5.0 out of 5 stars First hand account of a child in a concentration camp from beginning to the end, February 12, 2014 By Valerie Caraotta (CONYERS, GA, US) – See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)
This review is from: Be a Hero: A Witness to History (Paperback)
Many are familiar with history’s recordings of Hitler’s abuse toward the Jews in concentration camps. Despite historical annotation, you are about to read a book based on the life of Anita Ron Schorr that shares a first hand account of her life where her innocence was stolen as a child as her family braved the “Pyramid of Hate” led by Hitler’s regime. I was reminded quickly how life and family dynamics can change from stable and loving to chaotic and uncertain. Author Marion A. Stahl did a wonderful job engaging the reader on Anita’s evacuation and several moves with other Jews that would ultimately lead to family separation and a concentration camp.

As you trace this young life’s calamities beginning at age 9, you may discover in part as I did, that the human optimistic will to survive may be the most important ingredient in trauma. With family suicide being a choice for some, it was March 23, 1943 where the day of transport began and where home no longer existed. In detailed fashion will events capture and enrage you on how such injustices were allowed and carried out by those indifferent to human suffering.

Taken more than 70 years for Anita to share her feelings, she recalls “I kept those memories locked up, feeling ashamed of them for much too long”. Discover the sad statistics of the number of prisoner fatalities. Though a melancholy plot there is a hope that has sprung from the ashes of life as today she lives to speak to audiences, empowering them.

This book is history at its finest as you will gain the inside picture into both event and emotions. Sometimes in life losses can ultimately be gains in other avenues. I recommend this book with a 5-star rating as the contents will captivate you page after page.