Luba Tryszynska-Frederick

This book is wonderfully done, and I don't think it could be improved on much, but I find stories of the Holocaust to be very difficult to handle, even when they are handled with the upmost in care. The unbearable degree of inhumanity shown to people in the concentration camps churns my stomach. I'm left to wonder how people could treat other people in this way. How could anyone be so convinced of a complete stranger's supposed negative qualities that they feel justified in treating them show more with such barbaric cruelty? It's unsettling. There are so many great stories like Luba's of people who persevere over these incredible circumstances, but at the same time I can only think that these circumstances were unnecessary. These people didn't need to be gathered into these terrible conditions, shouldn't have had to demonstrate such heroism, should never have been interrupted from living their lives as they were meant to in the first place. The Holocaust is a tragic part of the history of humanity. It's incomprehensible and brutal and every bit as hard to take today as it ever would have been. This is an encouraging story set against that backdrop, and as I read it my only wish was that there had never been a need for it in the first place. show less

One night in 1944, Luba Tryszynska’s questions were answered when she found fifty-four children abandoned behind the concentration camp at Bergen-Belsen. Luba knew if the Nazis caught her she could be executed. But they are someone’s children. And they are hungry. Despite the mortal dangers, Luba and the women of her barracks cared for these orphans thro-ugh a winter of disease, starvation, and war. Here is the true story of an everyday hero and the children who gave her a reason to live.

This is an incredibly sweet, true story of one of the many lesser known heroes of World War II, Luba Tryszynska-Frederick, who rescued 54 children at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. When I first came across the book, I found it odd that someone could write a picture book about the horrors of the Holocaust, but it was informative without being graphic and disturbing.

I absolutely loved this story. I have heard many stories of holocaust survivors, but never heard of Luba before reading this book. Her story is a great one. Luba and the other women in her bunk showed great bravery in taking care of 54 orphaned children that were supposed to be killed. Her story was beautifully told and was beautifully captured through soft oil and collage illustrations. A great book to share with young children.