What do you think?
Rate this book
The Year of Goodbyes: A True Story of Friendship, Family and Farewells
In Germany in 1938, life is dangerous.
Like other twelve-year-old girls, Jutta Salzberg enjoyed playing with friends, going to school, and visiting relatives. In 1938 Germany, these everyday activities were dangerous for Jews. Jutta and her family tried to lead normal lives, but soon they knew they had to escape--if they could, before it was too late.
Throughout 1938, Jutta had her friends and relatives fill her poesiealbum --her autograph book-with inscriptions. Her daughter, Debbie Levy, used these entries as a springboard for telling the story of the Salzberg family's last year in Germany.
This powerful story shows a world of change and chance, confusion and cruelty. It was a year of goodbyes.
Like other twelve-year-old girls, Jutta Salzberg enjoyed playing with friends, going to school, and visiting relatives. In 1938 Germany, these everyday activities were dangerous for Jews. Jutta and her family tried to lead normal lives, but soon they knew they had to escape--if they could, before it was too late.
Throughout 1938, Jutta had her friends and relatives fill her poesiealbum --her autograph book-with inscriptions. Her daughter, Debbie Levy, used these entries as a springboard for telling the story of the Salzberg family's last year in Germany.
This powerful story shows a world of change and chance, confusion and cruelty. It was a year of goodbyes.
160 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
About the author
Debbie Levy
45 books69 followersDebbie Levy is the author of more than thirty books for young people, including the New York Times bestselling I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark; A Dangerous Idea: The Scopes Trial, the Original Fight Over Science in Schools; This Promise of Change (with Jo Ann Boyce); The Year of Goodbyes; and Becoming RBG. Debbie is the recipient of a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Honor, Sydney Taylor Award, and the National Jewish Book Award, among other honors. Before she started writing books for young people, she worked as a newspaper editor and a lawyer.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 111 reviews
May 3, 2021
Powerful. Everyone should read this.
June 2, 2017
I read most of this book in one sitting. The 136 pages are packed with a lot of emotional and historical elements. Alternating between free verse, Jutta’s diary entries, and writings from Jutta’s poesiealbum, this is one girl’s story of how her life was affected by World War II events. Each chapter begins with the actual poesiealbum writings written in German, which is then translated in English at the bottom page. At the end of the book, there are photographs of Jutta and her family along with a timeline and an afterward in which we find out what happened to many of Jutta’s friends and family (this was the saddest part of the book for me). I took many new facts away from reading this and the one that sticks in my mind the most is the Kindertransport, the rescue effort that transported Jewish children from certain countries to the U.K., ultimately saving them from dying in the concentration camps.
I recommend to anyone who is interested in the WW II and Holocaust. It would be an appropriate resource for a middle school or high school class who is studying that specific time period.
I recommend to anyone who is interested in the WW II and Holocaust. It would be an appropriate resource for a middle school or high school class who is studying that specific time period.
December 26, 2019
In January 1938, Juttta Salzberg, an 11-year-old Jewish girl living in Hamburg, Germany with her family, received a new blank Poesiealbum, in which her friends and relatives could write their comments, thoughts, poems, advice, and wishes for Jutta. Along with their handwritten entries, they often included small stickers or hand drawn illustrations. Posiealbums were quite popular at the time.
In this slim. reissued book, author and Jutta's daughter, Debbie Levy, has poignantly recreated her mother's memories of living in Nazi Germany in the year 1938. Each chapter begins with a page from Jutta's original Poesiealbum, written in German with an added English translation. This is followed by a free verse poem written by Levy. Each verse is written in her mother's voice as a young girl and really captures what was happening and what Jutta thought about what she was witnessing and experiencing within her family, her friends, and Germany itself.
By 1938, Jews in Germany already feeling the force of Nazi power, losing basic rights and freedoms because of changing laws designed to limit Jewish lives more and more. Only wanting to have a somewhat normal childhood, the entries in Jutta's Poesiealbum and the accompanying poems document just how worried by and scared of the Nazis and their futures these children were:
"Yes, I am eleven-and-three-quarters years old.
I used to worry about my grades
and having to eat stuffed cabbage.
But now I wonder,
what will become of us?
What will become of me?
As persecution and roundups being to increase along with Nazi cruelties, the Salzberg family decides that it is time to emigrate to the United States with the help of relatives already living there. But getting Nazi permission to leave the country isn't easy and acquiring the necessary visas from the American consulate is just as difficult. Finally, out of desperation, Jutta's father takes a drastic step in front of his family and the consul. Standing at the window in the consul's office, he tells him:
"that if he must wait longer for visas,
he might as well jump out the window.
'I might as well jump,'
Father tells the man,
'because the Nazis will be
murdering me soon anyway.'"
Finally, with approved visas, the Salzbergs are able to leave Germany, leaving behind family, friends, possessions, and most of their money. Yet, even their train trip to Paris is fraught with tension and fear until they reach the French border. Imagine the mixed emotions they must have felt when they discovered that their arrival in France on November 11, 1938 is the same day as the Kristallnacht pogrom.
The Year of Goodbyes a small book, yet it is very compelling look at what was happening in Nazi Germany through the eyes of a young victim/witness. It is particularly interesting to read what Jutta's friends wrote in the book, thoughts that cover a broad range of fears and hopes. Debbie Levy researched the fate of the family and friends left behind, and you can read about them in her Afterward. Many did not survive the Holocaust, but some did and Jutta was able to reconnect with some of these friends later in her life.
Sadly, Jutta passes away on September 4, 2013.
Besides the Afterward, back matter includes a collection of photos of Jutta, her family and friends, a Time Line, a Note on Sources used, and a Selected Bibliography.
This book is recommended for readers age 10+
This book was purchased for my personal library
In this slim. reissued book, author and Jutta's daughter, Debbie Levy, has poignantly recreated her mother's memories of living in Nazi Germany in the year 1938. Each chapter begins with a page from Jutta's original Poesiealbum, written in German with an added English translation. This is followed by a free verse poem written by Levy. Each verse is written in her mother's voice as a young girl and really captures what was happening and what Jutta thought about what she was witnessing and experiencing within her family, her friends, and Germany itself.
By 1938, Jews in Germany already feeling the force of Nazi power, losing basic rights and freedoms because of changing laws designed to limit Jewish lives more and more. Only wanting to have a somewhat normal childhood, the entries in Jutta's Poesiealbum and the accompanying poems document just how worried by and scared of the Nazis and their futures these children were:
"Yes, I am eleven-and-three-quarters years old.
I used to worry about my grades
and having to eat stuffed cabbage.
But now I wonder,
what will become of us?
What will become of me?
As persecution and roundups being to increase along with Nazi cruelties, the Salzberg family decides that it is time to emigrate to the United States with the help of relatives already living there. But getting Nazi permission to leave the country isn't easy and acquiring the necessary visas from the American consulate is just as difficult. Finally, out of desperation, Jutta's father takes a drastic step in front of his family and the consul. Standing at the window in the consul's office, he tells him:
"that if he must wait longer for visas,
he might as well jump out the window.
'I might as well jump,'
Father tells the man,
'because the Nazis will be
murdering me soon anyway.'"
Finally, with approved visas, the Salzbergs are able to leave Germany, leaving behind family, friends, possessions, and most of their money. Yet, even their train trip to Paris is fraught with tension and fear until they reach the French border. Imagine the mixed emotions they must have felt when they discovered that their arrival in France on November 11, 1938 is the same day as the Kristallnacht pogrom.
The Year of Goodbyes a small book, yet it is very compelling look at what was happening in Nazi Germany through the eyes of a young victim/witness. It is particularly interesting to read what Jutta's friends wrote in the book, thoughts that cover a broad range of fears and hopes. Debbie Levy researched the fate of the family and friends left behind, and you can read about them in her Afterward. Many did not survive the Holocaust, but some did and Jutta was able to reconnect with some of these friends later in her life.
Sadly, Jutta passes away on September 4, 2013.
Besides the Afterward, back matter includes a collection of photos of Jutta, her family and friends, a Time Line, a Note on Sources used, and a Selected Bibliography.
This book is recommended for readers age 10+
This book was purchased for my personal library
April 18, 2017
The author bases this story in verse on the entries in her mother's poesiealbum, or poetry album--something like our autograph books today. Each reproduction of an entry from the album is accompanied by a free verse poem describing events surrounding that entry. It's a sad story of a Polish-born Jewish girl in Hamburg, Germany, in 1938, just as Hitler was clamping down on the Jews with laws and restrictions. The children try to go on with their ordinary lives, while the adults around them worry.
The innocent rhymes of hope, good wishes, and good will that are written in Jutta's album contrast sharply with the events going on around her, as more and more of their neighbors are being arrested and sent to concentration camps. Jutta's father is trying frantically to get visas to America so that they can join their relatives there. In the end, they manage to escape, and just hours before the police come to arrest them and take them away. So the story for Jutta has a happy ending. Yet a note at the end of the book reveals the not-so-fortunate fate of most of Jutta's friends and relatives who wrote in her poesiealbum. The author also includes a photo album of some of the people in the story, a timeline of events, and a list of books for further reading. This short but powerful book is a good choice for reluctant readers, but also for anyone who wants to know what it was like for children in the pre-World War II Nazi years.
The innocent rhymes of hope, good wishes, and good will that are written in Jutta's album contrast sharply with the events going on around her, as more and more of their neighbors are being arrested and sent to concentration camps. Jutta's father is trying frantically to get visas to America so that they can join their relatives there. In the end, they manage to escape, and just hours before the police come to arrest them and take them away. So the story for Jutta has a happy ending. Yet a note at the end of the book reveals the not-so-fortunate fate of most of Jutta's friends and relatives who wrote in her poesiealbum. The author also includes a photo album of some of the people in the story, a timeline of events, and a list of books for further reading. This short but powerful book is a good choice for reluctant readers, but also for anyone who wants to know what it was like for children in the pre-World War II Nazi years.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 12, 2014
Based on entries in her mother's poesiealbum, a blank book in which her friends shared thoughts, poems, drawings, and advice, Debbie Levy tells the story of her family's last year in Germany - the year of 1938.
In chronological order, the reader experiences a page from the album and then a story in verse that leads to another album entry. In this way, it is possible to experience the contrast between the innocence and experience of childhood and the ever approaching danger of the Nazis.
Jutta, pronounced YU-tah,is twelve years old during 1938 and the reader watches her grow up and face the fact that her family has to say goodbye to all that they have known in order to survive. Because of the album entries, though, the reader is able to meet so many of her friends and classmates and see what they were thinking about and sharing during this time. At the end of the book, the author shares what happened to her mother and family after they left Germany and came to the United States. Levy also shares the fates, some heartbreaking, of Jutta's album friends.
This is a fascinating perspective on the impact of the Holocaust that I believe would resonate well with middle grade students. I poesiealbum in which students were asked to share what they would most like others to remember about their life at this time.
In chronological order, the reader experiences a page from the album and then a story in verse that leads to another album entry. In this way, it is possible to experience the contrast between the innocence and experience of childhood and the ever approaching danger of the Nazis.
Jutta, pronounced YU-tah,is twelve years old during 1938 and the reader watches her grow up and face the fact that her family has to say goodbye to all that they have known in order to survive. Because of the album entries, though, the reader is able to meet so many of her friends and classmates and see what they were thinking about and sharing during this time. At the end of the book, the author shares what happened to her mother and family after they left Germany and came to the United States. Levy also shares the fates, some heartbreaking, of Jutta's album friends.
This is a fascinating perspective on the impact of the Holocaust that I believe would resonate well with middle grade students. I poesiealbum in which students were asked to share what they would most like others to remember about their life at this time.
August 17, 2012
I loved this little gem! It was a very quick read and is a Utah Beehive Book Award Nominee. This book was based on the life of her mother and I really enjoyed the way it was written. I connected to it on such a personal level because of the diary feel of the book. I recommend this for children and feel it is such an important part of history to pass down to each generation.
June 25, 2015
I gained so much insight from this quick read. The owner of the posiealbum was a very deep thinker for age 12 and asked really good questions about life and what she was experiencing.
I got goosebumps when I read that when Jutta & a friend were reunited 60 years later her friend said, "As we were saying..." and Jutta completed it with "before we were so rudely interrupted." So endearing.
I got goosebumps when I read that when Jutta & a friend were reunited 60 years later her friend said, "As we were saying..." and Jutta completed it with "before we were so rudely interrupted." So endearing.
Want to Read
March 25, 2010From my friend Nancy:
This beautiful, 3-minute book clip is worth watching. The new book is "The Year of Goodbyes," by my writer group friend Debbie Levy. It's a children's book about Debbie's mother's holocaust experience as a child - http://bit.ly/a6puqP
This beautiful, 3-minute book clip is worth watching. The new book is "The Year of Goodbyes," by my writer group friend Debbie Levy. It's a children's book about Debbie's mother's holocaust experience as a child - http://bit.ly/a6puqP
September 7, 2018
For a person that doesn't like to read much in general, this book really opened my eyes with how much emotions and creativity was put into this. Of course the book cover tells you that there won't be many good sides to this story as it takes place in Nazi Germany where the Jews were mistreated and were forced to run. The story of a young girl named Jutta Salzberg wrote in her diary (this book) but instead of writing it in the normal way she wrote it in poems and added stickers, sticky notes and post cards that add so much emotion and really gets you immersed into this.
Rarely she will write in standard form that describes her life in Germany and how each night she hears footsteps outside her apartment but skip her door. To me that makes the books core on how fearful and terrifying it was to sleep with one eye open having to worry about getting dragged outside her own place. The ending is something that should be cherished because normally stories like these end either casual or sad while this ending leaves you relieved with how she managed to escape with her whole family on a ship that sailed to New York. Her details on how big the skyscrapers are, the lights and the statue, gives you an impression that she is safe and away from danger. I highly recommend this book for those who like suspense and enjoy creativity a lot, believe me this story left me wondering what would have happened if they were slower than normal, what would have happened if they catched up to them?
Rarely she will write in standard form that describes her life in Germany and how each night she hears footsteps outside her apartment but skip her door. To me that makes the books core on how fearful and terrifying it was to sleep with one eye open having to worry about getting dragged outside her own place. The ending is something that should be cherished because normally stories like these end either casual or sad while this ending leaves you relieved with how she managed to escape with her whole family on a ship that sailed to New York. Her details on how big the skyscrapers are, the lights and the statue, gives you an impression that she is safe and away from danger. I highly recommend this book for those who like suspense and enjoy creativity a lot, believe me this story left me wondering what would have happened if they were slower than normal, what would have happened if they catched up to them?
November 26, 2019
This reprint is a novel in verse based on a personal album/diary kept by the author’s mother during the late 1930s as a Jewish girl in Germany. Poesiealbums were blank books in which girls wrote poetry, drawings and notes to friends. The Year of Goodbyes is a collection of notes and diary entries from Jutta Salzberg’s poesiealbum (in their own handwriting). After each entry, Debbie Levy has written an accompanying verse entry that imagines Jutta’s thoughts about the time period and the actions of the Nazis. Black and white photographs of Jutta’s youth are included throughout the text (there are even more photos in the end). The personal notes from Jutta’s friends in their own handwriting really brings to life the struggle and heartache Jewish people faced in the late 1930s. I found this book touching and memorable.
“...I have reached the limit / of my imagination. / I can’t imagine what might happen. / I can’t imagine what will become of us. / I can’t imagine being as old as Mother and Father. / I can’t imagine not becoming as old as them.”
Includes an afterword on her Jutta’s life and the lives of all her friends, black and white photographs, a timeline, and a selected bibliography.
“...I have reached the limit / of my imagination. / I can’t imagine what might happen. / I can’t imagine what will become of us. / I can’t imagine being as old as Mother and Father. / I can’t imagine not becoming as old as them.”
Includes an afterword on her Jutta’s life and the lives of all her friends, black and white photographs, a timeline, and a selected bibliography.
December 11, 2022
What a unique way to make readers connect with both survivors and victims of the Holocaust! Author Debbie Levy tells the story of one year in the life of her mother as she watched, listened and experienced the increasing anti-Semitism of Germany using actual reprintings of her diary, a poesiealbum (autograph book) and her own memories. Girls in 1938 Germany gave much thought and time to the notes they wrote in a friends poesialbum and those sentiments tied directly to the way that 12 year old Jutta Salzberg saw the growing atrocities and faced the reality that she and her family had to flee or be killed. Levy’s text, her mother’s private thoughts and friends’ and family’s musings weave together to give the reader an intensely personal look at very real people. That reality becomes even more poignant when the fate of most of the signers and family is revealed in the backmatter. A must-have book for those 5th grade and up who are interested in learning more about the Holocaust and from the words of those who lived and died during that horrific time. No profanity or sexual content and despite the violence of the Holocaust, there is very little graphic recounting of those atrocities here.
April 16, 2022
What an interesting and unique book.
Every year I read at least one Holocaust book. I try to read the memoirs because I want to hear the authentic voice of the survivors. This book though is authentic un a different way. The poesiealbum that Jutta (YU tah) brings with her from Hamburg to the US Carrie’s not only her life but those of her friends who signed it. What genre does that make this book fit? Poetry? For the verse entries that Debbie Levy has composed with her mother? Or memoir for her mothers voice through the poems? I like the diary entries that connect Jutta’s story to my timeline of the Holocaust.
This brief book of poems gets five stars for its sensitive presentation of the horrific events of the Holocaust. Levy doesn’t sugarcoat any of the history yet the poems are relatable and poignant. Six hours. Six hours made the difference between life and probable death for Jutta and Ruth and their parents. I’m glad to have found this book and hope you will take time to read it too.
Every year I read at least one Holocaust book. I try to read the memoirs because I want to hear the authentic voice of the survivors. This book though is authentic un a different way. The poesiealbum that Jutta (YU tah) brings with her from Hamburg to the US Carrie’s not only her life but those of her friends who signed it. What genre does that make this book fit? Poetry? For the verse entries that Debbie Levy has composed with her mother? Or memoir for her mothers voice through the poems? I like the diary entries that connect Jutta’s story to my timeline of the Holocaust.
This brief book of poems gets five stars for its sensitive presentation of the horrific events of the Holocaust. Levy doesn’t sugarcoat any of the history yet the poems are relatable and poignant. Six hours. Six hours made the difference between life and probable death for Jutta and Ruth and their parents. I’m glad to have found this book and hope you will take time to read it too.
August 21, 2022
True Stories always get me. Reading the "diary" of a 11/12 year old and her family's escape from Germany and the Nazi's was extremely sad and upsetting. Hearing of what happened to her friends and family and seeing the photos reminded me that history is REAL! It's about REAL PEOPLE in REAL PLACES with real emotions and life and death situations. I have always taught my children the history of the Holocaust because I pray it never happens again for any race, and religious group, in any country in my lifetime or in my sons lifetime.
December 11, 2025
This is a short, less than one hour read. While it’s appropriate for young adult it is a unique enough book that everyone should read it. While I’ve read a fair share of memoirs from this time period, I felt like I learned so much from this novel. I loved the idea and meaningfulness of posiealbums, and how powerful of a time capsule this became.
I wasn’t expecting the research at the end but was very grateful for it.
I wasn’t expecting the research at the end but was very grateful for it.
May 19, 2017
This is basically a book of poetry not unlike Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse, except with more pictures. It's okay. It's my fault for, for once, not really looking into a preview. I thought there'd be more to it than this. It's sorta like looking through a family member's diary after they die. Kinda interesting, kinda sweet, kinda sad, kinda awkward.
December 10, 2018
Genre: Poetry
Copyright:2010
This was such an awesome book! It was written in poetry form. This is a journal of a Jewish girl growing up in Nazi Germany. This was such a touching story I loved it. This would be a great book to read for students to learn more about what it was like to grow up being Jewish in Nazi Germany. I would say this book is appropriate for grades 4-8.
Copyright:2010
This was such an awesome book! It was written in poetry form. This is a journal of a Jewish girl growing up in Nazi Germany. This was such a touching story I loved it. This would be a great book to read for students to learn more about what it was like to grow up being Jewish in Nazi Germany. I would say this book is appropriate for grades 4-8.
May 10, 2021
I learned a lot from this book written in verse and diary entries about the Holocaust. Would be a great book to supplement the social studies and literacy curriculum (now required in the state of WI).
April 1, 2022
This poignant and personal account of the author's mother's life in 1938 helps younger readers understand this pivotal year and the consequences of Nazi rule. The format of short poems is creative and accessible.
Read
December 26, 2019Jewish family at the beginning of WWII in Germany
April 24, 2020
Good early intro to WW2 and Holocaust for preteens.
April 8, 2021
Good story
May 15, 2021
It's an interesting book
July 6, 2021
Nice book
December 7, 2023
Outstanding Memoir of one year in the life of a young girl.
December 31, 2024
I enjoyed the personal album in this account leading the storyline. I also applaud the research at the end to find out what happened to all the people who wrote in the album. Quick read.
October 12, 2016
A German memory book called Poesiealbums, put together using drawings, good wishes, and poetry by a young Jewish girl whose family is trying to leave Germany in the late 1930s. Ms Levy shares her mother's memories and finishes the book with information on the fate of those whose poems and well-wishes are included.
June 5, 2010
While there are many novels and non-fiction books about the Holocaust aimed at young readers, with more appearing every year, Debbie Levy's unique little volume deserves a place on school and public library shelves. Levy's mother, Jutta Salzberg, and her immediate family were among the fortunate few--they left Germany in 1938 for America, barely escaping arrest and probable death at the hands of the Nazis.
One of the few cherished items Jutta was able to bring with her was her posiealbum, or poetry album, a kind of scrapbook popular with young girls in Germany in the 1930's. As Levy explains in the introduction, posiealbums were blank books in which young people "collected poems, drawings, and expressions of good wishes from friends and family." Levy intersperses reproductions of actual pages from the posiealbum, along with English translations, with free verse poetry written in her mother's voice. These poems link the entries together and narrate the tale of the family's experiences in 1938, their last year in their homeland, poignantly described in the title as the year of goodbyes.
Through Jutta's reflections and those of her friends and family in the posiealbum, we see life go from bad to worse for this typical 12-year-old girl and her family. As persecution of the Jews worsened, Jutta's father obtains permission from the Nazis to leave Germany, but will he be able to get visas for them to emigrate to the United States? He becomes increasingly desperate, even threatening to jump out the window of the American Consultate in Hamburg. When the visas are finally obtained, we see the family's preparations to leave Germany, as they are forced to leave nearly all their possessions and money behind. None of their friends and family could imagine what was in store, however, for those who remained behind. Levy has carefully researched the fate of all those friends and relatives who inscribed their best wishes in Jutta's album; in an afterword, she reveals what happened to each. As the reader can easily imagine, many of them later perished in the camps. The afterword also provides a context for the year described in this book, so that young people without much knowledge of the period can understand the developments which surrounded Jutta's family and friends. In addition, Levy provides a helpful note on how she did her research on those who had written in Jutta's album and a selected bibliography for further exploration of issues surrounding the Holocaust.
While the reader would imagine that Jutta, having safely escaped Nazi Germany, never saw any of her classmates again, there is an astonishing footnote to this story. When Levy wrote an article published in the Washington Postin 1998 about her mother's escape from Nazi Germany, the article was seen by several of Jutta's former classmates that were now living in the U.S. In 2000, seven of the "girls" from Jutta's Hamburg school held at reunion in Washington, D.C., bringing their posiealbums with them. One can only imagine their joy and also their sorrow for those classmates who did not survive the Holocaust.
Through a blog, Levy has begun a posiealbum project through which readers can continue the posiealbum tradition by posting their thoughts and feelings on an on-line album. Viewers can also see some of the original pages from Jutta Salzberg's poesiealbum, reproduced in full color rather than black and white as in the book--plus an image of the poesiealbum itself.
One of the few cherished items Jutta was able to bring with her was her posiealbum, or poetry album, a kind of scrapbook popular with young girls in Germany in the 1930's. As Levy explains in the introduction, posiealbums were blank books in which young people "collected poems, drawings, and expressions of good wishes from friends and family." Levy intersperses reproductions of actual pages from the posiealbum, along with English translations, with free verse poetry written in her mother's voice. These poems link the entries together and narrate the tale of the family's experiences in 1938, their last year in their homeland, poignantly described in the title as the year of goodbyes.
Through Jutta's reflections and those of her friends and family in the posiealbum, we see life go from bad to worse for this typical 12-year-old girl and her family. As persecution of the Jews worsened, Jutta's father obtains permission from the Nazis to leave Germany, but will he be able to get visas for them to emigrate to the United States? He becomes increasingly desperate, even threatening to jump out the window of the American Consultate in Hamburg. When the visas are finally obtained, we see the family's preparations to leave Germany, as they are forced to leave nearly all their possessions and money behind. None of their friends and family could imagine what was in store, however, for those who remained behind. Levy has carefully researched the fate of all those friends and relatives who inscribed their best wishes in Jutta's album; in an afterword, she reveals what happened to each. As the reader can easily imagine, many of them later perished in the camps. The afterword also provides a context for the year described in this book, so that young people without much knowledge of the period can understand the developments which surrounded Jutta's family and friends. In addition, Levy provides a helpful note on how she did her research on those who had written in Jutta's album and a selected bibliography for further exploration of issues surrounding the Holocaust.
While the reader would imagine that Jutta, having safely escaped Nazi Germany, never saw any of her classmates again, there is an astonishing footnote to this story. When Levy wrote an article published in the Washington Postin 1998 about her mother's escape from Nazi Germany, the article was seen by several of Jutta's former classmates that were now living in the U.S. In 2000, seven of the "girls" from Jutta's Hamburg school held at reunion in Washington, D.C., bringing their posiealbums with them. One can only imagine their joy and also their sorrow for those classmates who did not survive the Holocaust.
