Customer Reviews

Facing The Lion: Memoirs of a Young Girl in Nazi Europe

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
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This book paints a portrait of life under Nazi rule that most people would otherwise never see. We are all aware of the treatment of the jews in world war II but this is the first book I've read concerning the treatment of Jehovah Witness's during this time. I knew very little about their faith when I started reading this book and even less about how they were treated by the Nazis.

This book was not only informative but the story is very compelling and very hard to put down. The writer has a wonderful writing style and many times I felt I was actually reading the thoughts of this young girl as she struggled on a daily basis with her life as a prisoner while at the same time tried as best she could to live a life that her faith required.

This excellent auto-biography provides a glimpse into the life and trials of a girl and her family who found themselves facing the wrath of Hitler. As members of the Jehovah's Witnesses, they refused to support Hitler's war machine and so the Nazis vowed to exterminate the group. Persecuted for their beliefs, not for their ethnicity, this story tells of Simone's quiet fight for right. Sustained by her hope and faith, she overcame opposition of the strongest kind and has found the strength and courage to share her story. For anyone who loved Anne Frank, this is a must read!

A fascinating read. Never wanted to put it down. The life experience of not only a young girl dealing with the Nazi regime, but the experience of someone standing up for their beliefs, no matter what the cost. Also, this book shows the importance parents play in the moral and character development of a child. We learn that Simone, even at an early age, could not only identify truth, but make a solid decision to hold firm to what is right even though it meant persecution for herself and her family. There's much one will discover about themselves as they read this book. Definitely add this to your list and your children's list of "must read" books!

Simone's story is honest and heartening, a tale of spiritual and moral victory over the tragedy of the Holocaust and Hitler's third reich. This wonderful little girl would not, could not, and did not compromise, and suffered greatly for it. Her two years of "reform school" from age 13-15 were an inordinately large part of her short life, and that right at puberty, an exquisitely sensitive and formative time. Her great love for her father and mother and the respect for what they taught her carries her through, all of this in the context of her devotion to God and her religious beliefs. Like myself, most of Jehovah's Witnesses have for many years been aware of Simone Arnold and other Witnesses incarcerated during the Holocaust... Simone's story is all the more important forits length, depth and breadth of scope, including her psychologicalinsights. Facing the Lion is unique in that it tells us about a child, but morethan a child, a child on her own. At least my relatives and the majority of Witnesses incarcerated during Nazi times had each other in their barracks. Highly recommended reading for young people and their parents.

I greatly enjoyed this book! The author writes in a very candid way about her life as a child in Nazi Germany. As Germany becomes a Nazi state with tremendous pressure on everyone to conform without question, she very well tells the story of how her family goes through a change of religion, to become Jehovah's witnesses, and gain strength to remain true to Bible principles in spite of very real threats and punishments inflicted on her family and finally on her personally when she is taken away to live alone in an orphanage where human kindness was extremely rare, especially to anyone who chose to stick to their principles.
Her experiences and the courage shown by her and her whole family are very inspiring!

I found the book both inspiring and informative. In a world gone mad this woman painted a picture of a young girl trying to make sense of it all while fighting not to become just another victim. Her strength while facing impossible life decisions inspired me to review how I personally handle stress in this time of relative peace. As a young person, I had read the Diary of Anne Frank and was deeply impressed by her resourcefulness. Unlike the Jews during Nazi occupation, Simone Arnold could have chosen not to be tortured for her beleifs. Her family could have chosen to remain together and compromise. Yet they didn't. They held on to values in a time when there were few to be found. I think everyone, young and old, would benefit from comparing their convictions with the history of this amazing woman.

I work in a New Jersey school where we have more students who belong to the Jehovah's Witnesses. Because of that, I went looking for a book for our high school students that presented the Holocaust from a Jehovah's Witnesses' perspective because I believe it's important for students to understand the whole meaning of the Holocaust. It wasn't just one population. Because Jehovah's Witnesses have a stereotype of knocking on your doors, people might not understand them. None of my students have ever approached me about my personal religion. But for the students to understand the HOlocaust today, this book is a necessity especially since some of my students are more likely to know a Jehovah's Witness than another Jewish student so this book comes in handy in helping bridge a connection to the past.

This is a truly moving book. I was given a copy by a friend, and was enthralled. I couldn't put it down. I want everyone I know to read it. Such a fresh persective of the Nazi regime. From a young girl that was "delinquent" because she would not be molded by the Nazi machine. The triumph of good conquering evil, in a seemingly unwinnable fight. Thank you so much for your story Mrs. Liebster.

I found this book very refreshing -- couldn't put it down -- a very different, refreshing look at life during Nazi rule in occupied France. Told from the angle of a young girl, there are similarities to Anne Frank -- but instead of being in hiding, Simone is out in the open, subject to Nazi persecution, torn from her family.

Her courage and how she endured are an inspiration to everyone -- this is must reading --

The memories and emotions of a girl, could only be put into adult words as she grew up. What a world it would be -- if all children were raised as she was. Religion that can affect children so powerfully; deserves a second look. I have not read a novel since my school years 33 years ago -- this one, I cannot put down. It will be "required reading" for all my girls.