Customer Reviews

T4 a novel

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

T4 refers to the program the Nazis instigated to rid the world of undesirable people, and specifically, in T4, the Disabled. While much has been written about many other Nazi atrocities, very little attention has been paid to this horror.

The author presents a very short novel in verse. It is a powerful tool and the length of the book in no way minimizes its impact. It takes no more than an hour to read, but the memory could last forever.

The book, T4, is named after the address, Tiergartenstrasse 4, which headquartered the infamous organization of this Nazi program. The historical facts of T4 are true, though the characters and story are fiction. The author, deaf herself, relates the story of a deaf child born in Pre-Nazi Germany who goes into hiding to escape being persecuted and murdered by the Nazis. Along the way she recounts the lives of people she meets and their impact on her. Ultimately she meets someone whom she eventually happily marries who is also a potential victim of the Nazis.

The book is beautifully written. It is simple and yet profound. Highly recommended.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I got this book in the mail yesterday, but it is definitely a keeper. I have always been interested in reading about World War II, the Holocaust and more. This book reminds me of what happened to the "undesirables," the "unwanted" and the "disabled;" all vile words in my personal language.

This book is written for youth age 10-14, but it is a wonderful book for adults to read too. It is about Paula, a young deaf girl who was forced into hiding when the Germans decided to "end the sufferings" of those they deemed unfit to be part of the master race. Paula was squired away to a village where she stayed with a woman who taught her sign language, till someone found out that Paula was there and Paula was once again on the run. Separated from her family, Paula endured the war till she was able to go home again.

Written very simply, with elegance and prose, this book will take you on a short but powerful journey of images and emotions. If your child is becoming interested in the Holocaust, this would be a good book to start.

7/30/08

I read every Holocaust survial story I can get my hands on. I believe that honors the living and those millions who died.

This is a very unique way to present the aspect of Hitler's Hate of the disabled to children. It is written like a long poem. It goes very quickly and the rhythm keeps you reading the book in one short sitting.

Paula is deaf. She is otherwise a happy and beautiful girl. Hitler has decided that the disabled should die they are consuming food needed for his "Aryan" race. The progrom to get rid of them is called T4. That was a new term to me. Named after the building where the doctors who carried out these murders worked.

Paula is lucky she got hidden. Paula got to tell her story. I will not tell you how it ends, just to say she was a very lucky girl. The story tells the truth but is not too grusome for 9-12 yr olds. These stories need to be told over and over again to all.

Ann LeZotte has created a children's classic in this poem that teaches and reminds us that all of God's children are the same, important, sacred. It teaches children that being different is okay and no one should be treated badly because of a disability.

I highly recommend this book. Parents read it with your children and talk about it.

Having read numerous holocaust stories over the years, the first in elementary school, I'm very pleased to see an author target the younger readers....lest we forget and see history repeat itself. The interspersing of historical fact within the framework of the fictional character's (Paula) experience was excellent. It was easy to identify with Paula's fears and the courage of her youth. The story is touching and moved me to tears.

Lastly, and this is the best part, while initially finding the poetic style (my first reading of a poetic novel) a bit difficult to follow, I soon fell into the rhythm and actually enjoyed the pace and tempo the author set.

While much of the literature involving Nazi executions during World War II involves the six million murdered Jews, other groups were targeted. Tiergartenstrasse 4 or T4, was the headquarters in which people labeled as "mentally ill" or "disabled" were put to death. Telling her fictional account through the eyes of thirteen year old Paula Becker, Ann Clare LeZotte is commendable in her storytelling as she tells the story through poetry.

While the story is engaging, I feel somewhat disappointed that the story is not longer. Though the reader is only given the most basic details, the very words on the page paint a vivid image of a frightened child who is forced to leave her family to hide from the Nazis. The novel approach taken by the author is a positive reflection of her talent. Readers will even enjoy a few pleasant surprises as they journey through the book while becoming more knowledgable about the crimes committed by the Nazis.

Though the book is targeted toward the young adult category, adults may find the story enlightening and even touching. As somebody that works with persons with disabilities, I give this book my full professional endorsement.

1939. Paula Becker is a 13 year old deaf girl trying hard to survive and escape the Nazis who have just put their T4 policy into effect, which was Hitler's order for the mentally ill or disabled to be killed.

