The Other Victims: First-Person Stories of Non-Jews Persecuted by the Nazis [Hardcover]

Ina R. Friedman (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up

This book for young adults consists of a series of personal stories from some of the non-Jews who were persecuted but escaped. Over five million gentiles wer murdered by the Nazis.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The author of Escape or Die sought survivors of other groups deemed undesirable by Hitler, including blacks, clergy, Jehovah's Witnesses, Poles, political prisoners, Gypsies (the only other group Hitler wanted to eliminate entirely) and homosexuals (very few survive and none could be found to interview). Suspenseful vignettes are enlivened by historical background, dialogue, and a not-always happy yet satisfying afterword, telling what eventually happened to each individual. Valiant efforts in the face of total degradation are nothing short of inspiring, and many of these stories are not widely known, such as the underground medical schools where cadavers were corpses picked up from the street. Each moving chapter points up complexities readers may not have thought about: shortened lifespans resulting from harsh treatment; the shock of escaping to an American cousin only to find he is part of the Bund; the ingenious devices by which people strove to survive, from inventing coded language to hiding in graves. Ages 10-14.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-9-- The pervasiveness of Hitler's attack on civilization is the focus of this informative and involving account of the non-Jewish victims of Nazism. Against the backdrop of mass murder, Friedman has compiled first-person narratives of survival and heroism, each of which is set into historical context by a short preface. She shows how Hitler's diabolical war machine singled out for persecution ethnic, racial, religious, and lifestyle groups such as gypsies, blacks, Jehovah's Witnesses, and homosexuals--all of whom Hitler viewed as outsiders to his "master race." Friedman emphasizes the experiences of political opponents of Nazism in Germany and of those who fought to defend their homeland against Nazi invasion (Poles, Czechs, and the Dutch). These moving stories bear witness to these victims (and to the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust). Some of the same weaknesses in Friedman's Escape or Die (Lippincott, 1982) appear also here: fictionalized dialogue, a sameness in narrative style, and a failure to fill in key details. However, this book is more successful in communicating the drama and tragedy of the survivors. Friedman ends with a sound and sobering warning to her young readers about the dangers of totalitarianism and about the responsibility we all have not to let this happen again. --Jack Forman, Mesa College Library, San Diego
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 214 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin (Juv); 1st Printing edition (April 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395502128
• ISBN-13: 978-0395502129
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,768,067 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In Defense. . ., October 20, 1999

By 

"witchbaby31" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Other Victims: First-Person Stories of Non-Jews Persecuted by the Nazis (Sandpiper) (Paperback)

I read this book almost ten years ago when I was in the seventh grade. I found it and read it myself, no teacher help. I have to say this in defense of this book--it made a profound impact on me when I was 12 years old. It was the first time I realized that the Holocaust wasn't just about Jews. In retrospect, I think it was the first time I realized the ENTIRE horror of what really happened. These many years later, of course, this book doesn't mean the same thing. But it is a very powerful work for younger readers and it helps paint a complete picture of what Nazi Germany was like. I highly recommend it to show just how insane things were.

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jehovah Witnesses, November 24, 1999

By 

Tiffany Hoskins (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Other Victims: First-Person Stories of Non-Jews Persecuted by the Nazis (Sandpiper) (Paperback)

I think this book was so true to its title. One of the many stories was about a Jehovah Witness family who stayed strong in their religion. They sacrificed everything, even at the risk of dying. It was a true joy to read about them, and to almost get a feel of the religion. I think everyone should read this because I cried, and I rarely ever cry.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars my review, December 3, 2001

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Other Victims: First-Person Stories of Non-Jews Persecuted by the Nazis (Sandpiper) (Paperback)

The Other Victims was a book of real life stories from the Holocaust. I liked this book because it tells how people had to go into hiding, how they had no freedom, and how they fought back. The book is mainly about people trying to escape from Germany to America or a safe country. My favorite chapter was Bubili: a young Gypsy's fight for survival. Once I started to read this book I couldn't put it down. The reason I couldn't put this book down was it was all true. I thought it was hard to believe it actually happened. The people were killed because of their religion, color, looks, and trying to stop the wrong that was going on.