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We All Wore Stars: Memories of Anne Frank from Her Classmates
In 1941, Theo Coster was a student at the Amsterdam Jewish Lyceum, one in a class of 28 Jewish children that the Nazis had segregated from the rest of the Dutch population. Among Theo's fellow students was a young Anne Frank, whose diary would later become one of the most important documents of the Holocaust. In this remarkable group portrait, Coster and five of his fellow classmates gather their personal stories and memories of Anne. The accounts collected here do not just help us to rediscover Anne Frank. They also stand on their own as remarkable stories of ingenuity and survival during the Holocaust--from Albert Gomes de Mesquita, who hid in ten different towns across Europe--to Hannah Goslar, who experienced the horrors of Bergen-Belsen but also made a miraculous reconnection with Anne days before her death.
221 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 2009
58 people are currently reading
883 people want to read
About the author
Theo Coster
2 books11 followersTheo Coster is the author of the forthcoming WE ALL WORE STARS (Palgrave Macmillan, 9/27/11).
Coster was a classmate and friend of Anne Frank at the Amsterdam Jewish Lyceum. A toymaker and game designer (he created the universally loved board game Guess Who?), he is executive producer of the documentary film The Classmates of Anne Frank.
Coster has lived in Tel Aviv since 1955.
Coster was a classmate and friend of Anne Frank at the Amsterdam Jewish Lyceum. A toymaker and game designer (he created the universally loved board game Guess Who?), he is executive producer of the documentary film The Classmates of Anne Frank.
Coster has lived in Tel Aviv since 1955.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews
February 20, 2023
The book I’m reading is called ‘We All Wore Stars: Memories of Anne Frank from her Classmates’ is by Theo Coster. Coster have interviewed five of his fellow classmates gather their personal stories and memories of Anne. They also stand on their own as remarkable stories of ingenuity and survival during the Holocaust. He has included a few photos in the book. Theo Coster was known as Maurice Simon. He decides to change himself a new name, ‘Theo’ by the book he read and when in hiding he legally changed it decades later when he moved to Israel. Theo was a student at the Amsterdam Jewish Lyceum, one in a class of 28 children including Anne Frank. I thoroughly enjoy the story as a result.
October 2, 2016
Tendo visitado recentemente a Casa de Anne Frank em Amesterdão, decidi voltar a reler o famoso diário e tudo o que tenha a ver com a menina cujo infortúnio tornou famosa.
Este não é um excelente livro, nem essencialmente um livro sobre a Anne, mas antes testemunhos dos antigos colegas de escola de Anne, que sobreviveram à guerra, e aos campos de concentraçao, escondidos ou não.
Cada um deles tem algo a dizer sobre a menina do Anexo, e em como as suas vidas foram tocadas por ela.
Para quem gosta de ler e conhecer mais sobre a temática do holocausto, é um livro altamente recomendado.
Este não é um excelente livro, nem essencialmente um livro sobre a Anne, mas antes testemunhos dos antigos colegas de escola de Anne, que sobreviveram à guerra, e aos campos de concentraçao, escondidos ou não.
Cada um deles tem algo a dizer sobre a menina do Anexo, e em como as suas vidas foram tocadas por ela.
Para quem gosta de ler e conhecer mais sobre a temática do holocausto, é um livro altamente recomendado.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 17, 2017
The survivors in Anne's class come together in Amsterdam to discuss both Anne and their experiences during the war. Their stories are worth reading and show how things turned out for all of them.
December 4, 2017
Ler tudo o que me aparece à frente sobre o Holocausto dá nisto...
Este relato é sobre os colegas de liceu da Anne Frank. Como ainda no mês passado li "Sobrevivi ao Holocausto" da Nanette Konig, também ela, colega de escola da Anne Frank, achei que esta história se repetiu um bocado, porque fala do reencontro dos colegas da Anne e das suas vivências pessoais no período do Holocausto, e obviamente uma dessas colegas era também a Nanette... Aliás, uma das poucas sobreviventes.
