Clara's War

by Kathy Kacer

It's already a dangerous time for thirteen-year-old Clara and her family. They have just been imprisoned in Terezin (Terezinstadt), a ghetto in a medieval town near Prague—which was built to show the world how "well" the Nazis were treating Jews during World War II.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Jewish, Holocaust, World War II, Childrens

198 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Kathy Kacer was born in Toronto and has lived there all her life (with the exception of three years in New Brunswick). She has a Master’s degree in Psychology and worked for many years with troubled teens and their families. She stopped working full time in 1995 to pursue her dream of becoming a children’s author. That dream came true with the publication of her first book, The Secret of Gabi’s Dresser, in 1999. She has been writing ever since.

Her parents were both survivors of the Holocaust. Her mother survived the war in hiding; her father was a survivor of the concentration camps. Their stories of survival were an inspiration to Kathy as she was growing up. As an adult, she was determined to write their stories and pass them on to young readers. She went on to write more than twenty books, all focused on the Holocaust. These books include The Night Spies, The Diary of Laura’s Twin, To Hope and Back, Hiding Edith, the Whispers series, and The Magician of Auschwitz. Many of her books have won awards in Canada, the United States, and Israel. Her books have been sold in over twenty countries around the world.

In addition to writing, Kathy teaches at the University of Toronto (Continuing Studies). She also speaks to children in schools and libraries around the world about the importance of understanding the Holocaust and keeping its memory alive. In addition, she lectures in universities and colleges on the topic of teaching sensitive material to young children.

She is married and has two children, Gabi and Jake. Both children share her family’s love of stories.

Reviews

[Anni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ich will gar nicht viel schreiben, außer:
Lest es alle, es ist eine kurze Geschichte, die einem so viel Mut und Hoffnung gibt, dass jede:r dieses Buch in seinem Regal braucht!

[Thomas (ReadWithThomas) · Rating 5 out of 5]

“𝒀𝒐𝒖’𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆… 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝑻𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒛𝒊𝒏.”

I have taught Clara’s War a number of times, and each year, I am amazed by the respect, attention, and emotion that my students give to the story. Kathy Kacer explains so many elements of the Holocaust in middle school friendly language, with an engaging story.

Clara and her family are Jewish, living in Prague in 1943. After many restrictions on their lives, they are told to pack their things and head to Terezin, where they are promised a “normal life.” Throughout the dangers of living in a Nazi-controlled ghetto, Clara and her friends fight for their survival, always clinging to hope.

This is a beautifully told fiction, telling of the ghetto of Terezin, and Kacer includes many historical moments including real-life inmates as characters, Brundibar, the Red Cross visit and the March to the Field. My students always find things to relate to with the characters, especially Clara, Peter, Jacob and Hanna. Kacer doesn’t shy away from the realities of the time period, but tells them in a way that is appropriate for middle schoolers. The joy I get from this book grows every time I read it with my Grade 6s, through a story of dark times that always seems to cling to hope.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clara und ihre Freunde sind aufgeregt: sie sollen die Oper Brundibar vor einer Delegation des Roten Kreuz aufführen. Seit Wochen proben sie schon für diesen Auftritt. Denn für sie ist es eine kleine Chance, die Menschen darauf aufmerksam zu machen, was da passiert, wo sie sind: im Ghetto von Theresienstadt. Werden sie es schaffen, der Delegation ein Zeichen zu geben?

Das Buch beginnt lange vor der Aufführung. Ich habe erfahren, wie Clara und ihre Familie ihr Zuhause verlassen mussten und in Theresienstadt ankamen und das Lagerleben kennenlernen mussten. Auch wenn es immer wieder fast schon normale Momente gibt, wie den Unterricht, den die Kinder heimlich bekamen, sind das doch die Ausnahmen.

Kathy Kacer erzählt vom Leben im Lager für die junge Leserschaft, deshalb deutet sie viele Dinge nur an. Aber sie vermittelt trotzdem einen guten Eindruck. Nicht nur von den Lagerbedingungen, sondern auch davon, was es mit den Menschen macht. Lesenswert, nicht nur für junge, sondern auch für ältere LeserInnen.

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this better. It tells the story of a gripping period of time — the incarceration of Jews at Terezin, and the performances of Brundibar that took place there. But somehow I felt distanced from the characters, the writing did not make me able to enter into their feelings. I have read other books about this same period, which were much more moving — at least for me. YMMV.

[Aubrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fictional account of real events and some real people during the Holocaust. It is for younger readers, and while their are illusions of death and starvation, it was not too graphic for younger readers. It felt a bit rushed at the end, but overall was a good book for around Middle School aged children.

[Raphaela Strohmayer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was once again a great story, which happened in the time of the second world war. It gave me insight int osome part that i have never had before, the ghetto of Theresienstadt. There families lived, like in concentration camp, but also with quite a bit of normalcy and culture. It was really impressive to see how people managed to make the best of the situation

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kindle
POPSUGAR Reading Challenge 2025 - prompt 32: A book about an overlooked woman in history
Ok I didn’t do my research, so this is not a real person but Clara is a compilation of many Jewish children who lost their lives in the war, so I’m still counting it. Ultimately this is a depressing yet uplifting story about the strength of the human spirit.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clara's family, living in Prague and being Jewish, are moved to a ghetto. Jacob, a boy already in the ghetto, plans to escape. The day to day horrors encountered by the Jews are explored in this book.

[Mikayla Lambert · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good book, the ending was just a little disappointing.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

My kids are reading this for lit circles. I loved this book as a kid, but wanted to re-read for school. Good book for young adults focusing on the Holocaust.

[Miranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a great book

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book! I even ordered the CD of the orchestral music created in the death camp. I read it with my grade 6 students and they loved it.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book a few years ago, and I remember loving it. I had grabbed the book randomly at the library at school, brought it home and curled up in bed on a particularly sunny Saturday morning and finished the whole thing in two hours. I remember loving it, being able to finish a book and make a normally lazy and long weekend morning go by so quickly. It was so long ago, perhaps I am rating this book based upon the feeling of self-reward and satisfaction that I had. But I remember loving it, being a little sad, relieved that there were some artistic things and a bit of happiness still going on in such horrid times, and also being extremely bothered with the non-capitalization of "mother" and "father" (or "mama" and "papa", something like that) when used in speech by the two child protagonists. Good book! (I think!)

[Betty · Rating 3 out of 5]

... this was one of my daughter's favourite novels as a young teen so I decided to read it to see if Kurt might like it. It was a good read for the adolescent age group.I think the difficult subject matter {it is set in a jewish ghetto during WWII] was handled very well.

[Buttercups]

I love this book!

[marissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for an AR book required for my school. It really put your own life in perspective and how grateful you need to be. Wish there was six stars! GREAT BOOK!!