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The Girls of Room 28: Friendship, Hope, and Survival in Theresienstadt
From 1942 to 1944, twelve thousand children passed through the Theresienstadt internment camp, near Prague, on their way to Auschwitz. Only a few hundred of them survived the war. In The Girls of Room 28, ten of these children—mothers and grandmothers today in their seventies—tell us how they did it.
The Jews deported to Theresienstadt from countries all over Europe were a
Hardcover, Large Print, 645 pages
Published
December 1st 2009
by Thorndike Press
(first published 2004)
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From 1942 to 1944, twelve thousand children passed through the Theresienstadt internment camp, near Prague, on their way to Auschwitz. Only a few hundred of them survived the war. In The Girls of Room 28, ten of these children—mothers and grandmothers today in their seventies—tell us how they did it. The Jews deported to Theresienstadt from countries all over Europe were aware of the fate that awaited them, and they decided that it was the young people who had the best chance to survive. Keeping
...more
Nov 10, 2009
Nancy
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
holocaust-adult,
november-2009
The girls of the title all resided at one time or another in room 28 of one of the girl's homes at the concentration camp Theresienstadt. As a concentration camp Theresienstadt is famous for a number of things. First of all, it was known as Hitler's "showcase" camp, where he fooled the International Red Cross into believing that the Jews were being well-treated. Secondly, and in relation to this, the camp had a lively cultural life, with famous musicians, composers, artists, and others passing t...more
Oct 26, 2009
Kathleen Hagen
added it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2009-audio-books,
2009-nonfiction
The Girls of Room 28: Stories of Friendship, Love and Survival in Theresienstadt, by Hannelore Brenner, narrated by Suzanne Toren, produced by BBC Audio Books America, downloaded from audible.com.
I can’t say it better than the publisher’s note except to say that it is a wonderful thing that the author found these ten women to interview, and extremely generous that these women let her see their diaries from the war.
Publisher’s Note:
From 1942 to 1944, 12,000 children passed through the Theresienst...more
I can’t say it better than the publisher’s note except to say that it is a wonderful thing that the author found these ten women to interview, and extremely generous that these women let her see their diaries from the war.
Publisher’s Note:
From 1942 to 1944, 12,000 children passed through the Theresienst...more
Hannelore Brenner’s The Girls of Room 28: Friendship, Hope, and Survival in Theresienstadt is a compelling historical read concerning the Shoah/Holocaust in its focus on ten young teen-aged survivors who witnessed what no child or adult should ever have to confront. Their individual stories, told to Brenner when they were in their seventies, are filled with courage and strength,
I feel privileged to have read their stories. Not only have the girls honored and payed tribute to all of the girls wh...more
I feel privileged to have read their stories. Not only have the girls honored and payed tribute to all of the girls wh...more
For all my reading on WWII, I had not heard of Theresienstadt in any depth and this was enlightening for that side of it alone. It really is incredibly luck for future generations that so many letters and journals from these years survived and that more peoples from around the world who were directly involved are beginning to tell their stories. Compared to a lot of survival stories from WWII, these people were luckier than most - at least for most of the war, but that is not to say that they we...more
Understanding evil in history may help to recognize it in the future. Theresienstadt was an internment camp near Prague. It was the last step before the transport to Auschwitz. Families were housed in different units, but had limited visitation with each other. There were meager rations, poor living conditions, and disease. Yet in this desolate place, 12 to 14 year old girls found friendship in their Room 28. Education was forbidden for Jewish children, but through secret classes, art, music and...more
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Obviously I was not expecting a bunch of laughs with this book, but I really wish they had picked a better ending. You could stop anywhere, and where they chose to stop was not what I would have done. The Epilogue was a better ending.
I'm not sure that I learned anything new from this experience, but I did connect more dots that deepened and broadened my understanding of the Holocaust. I got a much better picture of how people gradually found out about what was happening to them. The whole frog...more
I'm not sure that I learned anything new from this experience, but I did connect more dots that deepened and broadened my understanding of the Holocaust. I got a much better picture of how people gradually found out about what was happening to them. The whole frog...more
Hannelore Brenner's compilation of stories and anecdotes from the girls who lived in Theriesenstadt is so much more than various memoirs. I love that Brenner took the time to explain the prehistory of the Holocaust and the many events that led to the girls subsequent incarcerations. I found it amazing the level of normalcy that was maintained for the children who were lucky enough to live in the girls and boys home of Theriesenstadt.
Not many girls survived both Theresienstadt and Auschwitz, but ten of the 11-14 year girls who lived in this room were interviewed by Brenner. Unfortunately, even with these girls’ diaries, pictures and “Brundibar” the play that they acted out, it’s still not a well-told story, skipping from girl to girl to girl without really letting us get to know anyone of them.
Another book I couldn't finish reading in September... It's basically what the title says it is, but there were a LOT of girls in Room 28, very few of whom were there the whole time, so lots of coming and going, and all the characters started to sort of run together... And kind of drily written, so just couldn't get excited about continuing...
The concept of the story was quite good, as this was a side of the holocaust that I didn't know much about. The book, however, I found a bit hard to get into. The characters seems to blend together, and by the halfway point I was losing interest fast. Although I don't regret reading this one, I can't recommend it.
This book is a very heart wrenching tale. It was amazing to read about the strength and courage of so many individuals and their families. I can't even begin to imagine the heart-ache and pain that so many suffered. It was a little difficult to read in some parts because it read like a history book at times, but definitely worth reading.
I can't wait to read this one. I met Ela Stein last Thursday. Ela lived in Theresienstadt near Prague for 4 and 1/2 years of her life, beginning when she was only 11 years old. She is one of only 100 of 15,000 children who survived that specific internment camp.
I liked this book as much as one can "like" a book that involves Jewish children living through the holocaust in a concentration camp. It is very realistic and deeply moving as much is written from the girl's diaries including poems and drawings.
About 1/4 of the way through, I called it quits. I was hoping for a more engaging read, but because the writing style doesn't really allow you to connect with the characters, it felt more to me like I was reading a chapter in a history book.
Friendship, Hope, and Survival in Theresienstadt told by the few young Jewish girls who survived the camp in the WWII.
I usually enjoy World War II memoirs, but I couldn't get into this one. Did not finish it.
Já takovéhle knihy fakt nesnášim. Že je to napsané fakt dobře je už věc jiná..
Wonderful insight into a small group who survived the Holocaust.
Interesting. I learned a lot about Theresienstadt, which was different from the rest of the 'camps.' It was definitely a 'model' camp and was used for propaganda. It was somewhat difficult to read because it jumped from person to person and I never knew just who was who!
I feel a bit guilty saying this book was boring, but this book was BORING!!!!
Mar 03, 2012
Rebecca
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Rebecca by:
Suzy
The story is remarkable, but it took me forever to get through this book. I don't know what it was (not exactly chronological, unfamiliar names, lots of detail...something), but I had trouble staying with this book. It was worth the effort, though, simply because I learned about a whole different aspect of WWII and the sacrifice Jewish adults made for their children.
The story of the girls' reuniting after the war wasn't told in too much detail and I would have liked to read more about that, but otherwise this was a great book about the power of friendship and of art and culture in times of adversity.
An objective but not depressing account of the lives of girls ages 12-14 living in a ghetto outside Prague. I liked the use of diaries and letters intermixed with quotes from those living when the book was written.
Since I read "The Lost Wife" I thought this might be interesting... to find out more about Terezin (Theresienstadt).
I got half way through it. It was a little slow, but interesting.
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