Customer Reviews

I Am a Star: Child of the Holocaust (A Puffin Book)

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In Inge Auerbacher's haunting memoir, she recalls the horrors perpetrated by the Nazis during the second World War. As a child, she saw her family imprisoned and witnessed firsthand the deaths of hundreds of thousands of her people. Though Auerbacher is frank in her account of the Holocaust, her optimism shines through in the beautiful poems that litter this work.

The book is short (about 80 pages) and the conversational tone makes it an easy read. "I Am a Star" should replace Anne Frank's diary as the authoritative classic on the Holocaust. My only complaint is that it wasn't longer.

Inge Auerbacher was only three years old,in 1938, when the massive pogrom called Kristallnacht, or the Night of the Broken Glass took place.

At the age of seven she was sent to Terezin concentration camp in Czechoslovakia.

In this incredible little book, Auerbacher tells of her experiences of being a little girl in Terezin concentration camp, one of the few young children who survived the death camps.

As she recounts:

"Of fifteen thousand children imprisoned in the Terezin concentration camps in Czechoslovakia, between 1941 and 1945, about one hundred survived. I am one of them. At least one and a half children were killed in the Nazi Holocaust. The reason most of these children died is that they were Jewish".

Auerbacher takes the horror of these years, and imparts a message of hope. She has created an account for young readers of her experiences, in a book filled with moving poetry and with the aid of haunting illustrations by Israel Bernbaum. There are also several photographs of her home town and of Inge as a child and her family life.

Auerbacher explains that the silent voices of the innocent children who died in the holocaust must be heard, and that is why felt compelled to trace the historical events that made this great evil possible and to tell her own story.

The author talks about her home town, Kippenheim, a village in southern Germany, where she was born in 1934.

She recounts the iddylic existance of her family and community in Kippenheim, until the horrific events of Kristallnacht.

She traces the roots of anti-Semitism for young readers, and summarizes the rise of Hitler, and the holocaust, before talking about her own story.

"We still feel the pain and we weep.

This nightmare will not let us sleep.

A page in history; one must learn.

Yesterday us, and tommorow your turn?"



She talks of her experiences of being forced to wear the yellow star at the age of six years old, the harsh circumstances of deportation, and the horrific conditions for children in Terezin in crowded and filthy cells infested with rats, mice, fleas and bedbugs, and of the other children who she befriended in the camp, such as Ada, a German Jewish child who longed to go to the Land of Israel, as did so many hundreds of thousands of Jews trapped in the Nazi inferno.

Ada taught her a song about the Holy Land, and promised Inge that they would soon go to there, "Just hold on a little longer" she used to say.

Ada's dream never came true-she died at the age of nine in Auschwitz.

Another friend was Ruth, a beautiful blond little girl of mixed Jewish and Gentile blood, who was brought up as a Christian, and who loved to draw. Ruth died in Terezin because her Jewish heritage, even though she never considered herself Jewish.

The final two chapters are about Inge's liberation from Auschwitz, and her hopes and afterthoughts:

She closes with a wonderful poem about the horrors and deaths and the hopes and dreams of those who survived and their descendants entitled NEVER AGAIN:

"Minds were dulled by bombs of hate,

Only the hero cared about our fate,

We saw the truth, it began to unfold,

You may kill the body but never the soul.



Here we are with honour and pride,

a new generation at our side,

the silent voices join us today,

Never, never again we hope and pray".

Inge is just a child living in a small village in Germany when Hitler rises to power. Like so many other Jewish families, her family did not escape from Germany soon enough to be safe. By the time they think to get out, it is too late. They are sent from place to place until they are finally deported to Terezin, a concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. Conditions there are horrible, and people live in constant fear of being shipped off to Auschwitz, where the gas chambers are.

Because Inge's father is a disabled war veteran, shot in the shoulder in World War I while fighting for Germany, the family has special priveleges in Terezin. Inge is able to stay with her mother and father, instead of being separated. However, the family is still fighting for survival, just like every other family in the camp.

Miraculously, Inge and her parents survive the Holocaust in Terezin. They live to be liberated and to start a new life in the United States after the war. This is one of few stories about the Holocaust with a relatively happy ending.

I liked that there was so much history included in this story. It isn't only Inge's story, but the story of the Holocaust in general. She tells of Hitler's rise to power and the other things that were going on right before she was sent to the concentration camp. I didn't like the inclusion of the poetry in the book. I felt like it broke up the flow of the story, because it often was in the middle of a page where the narrative was.

Inge was 3 yrs old on Nov, 9 1938, when the Night of the Broken Glass took place. She was six when she was forced to wear the yellow star....then it really got bad.

At seven she was sent to Terezin concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. Inge got to live with her Mother and father due to the fact that her father was a decorated war hero from WWI. She is one of the few children to survive the camp.

All thru her journeys she has her doll with her which is a miracle as most of the time the Jews got to keep nothing of their fromer lives. The doll is now in the National Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C.

Inga tells us what it was like being a little girl in Terezin concentration camp. If her families name had not been circled on the list of the last transport out of Terezin she would not be here today.

I love that Inge includes some pictures of herself and family in the book. It really helps you connect with her.
I so could FEEL everything she describes.