As we all know from history, the Nazis tried to cover this up by saying they were conducting medical experiments to better the lives of these helpless people, when all they really wanted to do was to get rid of them quickly and quietly in order to cleanse their master Aryan race.

At 109 pages, this is a book of poetry that tells the story of Paula's family teaching her how to communicate. She is taken away by a priest who attempts to hide her with a woman who teaches Paula sign language. Paula is later moved to a homeless shelter to stay one step ahead of the Nazis who are on her trail.

Told in free verse, T4 is a quick read with lots of thoughtful one liners like the following:

I liked being a part
Of the larger
Everything.

Outside of poetics, there is nothing new here which we haven't learned from our history books or from the story of Anne Frank. There are a few captivating moments that will tug at your heart strings where the reader is exposed to what happened to others like Paula, and at the end where we find out what happens to Paula after the war (I won't ruin it for you here).

But just because we have not been allowed to forget stories like Paula's does not mean this little book does not have a lot of heart and soul. I was more intrigued with the acknowledgment page where the author tells about her own deafness and what inspired her to write this book, and how she created her characters.

Both adults and children will enjoy this book that encompasses family, love, passion, and a dark history that we can learn from and which we should not try to forget or hide. If you marvel at WWII history, read Anne Frank's Diary, or shed tears over holocaust stories, or just enjoy light poetry in general, then you should spend some time with this book.

Ms. LeZotte pushes us into Paula's world with a commendable balance of research and characterization. Paula learns from other fugitives about doctors and victims of T4, many of them historical personalities. Simultaneously, she tells her own story--a story of Deafness, coming of age, persection, survival, and spirit--in moments of poignant, vibrant detail.

At first, I wished this book had been written in prose; the frugal free verse felt *too* sparse, and I feared I would reach the end of the book dissatisfied. But my misgivings melted away as I read. The writer picked each image perfectly, from dark red lipstick "like the wing of a cardinal, or a fancy automobile" to a frozen forest "that looked like it was made of glass." She cites the grisly statistics of the T4 murders and quotes from an actual German bishop's sermon against it, but she also keeps the atrocities personal for Paula and those she encounters.

Ms. LeZotte manages to meld history's big picture and Paula's little story into one narrative, the greatest challenge for historical fiction. History is nearer after one reads this book, through the eyes of one young woman. The straight, strong voice of the Deaf rings through these pages, and the spirit of all persecuted people burns here, flare-bright.

This novel brings to attention a lesser known part of the Holocaust - the systematic elimination of disabled people by the Nazis. The main character and narrator, Paula, is a thirteen-year-old girl living in Germany in 1939, who, aided by a Catholic priest, must hide from the Nazis because she is deaf.

The story is told through poems narrated by Paula which was an interesting choice but I did find it left the character development a bit lacking and I generally prefer fiction written in a traditional format. However, the story told is a unique one among novels about the Holocaust and the fact that it is short and a quick read may make it more accessible to reluctant young readers, and the spare wording is often haunting. While not the best novel I have read about the Holocaust, I would certainly recommend it to preteen readers who enjoy historical fiction as well as older readers with a special interest in the subject.

T4 by Ann Clare LeZotte *****

Stunning, and captivating are not the right words but they will have to do. T4 is the story of a young deaf girl in World War two Germany. 'T4' was the act of placing disabled persons in what were basically death camps. The Nazi had decided that all disabled were miserable and hated life so they were going to euthanize them. Paula, the young girl in the story has to flee and live in hiding much like the Diary Of Ann Frank, though this is fiction, while her diary was all too sadly true.

This is a great read for adults, even though it is children's lit. Written in poetic form, this is interesting, and keeps the readers attention. This is a great reminder of those times that should never be forgotten for the younger generation. As the Holocaust and WWII becomes less and less taught in school this is refreshing, and a must read. Highly Recommended.

"T4" a story told in verse form by Ann Clare LeZotte is quite unique and I think it "works" as a good way of telling a chilling tale.

The story, told in free verse and quite easy to read, tells the tale of a young deaf girl in Germany forced to hide during the T4 "program" that Hitler used to kill the handicapped, among others. There is absolutely no sugar-coating or euphemisms herein; LeZotte doesn't mince words and in fact, defines some no-nonsense terms for her young readers such as "eugenics" and "euthanasia". Make no mistake, this is a story of child murder.

The Vine copy says that it's appropriate for 5th to 9th grade and that seems about right to me.