Este relato é sobre os colegas de liceu da Anne Frank. Como ainda no mês passado li "Sobrevivi ao Holocausto" da Nanette Konig, também ela, colega de escola da Anne Frank, achei que esta história se repetiu um bocado, porque fala do reencontro dos colegas da Anne e das suas vivências pessoais no período do Holocausto, e obviamente uma dessas colegas era também a Nanette... Aliás, uma das poucas sobreviventes.
May 9, 2018
I remember when this book was published in the US, however I assumed it was looking to cash in on the popularity of Anne Frank and didn't bother to read it. However, after re-reading Anne's Diary and visiting the Secret Annex in Amsterdam, I wanted to read everything related to Anne, so I finally picked this book up.
The stories of her classmates are varied and interesting on their own, without the Anne Frank connection, although perhaps I would never have found this book without Anne's name attached. The writing does not do these stories justice. I found it a little difficult to follow- the way it jumped around and no one's story was told all in one piece. But it was still worthwhile to read and I do recommend the book for anyone interested in the experiences of Jewish children during the Nazi occupation of The Netherlands.
The stories of her classmates are varied and interesting on their own, without the Anne Frank connection, although perhaps I would never have found this book without Anne's name attached. The writing does not do these stories justice. I found it a little difficult to follow- the way it jumped around and no one's story was told all in one piece. But it was still worthwhile to read and I do recommend the book for anyone interested in the experiences of Jewish children during the Nazi occupation of The Netherlands.
February 21, 2023
Vejam a minha opinião em vídeo, AQUI.
July 28, 2019
I liked this book a lot. It was cool to hear different sides of the story because, as mentioned in the book, you mostly hear from people who were in concentration camps. Besides Anne Frank's book, it is uncommon to hear of those who went into hiding. I think this was definitely an important and enjoyable read. The only reason I gave it four stars (more like 4.5) is because it just got to be a little boring sometimes.
June 12, 2016
Anne Frank as remembered by her friends and classmates.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
March 18, 2025
The man who wrote this book, Theo Coster, was a former classmate of Anne Frank when they lived in Amsterdam before and early in the occupation of the Netherlands by the Germans in WWII. The children were young teens at the time - a time when all Jewish children in Amsterdam were forced to attend special schools just for Jews. Because the author wanted to protect these memories for generations to come, he gathered five other school mates together to write a book and also make a film that would share their memories of their experiences during those times as well as their memories of Anne Frank. The men and women who share their stories in this book offer us a glimpse of the hard and dangerous lives they lived during that horrifying time in history. They also shed more light on who Anne Frank was as a girl during that time from their memories of her. The book jumps back and forth in time some, but the information and heartfelt stories in this book are very worthwhile and are things that mankind should never forget. This is a poignant book.
February 16, 2025
This was really good but the title is a bit misleading. Yes, Anne Frank was the common denominator with all of these survivors but she is actually mentioned very little. That does not take away from the interesting stories they had to tell on their own. There is also a movie, The Classmates of Anne Frank which was made about the author of this book while he was compiling this information. However, I can't find anywhere that it's available to watch.
February 21, 2022
Loved this as a companion to the Anne Frank Diary. It was so interesting to hear about Anne's classmates and how they remembered her.
December 11, 2023
It feels so fucked up to rank a story about something like this so low but I have discussed it extensively with my grandma so it’s okay
September 13, 2016
Theo Coster (who went to create the game "Guess Who?") was Anne Frank's classmate at one of the segregated school Jewish children were forced to attend during WWII in Amsterdam. This book retells the stories that Coster uncovered while he created a documentary to tell the stories of his and Anne's fellow former schoolmates. The concept of this book is probably better suited for film, but I enjoyed it anyway.