When Inge and her family were liberated she finally got to be a child. She wanted to play with dolls when other girls were growing out of dolls. But she had not gotten to be a child. Her young childhood was in hiding and just staying alive. Watching other children for payment of a potato which was a treasure.

Inga expains anti-Semitism for young readers, and why Hitler so hated the Jews. As an adult it is the best explaination I have ever heard. Though to me it is so unbelievable how anyone could think this way.

She includes also poetry she has written in the book.

After being so moved by the book I went to her website listed in the book. I wrote to Inge and she wrote back. What a treasure she is. We now communicate by email and I have been blessed to even talk with her on the phone.

We must never forget. We give honor to those who died by keeping the truth alive so that this may never happen again. I highly recommend this book to all ages.

Inge Auerbacher was only three years old,in 1938, when the massive pogrom called Kristallnacht, or the Night of the Broken Glass took place.

At the age of seven she was sent to Terezin concentration camp in Czechoslovakia.

In this incredible little book, Auerbacher tells of her experiences of being a little girl in Terezin concentration camp, one of the few young children who survived the death camps.

As she recounts:

"Of fifteen thousand children imprisoned in the Terezin concentration camps in Czechoslovakia, between 1941 and 1945, about one hundred survived. I am one of them. At least one and a half children were killed in the Nazi Holocaust. The reason most of these children died is that they were Jewish".

Auerbacher takes the horror of these years, and imparts a message of hope. She has created an account for young readers of her experiences, in a book filled with moving poetry and with the aid of haunting illustrations by Israel Bernbaum. There are also several photographs of her home town and of Inge as a child and her family life.

Auerbacher explains that the silent voices of the innocent children who died in the holocaust must be heard, and that is why felt compelled to trace the historical events that made this great evil possible and to tell her own story.

The author talks about her home town, Kippenheim, a village in southern Germany, where she was born in 1934.

She recounts the iddylic existance of her family and community in Kippenheim, until the horrific events of Kristallnacht.

She traces the roots of anti-Semitism for young readers, and summarizes the rise of Hitler, and the holocaust, before talking about her own story.

"We still feel the pain and we weep.

This nightmare will not let us sleep.

A page in history; one must learn.

Yesterday us, and tommorow your turn?"



She talks of her experiences of being forced to wear the yellow star at the age of six years old, the harsh circumstances of deportation, and the horrific conditions for children in Terezin in crowded and filthy cells infested with rats, mice, fleas and bedbugs, and of the other children who she befriended in the camp, such as Ada, a German Jewish child who longed to go to the Land of Israel, as did so many hundreds of thousands of Jews trapped in the Nazi inferno.

Ada taught her a song about the Holy Land, and promised Inge that they would soon go to there, "Just hold on a little longer" she used to say.

Ada's dream never came true-she died at the age of nine in Auschwitz.

Another friend was Ruth, a beautiful blond little girl of mixed Jewish and Gentile blood, who was brought up as a Christian, and who loved to draw. Ruth died in Terezin because her Jewish heritage, even though she never considered herself Jewish.

The final two chapters are about Inge's liberation from Auschwitz, and her hopes and afterthoughts:

She closes with a wonderful poem about the horrors and deaths and the hopes and dreams of those who survived and their descendants entitled NEVER AGAIN:

"Minds were dulled by bombs of hate,

Only the hero cared about our fate,

We saw the truth, it began to unfold,

You may kill the body but never the soul.



Here we are with honour and pride,

a new generation at our side,

the silent voices join us today,

Never, never again we hope and pray".

of the Holocaust. The poems in this short biography are so inspiring. I read this as part of a unit study for the Holocaust and we enjoyed the message the author brought through her life experience and poems.

I liked this book, but the author I think needed to add more detail about when she first got there instead of jumping back and forth. I would like to read more books about the war and the Jewish people in Germany. Would you like to be at war as a child? This story takes place in Germany at a concentration camp. It is about a young girl who lives with her big family. They are forced to leave their home and go live in a Ghetto. They weren't doing too well, but then they are forced again to leave the Ghetto and move to a concentration camp. Later, Inge Aubacher (the little girl) gets sick from starvation, food poisoning, water pollution, diabetes, chicken pox, scarlet fever, and the measles. But not at once, because she would get better and then she would get sick again and again and again. Do you think Inge Aubacher will survive before the war ends? You'll have to read the book to find out!

Written by: Ashley Williams

"deeply moving and true...i cannot think of any book on this topic which i could recommend for this age group as i do this book." -Bruno Bettelheim

I sat down to read through the introduction of Ms. Auerbacher's book, I AM A STAR. I didn't put the book down until I finished every last word. I have read endless accounts of the Holocaust, but Inge's story has such purity and honesty, you just feel you are there with her. What are the chances of surviving the odds as she and her parents did? Out of her original transport of 1200, only 13 survived....3 of which were from her family! Everyone must read this true life account.

This is a memoir that will haunt you long after you've finished the book. Inge Auerbacher was sent to Terezin concentration camp when she was only seven years old. This isn't just a sad re-telling of her story of survival. She has filled this short book with pictures to help the youngest reader visualize that time period and the conditions she lived in. She has sprinkled poetry throughout. This is not just a sad story but a story of hope. Most importantly this story is the voice of every child who died at Terezin.