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Hidden Children

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On Memorial Day weekend,1991, 1600 people from around the world gathered together. They flooded the rooms of the Marriot Marquis Hotel in New York City, not only with their bodies but with their stories as well. For over fifty years they remained hidden, first from Hitler and then from the public. They kept their feelings and experiences to themselves because they were afraid. They were afraid of the pain and suffering it might bring to them or their loved ones if they revealed themselves. "For years and years I never wanted to talk or think about my experience during the war," states Ann Shore, a hidden Jewish child during World War II "Just thinking about it brought such pain!" Finally, the once frightened, hidden Jewish children of the war (now old men and women) overcame their fears and discussed their experiences during the Holocaust. Many realized for the first time that there were others like themselves, and there were people who cared about what had happened to them. One women, Jane Marks, cared a great deal and devoted her time to writing The Hidden Children: The Secret Survivors of the Holocaust a book filled with twenty-two inspiring stories. During the conference that weekend and during the months that followed, Jane Marks interviewed more than 60 former hidden children. She became committed to writing a book to record these children's experiences. "I wanted to write a book to make the world aware of the exceptional courage and goodness that emerged in the midst of unspeakable tragedy and destruction." She surely let the world know. By using twenty-two of the stories and continuously interviewing the same children over and over again, she was able to capture the ordeal, the legacy, the aftermath and the healing that these children went through. She used all the information available to establish a unique, truthful and emotional retelling of the Holocaust. In the first part of the book, the ordeal is revealed to the reader: tear jerking stories of how they survived for months in sewers, barns, cellars, closets, fields, anywhere they could, to escape being captured by the Nazis. Some lost their families and friends, but they all lost their childhood. It was the price to pay in exchange for their lives. Rosa Sirota said the following about being a hidden child: "None of the people who went through what I went through had the luxury of being children." Eight stories of courage fill this section of the book, and each one has its own miracle of survival. Sanne Spetter and Marie-Claire Rakowski tell their stories of the aftermath of the war. Both women were born during the war and because their parents feared their safety, they were placed with families. For the first years of their lives, they felt safe and secure and did not know their true identity. After the war, they were returned to families that had suffered more than they could ever imagine. The time after the war was just as painful for them, as it had been for many others during it. Thinking back on the time after the war, Sanne said, "That was when I really started hiding, as I hid my real feelings." The other twelve stories are probably the most interesting to read. They're stories of the legacy and healing involved with the war. Many of the children held the legacy of what they had gone through for many years. It existed in their minds and haunted them. Some remember every minute of what happened to them, while others remember only what was told to them. The healing that some children have gone through is immense. They suffered just like every other Jew, but because they were children at the time, their feelings were discarded as unimportant in their families. They were taught to conceal their feeling and keep them to themselves. They sought healing in trying to hide pain, but the true healing came many years later when they finally shared their stories. Ever since I read Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, in fourth grade, I have had an interest in the Holocaust. I have often wondered what it would have really been like to hide. By reading this book, I now understand that it wasn't easy. The Hidden Children is a truthful document and there does not appear to be any bias in it. It is a well written book for any teenager or adult who, like me, has ever wondered about the Holocaust. Jane Marks recorded what was told to her simply to reveal the truth to the world. The former hidden children that she interviewed, had no reason to lie or make the Nazis soldiers look monstrous. They told what they remembered and what they knew, so they could finally be healed. There are one or two comments, though, that do show some bias. "I admit that my normally nonjudgmental approach has a limit," said Stanley Turecki, M.D., "Especially when it comes to Germans. I can't accept them! Even the younger ones make my skin crawl!" In this case, over the years a bias has developed, but there were not many stories in this book that showed this. Because she picked unbiased stories, Jane Marks created an almost unbiased and very truthful book. The pages of The Hidden Children are filled with painful, but inspiring experiences that have been hidden inside of these children. Now they are out for the world to discover.

I have read and re-read this book. Never before did I realize what hidden children went through to survive. It is assumed that they were safe in homes, attics, or barns and far removed from the fears of other children in worse circumstances. However, this is untrue. These children had to, in many cases, hide their identity, learn whole new life stories and names, and sometimes even religions. They had to worry about family they may never see again, and their own possible discovery or betrayal. It is a testament to their courage that they survived and have gone on to live honorable lives, even while still struggling to deal with all the psychological ramifications of such a life in their formative years. A wonderful read that would be good for young people as it does not bog down in technicalities.

