Thomas Buergenthal, now a Judge in the International Court of Justice in The Hague, tells his astonishing experiences as a young boy in his memoir ...
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Apr 30, 2011
Marlo
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So much to say that I can't put into words. I was amazed at his "luck" and the miracles that occurred for this boy, through such a horrible time in history, that he made very personal. I appreciated how he came to shift his entire thinking from vengeance and hatred to something much more healthy and productive.
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Aug 09, 2011
Truly a remarkable first-person account of how a young Jewish boy, with a strong will to live, was able to survive persecution, forced marches and incarceration in several concentration camps including the infamous Auschwitz death camp.
His mother’s visit to a fortune teller prior to the war proved prophetic. The fortune teller had said that her son was “ein Gliickskind” or “a lucky child.”
The family had moved to Poland and established a hotel. The Nazis came and took everything away from them an More...
His mother’s visit to a fortune teller prior to the war proved prophetic. The fortune teller had said that her son was “ein Gliickskind” or “a lucky child.”
The family had moved to Poland and established a hotel. The Nazis came and took everything away from them an More...
Nov 21, 2011
Lindy
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A touching memoir of a young child's survival of the Holocaust. This book was not as graphic as many Holocaust books I have read and the thought provoking nature of the work makes it a must read. I particularly recommend the epilogue. It is a very thought provoking look into international human rights law. As much as th UN is corrupt, I have wondered about international court bodies - particularly when state sovereignty is disregarded for international rule. I think the author provides a very co
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Jan 18, 2011
Kris
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It has been a while since I've read this book, but there are times when I think back to the life of this young boy and the people who changed the course of his life and consequently the course of thousands in our day and age. Nowadays, author Thomas Buergenthal is an American judge sitting on the International Court of Justice. Here's a review from someone named Megan. I think she did an eloquent job reviewing the book: (She did leave out the coolest part of the story. All the kids in Norway h
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May 01, 2010
Sarah
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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May 01, 2010
Summary: Thomas Buergenthal, now a Judge in the International Court of Justice in The Hague, tells his astonishing experiences as a young boy in his memoir A LUCKY CHILD. He arrived at Auschwitz at age 10 after surviving two ghettos and a labor camp. Separated first from his mother and then his father, Buergenthal managed by his wits and some remarkable strokes of luck to survive on his own. Almost two years after his liberation, Buergenthal was miraculously reunited with his mother and in 1951
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May 01, 2010
Jessica
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Thomas Buergenthal, now a Judge in the International Court of Justice in The Hague, tells his astonishing experiences as a young boy in his memoir A LUCKY CHILD. He arrived at Auschwitz at age 10 after surviving two ghettos and a labor camp. Separated first from his mother and then his father, Buergenthal managed by his wits and some remarkable strokes of luck to survive on his own. Almost two years after his liberation, Buergenthal was miraculously reunited with his mother and in 1951 arrived i
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May 01, 2010
Tamara
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Summary: Thomas Buergenthal, now a Judge in the International Court of Justice in The Hague, tells his astonishing experiences as a young boy in his memoir A LUCKY CHILD. He arrived at Auschwitz at age 10 after surviving two ghettos and a labor camp. Separated first from his mother and then his father, Buergenthal managed by his wits and some remarkable strokes of luck to survive on his own. Almost two years after his liberation, Buergenthal was miraculously reunited with his mother and in 1951
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Nov 11, 2009
Brian
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Written in an unsentimental tone, the recollections & reconstructions of Thomas Buergenthal. As I read this, it reminded me remarkably of the story told in the 1948 movie with Montgomery Clift and Ivan Jandl called, "The Search", but told from the viewpoint in this case of the boy himself rather than outsiders (as in the movie). Only two examples of probably was a much repeated story following the Holocaust and last days of the Third Reich. I don't know if I believe in "luck"
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Jun 07, 2009
Jenny
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I'm always interested in the stories about how people survived the hardships of WWII particularly the Holocust. This book was written by a boy who survived many events in his childhood including being in no-man's land (which was a place between countries) to a Jewish ghetto in Poland, to death camps and work camps. He was about 10 when he went on the Auschwitz Death March. He attributes his success to many things including luck, his Aryan appearance, his ability to speak multiple languages, a
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May 01, 2009
Lila
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A Lucky Child is a little different from other books on Holocaust because it is a memoir of a person, who as a child survived not only Auschwitz, but the ghetto that, like all Jewish ghettos, was liquidated, and two other labor camps. The miracle in it all is, only a handful of children came out of Auschwitz alive. Most of them had been murdered and burnt before they even got a chance to enter the camp, or were sent to Treblinka straight form ghettos where the same fate awaited. The author of th
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Aug 02, 2009
Megan
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I find myself fascinated by stories of people, particularly children, who manage to overcome incredible odds such as surviving the Holocaust. I am drawn to books about them, and A Lucky Child is one of the more moving and amazing stories I have read in this vein. Thomas Buergenthal recounts his life story. Though perhaps the most incredible section details his survival in Auschwitz (his group avoided a selection upon their entrance to the camp, which would have ended Thomas' life quickly, and he
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May 19, 2010
Leigh
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Apr 20, 2010
Mallori
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Summary: This is a touching memoir that Buergenthal wrote about his life in the Holocaust. He was one of the youngest to survive and has so much to show for it. Even though he went through so much, he kept his hopes high and made it through the war.