Of course, this book hammers in the importance of remembering and retelling stories of war and genocide. It also shed light on the wide variety of experiences that a particular group of children underwent during the Holocaust. Although the experiences certainly differed from child to child - often based on the good fortune of happening to have blonde hair or obtaining some random bureaucratic favor - all of these kids lost their childhood - whether they survived in hiding, survived the camps, or died. And all of them faced the world after the war with what seemed like very little support. I found this striking, and was also just appalled by the discussion of hunger and food shortages.
The book also offered some interesting critiques of the popularity of Anne Frank's diary. I hadn't thought about it, since I read the diary as a girl, but some of Anne's contemporaries raised a legitimate concern about the book gaining so much prominence because the Dutch want to believe that ordinary people did hide Jews and that the majority of them did not stand idly by and were not complicit in the genocide of 80% of Dutch Jews. This book gives lie to that myth and it would be a great follow-up for anyone reading the Diary for the first time.
Of course, this book hammers in the importance of remembering and retelling stories of war and genocide. It also shed light on the wide variety of experiences that a particular group of children underwent during the Holocaust. Although the experiences certainly differed from child to child - often based on the good fortune of happening to have blonde hair or obtaining some random bureaucratic favor - all of these kids lost their childhood - whether they survived in hiding, survived the camps, or died. And all of them faced the world after the war with what seemed like very little support. I found this striking, and was also just appalled by the discussion of hunger and food shortages.
The book also offered some interesting critiques of the popularity of Anne Frank's diary. I hadn't thought about it, since I read the diary as a girl, but some of Anne's contemporaries raised a legitimate concern about the book gaining so much prominence because the Dutch want to believe that ordinary people did hide Jews and that the majority of them did not stand idly by and were not complicit in the genocide of 80% of Dutch Jews. This book gives lie to that myth and it would be a great follow-up for anyone reading the Diary for the first time.
August 25, 2015
Li este livro há, aproximadamente, um ano. Mas sinto que preciso de escrever sobre ele, visto que é muito pouco conhecido.
Quando iniciei a leitura, confesso que pensei que fosse maioritariamente sobre Anne Frank. Aliás, acho que é ao que o título nos remete. Mas não. Este livro fala-nos de um homem, Theo Coster, que conheceu Anne e que decidiu fazer uma espécie de entrevista a outros seus ex-colegas.
Fiquei desiludida de início, pois esperei um livro completamente diferente. No entanto, quando o terminei, fiquei grata pelo que li. É-nos dado o testemunho de sobreviventes ao Holocausto que nos falam de todas as suas experiências de vida durante todos aqueles anos em que o terror fazia parte do ar respirado pelos judeus.
Ninguém quer que Anne seja esquecida, é verdade, mas se pensarmos bem é dada mais relevância à vida dos que não sobreviveram do que propriamente daqueles que ainda se encontram entre nós e que têm histórias de vida marcantes para contar.
Adorei a leitura e recomendo a todos :)
Quando iniciei a leitura, confesso que pensei que fosse maioritariamente sobre Anne Frank. Aliás, acho que é ao que o título nos remete. Mas não. Este livro fala-nos de um homem, Theo Coster, que conheceu Anne e que decidiu fazer uma espécie de entrevista a outros seus ex-colegas.
Fiquei desiludida de início, pois esperei um livro completamente diferente. No entanto, quando o terminei, fiquei grata pelo que li. É-nos dado o testemunho de sobreviventes ao Holocausto que nos falam de todas as suas experiências de vida durante todos aqueles anos em que o terror fazia parte do ar respirado pelos judeus.
Ninguém quer que Anne seja esquecida, é verdade, mas se pensarmos bem é dada mais relevância à vida dos que não sobreviveram do que propriamente daqueles que ainda se encontram entre nós e que têm histórias de vida marcantes para contar.
Adorei a leitura e recomendo a todos :)
August 17, 2012
This book sounded really wonderful but I was a little wary that it was just trying to trade in on the Anne Frank name. That was true to a tiny extent but not in any kind of bad way. Really the story didn't need an Anne Frank connection, the stories of each classmate was fascinating on it's own but perhaps they wouldn't have been told without the connection.
