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Lost Childhood: My Life in a Japanese Prison Camp During World War II
Lost Childhood is the vivid, first-hand account of the horrors of war through the eyes of a child. This real-life memoir breaks a 60-year silence to tell one woman’s riveting story of prisoner life during World War II. As a little Dutch girl in Indonesia, Annelex Hofstra’s comfortable world was torn apart when she and her family were sent to Japanese prison camps for three...more
Hardcover, 112 pages
Published
October 14th 2008
by National Geographic Children's Books
(first published 2008)
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This book is about a 5 year old girl named Annelex who has a normal carefree life just like any other kid; until she goes on a “vacation” with her family. She soon realized this was no vacation and she may never return from this nightmare. Annelex was separated from her beloved 10 year old brother right away but she was lucky enough to have her mother and grandmother with her to look after her. They were shipped to a prison camp where they lived in constant fear for almost 4 years. Annelex saw a...more
I appreciated this first hand account of one young girl's experiences in a Japanese civilian internment camp for the Dutch inhabitants of the East Indies (now Indonesia). As she says, “…they set up about 300 internment camps – prison camps for enemies who hadn’t committed any crimes but who still might be dangerous…” Sounds similar to what was done with the Japanese Americans in the U.S. at around the same time. Tragically, only days after her father and mother were reunited following the war, h...more
Annelex is a 5 year old, Dutch girl, living in the East Indies when the Japenese invaded. Thinking she is going on a "vacation" with her family she later finds out that this is no vacation. Right away she is seperated from her 10 year old brother but she is fortunate enough to still be with her mother and grandmother. Her brother was shipped alone to a seperate camp. They were then shipped to a prison camp where they stayed for 4 straight years in the squaller conditions. Annelex passed the time...more
Another book that brought me to the realization that I don't think I really know ANYTHING about WWII! I had no idea about the internment camps in America for Japanese-American until I was in college, and now I have just learned about the internment camps in the East Indies where the Dutch were imprisoned by the Japanese. How can there be so many things that we don't know?
This book, from the author's experience as a young girl in an internment camp in the East Indies, was a quick and yet very pow...more
This book, from the author's experience as a young girl in an internment camp in the East Indies, was a quick and yet very pow...more
A different WWII story, as this was about a Dutch girl who was living on the island of Java when the Japanese took over, and her family became POWs. Annelex is only 4 when the Japanese make her a prisoner. She is one of the "lucky" ones though, because she is able to be with her mom and grandmother. Her brother, who was only 10, was sent with the men to a different camp. This is a quick, easy read, and a perfect way for middle school students to learn about this phase of history.
This was an interesting read. Of course I have heard about Japanese internment camps in the U.S. during WWII, but I didn't realized that the Japanese had iternment camps for Dutch citizens or that the Netherlands had interment camps for German citizens.
This book is an easy read account of a woman remembering her experiences in the Dutch internment camps in Japanese occupied Java.
This book is an easy read account of a woman remembering her experiences in the Dutch internment camps in Japanese occupied Java.
Annelex Hofstra was born in the Dutch East Indies (now indonesia) and was a Dutch citizen. When she was 4, the japanese invaded her country and she and her mother and grandmother where sent to a concentration camp. Her 10 year old brother was sent, alone, to a seperate camp and her father's, a Dutch Pilot, whereabouts were unknown. Would pair well with "When My Name was Keoko"
Really good to read a WWII survival story from another part of the world (not Europe). This book is set in the Pacific, Dutch East Indies and has a new perspective on the war. Makes me wonder if anyone will write a YA book on the 60+ million Christians persecuted and murdered during WWII...
Pretty boring, but it showed me a new perspective on WWII.
This brief memoir presents a child's memories, a Japanese prison camp as seen through the eyes of a four-year-old. Much is confusion and terror; while the author herself was seldom threatened, she remembers the times her mother was attacked and punished most vividly. An interesting look at the experiences of the European civilians in Indonesia during World War II.
This was the first book for week "two". A sad, but ultimately uplifting, tale about a girl who spent 4 years in a Japanese prison camp in Indonesia with her mother and grandmother. They all survived the camp and were released only to end up in the middle of a revolution between the natives and the Dutch.
Mestinya ada buku tandingan: Lost childhood: My life in a Dutch colonial time. Jangan cuma org Belanda yang di penjara ama org Jepang yang curhat. Orang Indonesia juga kudu nulisin penderitaan selama 350 tahun dijajah Belanda -- in English. Biar dibaca seluruh dunia.
The Japanese are really cruel to their captured people!! They didn't even do anything, and they get punished. A lot of times they get hit just because they don't understand what they are saying in Japanese
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A good reminder that many others suffered during WWII
Annelex is a 5 year old, Dutch girl, living in the East Indies when the Japanese invaded. Thinking she is going on a "vacation" with her family she later finds out that this is no vacation. Right away she is separated from her 10 year old brother but she is fortunate enough to still be with her mother and grandmother. Her brother was shipped alone to a separate camp. They were then shipped to a prison camp where they stayed for 4 straight years in the squalled conditions. Annelex passed the time...more
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Annelex Hofstra Layson spent three of the first seven years of her life in Japanese prison camps. The heartrending story of her lost childhood has remained untold for 60 years.
More about Annelex Hofstra Layson...
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