Reading Level: Ages 10-12
Genre: Chapter Book
Uses: Independent Reading, Read-Aloud, Shared Reading
Social Issues: Children can begin to understand some of the hardships of the Holocaust and how at no poin More...
Reading Level: Ages 10-12
Genre: Chapter Book
Uses: Independent Reading, Read-Aloud, Shared Reading
Social Issues: Children can begin to understand some of the hardships of the Holocaust and how at no poin More...
Aug 11, 2009
Natalie
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Thomas Beurgenthal- born May 11, 1934 in Lubochna Czechoslovaka. His parents Mudek & Gerda Beurgenthal .
Thomas and his family living in Lubochna are made to pack up and move out of their hotel, ending up in a small apartment in Zilina. Thomas's father found a job as a traveling salesman so that left Thomas and his mother home alone. One day the police came to the door and ordered them to pack their belongings. They were told that the Jews were being expelled from the country. Thomas' More...
Thomas and his family living in Lubochna are made to pack up and move out of their hotel, ending up in a small apartment in Zilina. Thomas's father found a job as a traveling salesman so that left Thomas and his mother home alone. One day the police came to the door and ordered them to pack their belongings. They were told that the Jews were being expelled from the country. Thomas' More...
Jan 13, 2012
Kate
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How do you critique a holocaust survivor's memoir?
This was an interesting insight in to the horror that was the holocaust. Written by a man who as a 10 year old boy was the youngest inmate in Auswitch. Some people saw a small boy and strove to protect hm as best they could, tucking him under their wing. Others saw him as an easily pushed aside competition to the limited food & resources.
I loved the photos interspersed throughout the book. Not the camp horror photos that y More...
This was an interesting insight in to the horror that was the holocaust. Written by a man who as a 10 year old boy was the youngest inmate in Auswitch. Some people saw a small boy and strove to protect hm as best they could, tucking him under their wing. Others saw him as an easily pushed aside competition to the limited food & resources.
I loved the photos interspersed throughout the book. Not the camp horror photos that y More...
Oct 18, 2011
Leslie
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This book was written by a man who was placed into the concentration camps as a child (10) in 1944. He survived by his wits, the kindness of others, and sometimes, pure random luck. He wrote the book as an old man, and his insights are wise and thought-provoking. Favorite quotes: "what is it in the human character that gives some individuals the moral strength not to sacrifice their decency and dignity, regardless of the costs to themselves, whereas others become murderously ruthless in the
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Feb 08, 2012
Julie
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While it's always hard for me to say I enjoy reading books about the Holocaust because they are hard to read due to the horrific atrocities that were inflicted upon innocent people, I feel that by reading them it continues to educate me on the importance of teaching my children about what hatred does to individuals and societies. This is an amazing story of a boy who survived the Holocaust by his Mother's idea of "luck." What was most inspiring, besides the fact that he survived living
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Mar 24, 2011
Melissa
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What an amazing story this man has lived to tell. One thing I really enjoyed about this account of the Holocaust is that Mr. Buergenthal told it straight-out, fact-by-fact. He didn't embellish, use too many descriptive words, or try too hard to evoke emotion from the reader. It felt like I was hearing my grandfather tell a story about his youth. It's amazing to me that Mr. Buergenthal was 4 when his family moved into the ghetto, and only 11 when he was liberated from the concentration camp.
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Jul 29, 2011
Savannah
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I liked this book. My mom had made recommended(made me)this book to me. This was different form all the holocaust books I've read. It was all true hard facts, the person really lived it all, nothing not even names,or emotions were made up. I'm glad my mom made me read this because it was a different type of literature altogether.
The perspective of this story is the abuse he suffered form becoming a respected world court judge. Nothing stopped him he didn't let any excuses from torcher g More...
The perspective of this story is the abuse he suffered form becoming a respected world court judge. Nothing stopped him he didn't let any excuses from torcher g More...
May 31, 2009
Christina
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Buergenthal really was a lucky child; surviving Auschwitz because the guards decided not to stop the train and run through the selection process — strong to the left, weak, elderly, and children to the right — was just one of his luckiest moments, but the one he owes his life to.
“It occured to me then that unlike those who survived Auschitz and can document our existance in that camp by reference to our numbers, those proisoners who died in its crematoriums after the SS had stopp More...