This is an unforgettable book about the fate of many Jewish children who survived during World War II all over Europe. From a very young age they had to learn to hide the truth about their origin.
Many among the very youngest could not hide with their families because the risk was too big (they could be noisy, cry or tell the truth). Many were placed in foster care, and the toddlers would grow up believing that their foster parents were their real parents. After the war many children in this category were traumatized when they were given back to their real parents.

One of the really interesting aspects of this book is that it follows the hidden children from pre-war era until the 1990s. In this way we are told also about the problems and benefits they 'harvested' after those hidden years.

I also found it very interesting to read the two last chapters:
one puts the Hidden Child's experience into a historical perspective and one telling us about the psychology behind being a Hidden child. These two chapters are written by Nechama Tec, Ph.D. and Eva Fogelman, Ph.D.

This is an easy and very interesting book to read. It is well written and highly recommendable.

I have read a lot of Holocaust books. What was new for me in this one was to see how difficult it was for a young child who had been sheltered under reasonably normal conditions to be reunited with his/her parents who had been profoundly affected by their experiences in camps or in hiding.

In Nazi-occupied Europe the pre-war Jewish child population came to about 1.6 million. During the war an estimated 1.5 million Jewish children where killed , leaving only 6 to 7 percent of them alive at the end of the war.
Through 60 interviews with former child survivors, the author puts togehter a fascinating book that traces the story of a few of the Jewish children who survived the Holocaust , hiding in attics , convents , sewers and forests. In some cases they where helped by having fair hair and looking less 'obviously Jewish'.
It provides a compassionate and inspiring account , always reminding us of the humanity and childhood of the hidden children.
It also deals with the lives of hidden children , after the war , as it traces their adult lives , and the effects of having to hide their identity , living in fear , and often , seeing their loved ones murdered.

They where often faced with the imminent threat of discovery and saved by a series of miracles.

These accounts are important to preserve in an age where genocide continues in places like Darfur in the Sudan , and has taken place in Cambodia , Rwanda and Kurdistan.
Today influential voices are calling for an end to the State of Israel (which was in many cases built by holocaust survivors), which would certainly lead to a second holocaust aginst the Jews living there.
It is up to us to prevent a second holocaust from occuring, by fully supporting Israel in her struggle to survive and fighting anti-Israel prejudice.

The Hidden Children is a great book. At school we were learning about the Holocaust and we needed to read a book about it. I went and saw this book and decided to try it. Later on, I found out that this book was great. This was a very detailed book. I cant believe that some of these families had to live in a closet for months or even a sewer...if you want a book on the Holocaust or just a good one to read...get this one!!

This is a must-read, along with "Suddenly Jewish" by Barbara Kessel, and "The Mezuzah in the Madonna's Foot" by Trudy Alexy. Several years ago at Temple beth Israel, we heard true stories from others in our Community who had been raised as Gentile, only to hide, or remember, or discover, that they are actually Jewish; it will make you laugh, cry, and pray for those among us who suffered so much to glorify The Name. Please honor them by educating yourself and others in reading of these things.

Jane Marks has collected and compiled the survival stories of 23 childhood survivors who were hidden during the Holocaust. She has included an insightful preface by Hidden Child Abraham H Foxman, an historical perspective by another Hidden Child as well as a chapter devoted to The Psychology of Being a Hidden Child.

This work of non-fiction is a horrifying record of the atrocities committed by the Nazi's. Something that should never be forgotten.

heartfelt and well written- it was great to have the interviews written and turned into short stories by a writer who wasn't directly involved in the holocaust. having jane marks writing it, she sees it from the perspective you and it do- from the outside. great book

The hidden children are twenty three children of the Holocaust with twenty three different stories to tell about their survival through World War ll. The young teen just learning of the Holocaust will be riveted to this book and its stories of survivors who no one talks about. They survived because of the selflessness of loving parents, but can they understand that love after all the trauma of the survival? G. Rockwel