However, just because a story is wonderful doesn't mean the story-teller is capable of doing it justice. This was a little bit like listening to my Grandpa (bless his heart). The facts are interesting but it's a chore trying to sort out any kind of timeline/continuity/character/etc. I was confused about who was who pretty much the whole book.
However, just because a story is wonderful doesn't mean the story-teller is capable of doing it justice. This was a little bit like listening to my Grandpa (bless his heart). The facts are interesting but it's a chore trying to sort out any kind of timeline/continuity/character/etc. I was confused about who was who pretty much the whole book.
August 24, 2016
Really interesting story, but the dialogue was quite awkward and stilted. It was interesting to hear what Anne Frank's classmates thought of her, to find out that a lot of what she wrote about herself and her classmates was considerably exaggerated. Definitely read The Diary of Anne Frank before you read this, this book is meant as a sequel, not a stand alone story.
March 8, 2025
At the age of 80, Theo Coster returned to Amsterdam from his home in Israel to visit with a small group of his surviving classmates from the Jewish Lyceum school during World War II. Anne Frank was their classmate and friend before she and her family went into hiding.
This often heartwrenching book describes their conversations at the time of their reunion. It provides their accounts of their wartime experiences, each of which was horrific in their own way, though not all were held in concentration camps, due to varying circumstances, or what may be described as a combination of luck and ingenuity.
Coster had been hidden in the countryside with kind and generous people who risked their own lives to take him in. He was fortunate to be able to go outside, and even ride his bicycle in the area, rather than being confined like Anne. Also, through some bureaucratic error, his passport was not marked with the telltale "J" (for Jewish) so he was somewhat under the radar of the Nazi occupiers and the local Dutch authorities. Later on he learned the extraordinary truth that the entire population of the village knew of his presence but kept his secret.
After the war, he was able to attend university classes, and travel to obtain work. He eventually settled permanently in Israel in 1955 where he met his wife. They developed a successful business that created children's games sold around the world.
He became involved in creating a documentary film, "The Classmates of Anne Frank", which was based on his interviews of and discussions with the people who are the subjects of this book. This is a link to a trailer for the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIK1I... There doesn't currently seem to be a way to stream the entire film, but I will be continuing to search for it.
This often heartwrenching book describes their conversations at the time of their reunion. It provides their accounts of their wartime experiences, each of which was horrific in their own way, though not all were held in concentration camps, due to varying circumstances, or what may be described as a combination of luck and ingenuity.
Coster had been hidden in the countryside with kind and generous people who risked their own lives to take him in. He was fortunate to be able to go outside, and even ride his bicycle in the area, rather than being confined like Anne. Also, through some bureaucratic error, his passport was not marked with the telltale "J" (for Jewish) so he was somewhat under the radar of the Nazi occupiers and the local Dutch authorities. Later on he learned the extraordinary truth that the entire population of the village knew of his presence but kept his secret.
After the war, he was able to attend university classes, and travel to obtain work. He eventually settled permanently in Israel in 1955 where he met his wife. They developed a successful business that created children's games sold around the world.
He became involved in creating a documentary film, "The Classmates of Anne Frank", which was based on his interviews of and discussions with the people who are the subjects of this book. This is a link to a trailer for the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIK1I... There doesn't currently seem to be a way to stream the entire film, but I will be continuing to search for it.
December 14, 2024
This book was poorly written. Theo Coster had no room to criticize Anne's diary when she was a much better writer. Also the fact that he never missed an opportunity to mention that he was her classmate for his own attention/benefit is disgusting. He mainly transcribed conversations with other classmates. AND, his classmates experiences were much more interesting! I kept wishing I could just read their experiences from their own perspective instead. It was really difficult to keep up with who was who, who was speaking at the time; just really poorly organized writing. It would have made a lot more sense to devote a chapter to each of the classmates. Also, he spent more time talking about his career working in paper (snore!) than even to his own moped travel from Amsterdam to Israel. It would have been nice if the book would have included photos of the other classmates mentioned in the book. He only included his own pictures, including paper mill photos--no one cares! On another note, I would like to know if the documentary film he made is available. I've never been able to find a copy of it or heard if it were showing anywhere.
