Your Name Is Renï¿1/2e: Ruth Kapp Hartz's Story as a Hidden Child in Nazi-Occupied France [Hardcover]

Stacy Cretzmeyer (Author)

Book Description

In Nazi-occupied France in 1941, four-year-old Ruth Kapp learns that it is dangerous to use her own name. "Remember," her older cousin Jeannette warns her, "your name is Renee and you are French!"
A deeply personal book, this true story recounts the chilling experiences of a young Jewish girl during the Holocaust. The Kapp family flees one home after another, helped by simple, ordinary people from the French countryside who risk their lives to protect them. Eventually the family is forced to separate, and young Ruth survives the war in an orphanage where she is not allowed to see or even mention her parents. Without the trappings of lofty language or the faceless perspective of history, this first-person account poignantly recreates the terror of war seen through the eyes of an innocent child. Your Name Is Renee is a tale of suffering and redemption, fear and hope, which is bound to stir even the most hardened heart.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Business Information.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8-Because Ruth Kapp's relatives were German Jews, they were the targets of French as well as German anti-Semitism. Forced to hide their religion, they suffered many hardships, living meagerly and often fleeing from the Gestapo. They were aided by the French resistance as well as by ordinary men and women who took great risks to help them. As the danger increased, Ruth (called Ren?e during her years in France) was sent to an orphanage run by Catholic nuns; in an effort to shield her from German police, she was told to forget her family and faith. The family was eventually reunited, although even after the war, their troubles as Jews were far from over. Although the facts of the story are gripping, and the child's ordeal is heart wrenching, the telling is less so. Frequent flashbacks and attempts to weave in historical information make the story hard to follow, and the narrative is sometimes overly detailed, slowing the pace. However, those who are already interested in Holocaust accounts will find enough here to make this a worthwhile read.
Cyrisse Jaffee, formerly at Newton Public Schools, MA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (August 5, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195132599
• ISBN-13: 978-0195132595
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,941,500 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written, November 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Your Name Is Renï¿1/2e: Ruth Kapp Hartz's Story as a Hidden Child in Nazi-Occupied France (Hardcover)

This is the story of a young Jewish girl and her family that have to hide from the Nazi in Southern France. The story is terrifying, but real. The author shows just how scary it must have been for a small child. The story is beautifully written, you won't be able to put it down. This book is one that all should read. The Nazi invasion is a part of our history, and after this book, you will understand and feel what it must have been like to be Jewish in the 1940s.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Compelling Story of a Young Child in the Shoah, February 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Your Name Is Renï¿1/2e: Ruth Kapp Hartz's Story as a Hidden Child in Nazi-Occupied France (Hardcover)

Your Name is Renee effectively details the story of a young girl and her family in France during the Shoah. The book is well-written, compelling and concise, while still being appropriate for older children and young adults. The far reaching appeal of the story is distinctive. My ten year old son read the book after I did and could not put it down. He also was able to easily empathize with the characters in the book and cried with both relief and anguish when he finished, trying to understand how both goodness and evil could have lived together during this time. This book in particular teaches a lesson in the goodness that comes from people in terrible times. I feel that it should be required reading for junior high school children throughout the country.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling...A Story That Captivates, November 25, 2001

By 

Jan Ledford "EyeWrite books" (Franklin, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Your Name Is Renï¿1/2e: Ruth Kapp Hartz's Story as a Hidden Child in Nazi-Occupied France (Hardcover)

"Your Name is Renee" is the unforgettable story of Ruth Kapp Hartz, told from her viewpoint as a child in Nazi-occupied France in the early 1940's. It is too compelling to read in little increments...you'll want to consume it from cover to cover in one sitting. The writing style is simple and tremendously effective, never distracting from the story itself. Mrs. Hartz's story should be required reading from middle grades on up. Hats off to Stacy Cretzmeyer for giving us such a gem.