schindler’s List Survivor is one of those unforgettable first-hand account of the Second World War.
The memoir begins with the period when the writer was still in boarding school in Berlin. She writes, Since Hitler had come to power, it was dangerous for Jews to walk on public streets.
Few days later, she received the news of her father’s death, to be followed by her family’s deportation to the concentration camps. In spite of the danger...more
The memoir begins with the period when the writer was still in boarding school in Berlin. She writes, Since Hitler had come to power, it was dangerous for Jews to walk on public streets.
Few days later, she received the news of her father’s death, to be followed by her family’s deportation to the concentration camps. In spite of the danger...more
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I will plant you a lilac tree is a beautiful true story that is set in the Holocaust. It tells of a girl, a survivor of over 5 concentration camps, and her struggle to have faith. It is emotional and beautiful and the story captures one from the first page. It tells of the horrors of the camps, and how people survived. But importantly it is a true story of love where it seems like love can not be found. Hannelore Wolff meets Dick Hillman and together they suffer each other's sufferings and live...more
I thought this book was an amazing memoir of a holocaust survivor and the struggles she went through, throughout her life. One thing I really liked about the book was that it was a completely true story about Hannelore Wolffe (the holocaust survivor) and her life. I also loved the detail she put into her memoir and how she told the story from her point of view as the events took place in her life. So for anyone who is looking to read a sad story, with a happy ending, filled with surprises, you s...more
It was interesting to read a memoir from a Schindler list survivor. Her story is a little different as she was added at the last moment, a request from the Nazi SS that was going to run Schindler's Jews. It was a story that had hope to it, which you sometimes (which makes sense) don't find in Holocaust memoirs. It's very simply written, but that would make it a great choice for a younger reader (13 or 14) to introduce them to the history of it.
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Dec 05, 2011 01:15pm