February 15, 2021
A sweet little book that was actually pretty informative to me. I haven’t read much about the war in the Netherlands. I was surprised to read that the classmates all had widely different experiences, especially the ones that went into hiding.
One of the classmates says “I try to remember all that’s good and beautiful. Anger doesn’t solve anything. We can only solve problems by looking at things head-on and realizing exactly went wrong. We have to stay vigilant.”
She is asked what she thinks of the reputation the book has gained over the years and answers, “In some way, the book has promoted the myth that for so long struck such a sympathetic chord in the Netherlands-namely, the myth that the Dutch had helped their Jewish compatriots. This is actually contradicted by the number of those who died; about 80 percent of the Jewish minority in the Netherlands was killed during the war. I don’t believe that’s the percentage that would have died had everyone been as great as we’ve been told.”
One of the classmates says “I try to remember all that’s good and beautiful. Anger doesn’t solve anything. We can only solve problems by looking at things head-on and realizing exactly went wrong. We have to stay vigilant.”
She is asked what she thinks of the reputation the book has gained over the years and answers, “In some way, the book has promoted the myth that for so long struck such a sympathetic chord in the Netherlands-namely, the myth that the Dutch had helped their Jewish compatriots. This is actually contradicted by the number of those who died; about 80 percent of the Jewish minority in the Netherlands was killed during the war. I don’t believe that’s the percentage that would have died had everyone been as great as we’ve been told.”
January 9, 2023
An excellent book for those familiar with WWII history, and an especially good companion book to Anne Frank's book. I don't think this would stand alone if the reader was not familiar with Frank's book and legacy, but since Frank's book is one of the most widely read books in the world, finding someone unfamiliar with it would be unlikely.
We All Wore Stars is an intimate book chronicling the history of several of Anne's classmates. It's fascinating (and so so sad) to hear what they all went through during the war years. What trauma they faced, and how when the war was over many of them were left to face the trauma alone.
If you're interested in this time period, and how war affects children, you'll really enjoy this book.
We All Wore Stars is an intimate book chronicling the history of several of Anne's classmates. It's fascinating (and so so sad) to hear what they all went through during the war years. What trauma they faced, and how when the war was over many of them were left to face the trauma alone.
If you're interested in this time period, and how war affects children, you'll really enjoy this book.
December 31, 2021
Interesting to contrast the story of Anne Frank going underground with several of her school classmates who survived. The author moved and lived in the open with a school headmaster and his wife, while his parents his separately. A mother born Catholic was able to have the J removed from the identity cards of she and her 2 daughters. Others hid in a variety of temporary locations. Their stories live on in this book and a March 2008 documentary film: The Classmates of Anne Frank.
April 16, 2022
remembering is always important
Simple messages about what war can do to us all, but particularly to children. I will reread regularly to aim myself at being a resilient and better parent and friend and community member
Simple messages about what war can do to us all, but particularly to children. I will reread regularly to aim myself at being a resilient and better parent and friend and community member
January 26, 2024
I was looking for The Diary of Anne Frank which was unavailable but looked at some other books including this one by her classmate which was OK but felt a little like the geezer was cashing in a story he had little involvement with.
December 26, 2025
I thought this might just be cashing in on the Anne Frank phenomenon, but I found it very interesting to read about how other Jewish children from her class also went into hiding during WWII. Sadly the writing felt flat, which is possibly just a translation issue.
February 4, 2019
Not so much about Anne Frank but memories of her school colleagues experiences during this time
August 28, 2020
Nice and touching little one sitting read.
Nice to know about Anne's classmate and how he saw her.
Nice to know about Anne's classmate and how he saw her.
May 30, 2021
3.5 stars
An interesting look on different people's lives during the Holocaust.
An interesting look on different people's lives during the Holocaust.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews