Raoul Wallenberg: The Man Who Stopped Death - Sharon Linnea

March 22, 2015

Publisher:
  The Jewish Publication Society
Release Date:
  May 1, 1994
Market:
  Secular
Genre:
–Non-Fiction, History, WWII, Young Adult
Length:
–151 pages
My Rating:
   4/5

 

About This Book (from Goodreads)

In the last days of World War II, a young Swedish architect, Raoul Wallenberg, was secretly sent to Budapest by the War Refugee Board of the United States Government. There he did what no other country or individual was able to do: he saved more than 100,000 Jewish men, women, and children from extermination at the hands of the Nazi Colonel Adolph Eichmann. This meticulously researched biography is based upon archival materials and first-person interviews with Wallenberg's family, colleagues, and people he saved. It is illustrated with original photographs. To this day, no one knows the fate of Raoul Wallenberg, but his belief that one person can make a difference endures as a legacy for us all. 

CRITIQUE

This is my book club book for March.  As much as I’ve read about and even taught about the Holocaust, I had never heard of Raoul Wallenberg.  While this book is meant for younger readers (think middle school), I thought it was a great introduction to Wallenberg and his work rescuing the Jews of Budapest, Hungary.  It does not get too bogged down in dates and general war information.  The book is very specific in its scope.  It is very readable and engaging.  The pictures throughout only add to the story.  Worth the read for anyone interested in WWII and Holocaust history.

Prison Letters - Corrie ten Boom

This is a collection of letters Corrie and her sister, Bessie, both wrote and received while in prison for helping Jews during World War II. Additionally, there are little snippets of observations and ponderings Corrie wrote down on scraps of paper.

I am a little torn on this book. It was a very quick read, so worth the time. It was a very personal account of some of the issues and horrors in prison and concentration camp during WWII. You feel for Corrie and her sister and what they experienced. You marvel at their strength of faith and courage. That they can still praise and believe in a good God after what they experiences. You know that can only be because of a strong foundation and lifestyle that had previous to the war. And you marvel at their good attitude and positive outlook.
And that’s where I’m torn. It might be my more cynical side, but I’ve also read The Hiding Place. There were tough times and it wasn’t all “praise God” – especially where Corrie was concerned. She had some real bad attitude, defeated, depressed moments. And none of that is clear in the letters. Now, that is possibly because they didn’t want to let on to their family all of the misery. They didn’t want their family to worry further. And I can understand that. But parts of it were just a bit too cheery for me for “prison letters.”

The Hiding Place - Corrie Ten Boom

Synopsis from Borders.com: Corrie Ten Boom stood naked with her older sister Betsie, watching a concentration camp matron beating a prisoner."Oh, the poor woman," Corrie cried."Yes. May God forgive her," Betsie replied. And, once again, Corrie realized that it was for the souls of the brutal Nazi guards that her sister prayed.


Here is a book aglow with the glory of God and the courage of a quiet Christian spinster whose life was transformed by it. A story of Christ's message and the courageous woman who listened and lived to pass it along -- with joy and triumph!

The Hiding Place has been my most recent read in Holocaust literature. And how refreshing it has been. Yes, the book deals with some of the atrocities of the Holocaust – the imprisonment, the invasions, the deaths. However, this book is different from the others I’ve read. For in this book there is also hope. And there is love. Love for your fellow human being. Hope from God. And it gives me hope for my life. I have faced nothing as dreadful as a prison or an extermination camp. I have never slept with fleas or been so surrounded by death and despair. However, in the midst of those things – even in the depths of dehumanization – God was there. His grace. His love. His mercy. People clung to Him. Sought Him. And He was found. On this earth and in the world to come. And therein lies the hope for me: God is forever with me, even in this.

I appreciated Mr. ten Boom’s explanation to Corrie’s hard question as a child. He responded that some knowledge is too heavy for children to carry. When they are older and stronger, they can bear to carry it. But for now they should trust their parent to carry it for them. The same is true for our heavenly father. I might not have all the answers – all the whys and wherefores for what happens in this world. But God does. And I need to trust Him with that knowledge until he sees fit to entrust me with it.

I appreciated how when Corrie ten Boom turned things over to God, she left them there in His more than capable hands.

Another scene stuck in my mind moment was when Mr. ten Boom was offered his freedom if he would just behave himself. Mr. ten Boom’s profound response was simply: “If I stay behind, I will open my door to anyone who knocks for help.”

This book was real and courageous. Corrie was not perfect and felt anger and dread. And she lets us see all of that – her most human sides. Yet continues to point us back to a God who is bigger than it all.