Through a blog, Levy has begun a posiealbum project through which readers can continue the posiealbum tradition by posting their thoughts and feelings on an on-line album. Viewers can also see some of the original pages from Jutta Salzberg's poesiealbum, reproduced in full color rather than black and white as in the book--plus an image of the poesiealbum itself.
April 17, 2017
Ever wondered what a year of goodbyes felt like, what it feels like to say goodbye to all that you've ever know? This non-fiction book is very touching and gives you an idea about what some of the children Jews seen and what they experienced when fleeing Germany. There might be some spoilers so continue if you want.
This book is about how this young girl named Jutta Salzberg receives advice from her friends and family but as she is responding to them she is also giving the reader descriptions on what is going on now. The main events that occurred during this story was how first Jutta is saying how worse and worse the Nazis were getting. She is describing how hard her father was trying to get them American Visas. As I was reading this she describes how the hatred for Jews worsened and what the limits were for any one who was Jewish. Her whole life turned upside down. She couldn't even feel safe playing outside, not even in her own home. She did not feel safe in her home because the Nazis were taking Jews away from their homes in the dead of night. As the time came to leave their only home more and more Jews were being sent to concentration camps. The day they left to the U.S they ran into minor trouble. Their father was almost taken away by the Nazis but luckily he wasn't. It wasn't until they reached America that they heard they escaped the Nazis by 6 hours. And they also the very next day because on that day all the Jews in the town were rounded up and were killed, sent to concentration camps or were put in jail.
The title relates to the book because Jutta receives letters from her family and friends ( a years worth) giving her advice. As Jutta explains her advice she is also describing events thats happening. Now, if you look back she sees all those letters she says goodbye to all of the cruelty and frightened-ness and she takes all of the advice with her to her new life.
I was moved by this book because to hear about what a child witnessed during the holocaust is hard to take in. This book truly gives my the jist of the hatred children and even adults got. And this book shows the reader that people who could not escape the Nazi's terror would rather commit suicide than to be sent to a concentration camp. I like this book because I feel it makes the reader aware of what happened and who it affected.
I would give this book a 4/5 stars because I felt the book was not very descriptive but overall I enjoyed this book and I recommend this to people who are doing a project on how the children Jews were affected or if they are interested in the Holocaust. although it's hard to believe, children as young as twelve experienced sadness and terror and if you want to find out why or how just read this book and find out.
This book is about how this young girl named Jutta Salzberg receives advice from her friends and family but as she is responding to them she is also giving the reader descriptions on what is going on now. The main events that occurred during this story was how first Jutta is saying how worse and worse the Nazis were getting. She is describing how hard her father was trying to get them American Visas. As I was reading this she describes how the hatred for Jews worsened and what the limits were for any one who was Jewish. Her whole life turned upside down. She couldn't even feel safe playing outside, not even in her own home. She did not feel safe in her home because the Nazis were taking Jews away from their homes in the dead of night. As the time came to leave their only home more and more Jews were being sent to concentration camps. The day they left to the U.S they ran into minor trouble. Their father was almost taken away by the Nazis but luckily he wasn't. It wasn't until they reached America that they heard they escaped the Nazis by 6 hours. And they also the very next day because on that day all the Jews in the town were rounded up and were killed, sent to concentration camps or were put in jail.
The title relates to the book because Jutta receives letters from her family and friends ( a years worth) giving her advice. As Jutta explains her advice she is also describing events thats happening. Now, if you look back she sees all those letters she says goodbye to all of the cruelty and frightened-ness and she takes all of the advice with her to her new life.
I was moved by this book because to hear about what a child witnessed during the holocaust is hard to take in. This book truly gives my the jist of the hatred children and even adults got. And this book shows the reader that people who could not escape the Nazi's terror would rather commit suicide than to be sent to a concentration camp. I like this book because I feel it makes the reader aware of what happened and who it affected.
I would give this book a 4/5 stars because I felt the book was not very descriptive but overall I enjoyed this book and I recommend this to people who are doing a project on how the children Jews were affected or if they are interested in the Holocaust. although it's hard to believe, children as young as twelve experienced sadness and terror and if you want to find out why or how just read this book and find out.
April 20, 2010
In The Year of Goodbyes, author Debbie Levy takes a fresh approach to memoir and the story of German Jews in the late 1930s. The book takes place in the year 1938, when Jutta Salzberg, Levy’s mother, is a 12-year-old girl living in Hamburg, Germany. Restrictions against Jews have gotten tighter during the last few years, and her father is desperate to leave with his family for the U.S., where he has relatives who will sponsor him. They have permission from German officials and the money to book transportation, but visas from the U.S. are slow to come.
Jutta certainly is aware of the tensions, but she’s also concerned with the same things any 12-year-old girl would be—school, friends, her pet bird, and the neighbors in her building. Each day that goes by brings news of someone else who has disappeared, and often Jutta hears Nazi boots in the stairwell of her own building as soldiers come to take away neighbors. Salzberg’s family managed to leave Germany for France and finally the U.S., departing just before Kristallnacht, otherwise known as Night of Broken Glass, when the Nazis destroyed many Jewish homes and businesses.
When Jutta Salzberg left, one of the few treasures she took with her was her poesiealbum, an autograph book filled with inscriptions, verse and drawings, all written to Jutta by her friends and relatives. Each chapter of The Year of Goodbyes highlights a page from the poesiealbum and notes from Jutta’s diary entries around the same time.
The result is a simple, but moving account of everyday people, living everyday lives in an extraordinary time. Salzberg and her family knew they were leaving friends and family behind to move across an ocean; they never imagined the fate that awaited those who could not or did not leave. The book is even more poignant because Levy includes notes on her research and her discoveries about what happened to each of the friends who wrote in her mother’s poesiealbum during the year as well as the fate of the Salzberg family’s relatives. Photos of many of the people also brings Jutta’s story to life.
The heart of this book can be found on the pages from the poesiealbum. I was struck by how thoughtful the writings were, and the sentiments they expressed. They show a maturity that seems uncommon for 12 year olds of today. The Year of Goodbyes may be quick to read, but the words will linger in your mind for a long time to come. I recommend this book for mother-daughter book clubs with girls aged 12 and up.
Jutta certainly is aware of the tensions, but she’s also concerned with the same things any 12-year-old girl would be—school, friends, her pet bird, and the neighbors in her building. Each day that goes by brings news of someone else who has disappeared, and often Jutta hears Nazi boots in the stairwell of her own building as soldiers come to take away neighbors. Salzberg’s family managed to leave Germany for France and finally the U.S., departing just before Kristallnacht, otherwise known as Night of Broken Glass, when the Nazis destroyed many Jewish homes and businesses.
When Jutta Salzberg left, one of the few treasures she took with her was her poesiealbum, an autograph book filled with inscriptions, verse and drawings, all written to Jutta by her friends and relatives. Each chapter of The Year of Goodbyes highlights a page from the poesiealbum and notes from Jutta’s diary entries around the same time.
The result is a simple, but moving account of everyday people, living everyday lives in an extraordinary time. Salzberg and her family knew they were leaving friends and family behind to move across an ocean; they never imagined the fate that awaited those who could not or did not leave. The book is even more poignant because Levy includes notes on her research and her discoveries about what happened to each of the friends who wrote in her mother’s poesiealbum during the year as well as the fate of the Salzberg family’s relatives. Photos of many of the people also brings Jutta’s story to life.
The heart of this book can be found on the pages from the poesiealbum. I was struck by how thoughtful the writings were, and the sentiments they expressed. They show a maturity that seems uncommon for 12 year olds of today. The Year of Goodbyes may be quick to read, but the words will linger in your mind for a long time to come. I recommend this book for mother-daughter book clubs with girls aged 12 and up.
February 20, 2017
The Year of Goodbyes is a nonfiction children's book. There is so much hardship in each of these verses. And scanned copies of the poesieablum entries.
A book about a Polish Jewish family's journey from segregation, fear and escape from the Nazi party. I simply couldn't put the book down when reading Jutta's entries. There were times that I needed to put the book down. At the end, Jutta's daughter puts down a list of all the entry authors and if they survived. Many did not. Some are untraceable. Some made it out. But many died.
I would give this to the children today so they understand the hardships of today. In light of the political changes, this book is a way to see immigrants struggles of persecution and fleeing. I will forever be angry over these immigration limitations that were enforced in WWII.
A book about a Polish Jewish family's journey from segregation, fear and escape from the Nazi party. I simply couldn't put the book down when reading Jutta's entries. There were times that I needed to put the book down. At the end, Jutta's daughter puts down a list of all the entry authors and if they survived. Many did not. Some are untraceable. Some made it out. But many died.
I would give this to the children today so they understand the hardships of today. In light of the political changes, this book is a way to see immigrants struggles of persecution and fleeing. I will forever be angry over these immigration limitations that were enforced in WWII.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 111 reviews