“It occured to me then that unlike those who survived Auschitz and can document our existance in that camp by reference to our numbers, those proisoners who died in its crematoriums after the SS had stopp More...
Jul 08, 2009
Jane
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Can't say for sure why I keep being drawn to books about the Holocaust, but this is a great one--largely because the author, who is now a judge in the International Court of Law at the Hague and a lifelong human rights advocate and attorney, wrote this decades after his horrific experiences as a Jewish child in Poland, Czechoslovakia and Germany during the Holocaust and is thus able to deliver his accounts in a largely factual, passionless manner (which made some of it easier to swallow, I thin
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Oct 07, 2011
Angela
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A memoir of a young boys survival of Auschwitz. I enjoyed this book because it did not dwell on all the horrors he witnessed and experienced, but rather on the things that got him through it all. He speaks in detail of the strength of character that he learned from observing his parents, of the integrity and moral compass that guided his behavior during these awful years. He was 10 years old when he was sent to Auschwitz- and the memories he recounts are those seen through he eyes of a child.
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Dec 30, 2009
Joanne
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This is a wonderful memoir that Thomas Buergenthal has created that not only gives us a glimpse of what it took for him to survive during such a vicious period of history, but also how these events helped to make him into the man that he is today. Buergenthal does a great job of sharing how his emotions changed from fear, to anger, and eventually forgiveness once he was able to finally heal.
The title of this book comes from the idea that Thomas' mother truly believed that he was a l More...
The title of this book comes from the idea that Thomas' mother truly believed that he was a l More...
May 27, 2011
Jaimee
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A Holocaust memoir written by a man who went on to serve as the American judge on the International Court of Justice in the Hague. The author states that he put off writing his memoir until late in life because he could not have written it at any other age without the story being overshadowed by his own pain and anger.
To read the story of a extremely young man's survival against overwhelming odds from the perspective of an over 70-year-old judge in a court dealing with terrible human More...
To read the story of a extremely young man's survival against overwhelming odds from the perspective of an over 70-year-old judge in a court dealing with terrible human More...
Jul 16, 2011
I loved Buerganthal's telling of this story from the distance of many years having gone by. It gave me a sense of what it was for people to live this life and have it be their childhood; terrifying and yet normalized to some degree by the fact that it was their childhood. It helped me understand a little my own father's stance about his life. Despite not going to camps, he wore the yellow star, was sent off to the country, converted, his family's business was taken away. It took him so long
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May 01, 2010
Brooke
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Summary:
From Amazon.com
"Not many children who entered Auschwitz lived to tell the tale. The American judge at the International Court of Justice in the Hague, Czechoslovakia-born Buergenthal, is one of the few. A 10-year-old inmate in August 1944 at Birkenau, Buergenthal was one of the death camp's youngest prisoners. He miraculously survived, thanks, among others, to a friendly kapo who made him an errand boy. Buergenthal's authentic, moving tale reveals that his lifelong comm More...
From Amazon.com
"Not many children who entered Auschwitz lived to tell the tale. The American judge at the International Court of Justice in the Hague, Czechoslovakia-born Buergenthal, is one of the few. A 10-year-old inmate in August 1944 at Birkenau, Buergenthal was one of the death camp's youngest prisoners. He miraculously survived, thanks, among others, to a friendly kapo who made him an errand boy. Buergenthal's authentic, moving tale reveals that his lifelong comm More...
Jul 28, 2009
Nancy
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Now a judge at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Thomas Buergenthal and his parents were forced into a Jewish Ghetto when he was almost six. From there, they went to Auschwitz, where ten-year-old Thomas was separated from both parents. He managed to survive the camp, and the death march to Sachenhausen where he was finally liberated. After a year in an orphanage in Berlin, Buergenthal was miraculously reunited with his mother (his father did not survive). Despite the horrors to wh
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Jul 17, 2011
Pamela
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Powerful read. One of the youngest to survive Auschwitz at 10 years old. Buergenthal later devoted his life to international and human rights law and is currently a judge at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. The interesting part is why he waited so long to tell his story. The following excerpt, referring to the number tattooed on his arm, stuck with me as the general purpose of sharing his experience: "It remains a part of me and serves as a reminder, not so much of my pa
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Oct 29, 2009
Lydia
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I've read quite a few memoirs and stories about experiences during the Holocaust (including listening to my own Grandfather's story on a cassette tape) and overall, the information given is the same, repeated and verified over and over.
What made this book different was the message of hope throughout it. He was proclaimed "lucky" by a gypsy and his mother took that proclamation to heart. Over and over Tommy slipped through the cracks and managed to escape the fate of his f More...
What made this book different was the message of hope throughout it. He was proclaimed "lucky" by a gypsy and his mother took that proclamation to heart. Over and over Tommy slipped through the cracks and managed to escape the fate of his f More...
