Reviews
Selected
as one of Pennsylvania State Library Association's Top 40 (or so) 2012
Titles (2013
PSLA Conference)
"Using prisoners’
personal accounts, James Deem details the horrors of the German death
camp Auschwitz. Beginning with an introduction on the construction and
expansion of the camp, each chapter focuses on an individual’s
experience in the camp. This searing account concludes with an entry on
visiting Auschwitz today and its emotional impact on the author.
Well-chosen photos, chapter notes, glossary, additional resources, and
index add value to this important book. Highly
recommended for all middle school and high school libraries."
Review
in
TriState Reviews (TriState Young Adult Review Committee in PA, DE, and
NJ; February 7, 2012):
"Subtitled 'Voices from
the Death Camp,' this book relates the horrific events that occurred in
Auschwitz during the Holocaust.... James M. Deem provides a brief, yet
complete summary of “Auschwitz I: The Administrative Center,”
“Auschwitz II: The Death Camp,” Auschwitz III: Slave Labor Camps,”
and “The End of Auschwitz.” Subsequent chapters relate the origins,
construction and daily workings of the death camp through personal
accounts and diary excerpts.
"The book is both
exceptionally well written and exciting. The book is remarkably
nonjudgmental, non-sensationalized, and compassionately objective in its
presentation of information. Each chapter offers the personal narratives
of several of the active participants: Jewish, Polish, Gypsy prisoners,
Soviet POWs, and Nazi officials and guards. First person accounts are
presented in cursive script and discuss events, experiences, and
outcomes. They share their feelings, fears and memories of Auschwitz and
how their “selection” was made. The book ends with a timeline,
chapter notes, glossary, further reading, and an index. This is a must
purchase for any library."
Review
from Reading Robin Blog (August 2012)
"A
well-researched account of the Nazi concentration camp, Auschwitz,
based on eyewitness accounts. Commentary:
This is one of the better books I’ve read on Auschwitz,
mainly because it contains true accounts from prisoners and camp
officials alike; it has a very well-rounded point of view. It
does not contain the gruesome photos that many books on the Holocaust
do, but that does not make these stories any less horrifying.
There are photos of the camps, the gas chambers, maps of the grounds,
and more, where more than 1.1 million people met their deaths. One of
the most intriguing and awful stories comes from Dr. Miklos Ngiszli, a
Jewish doctor forced to work for the notorious Dr. Josef Mengele; I
cannot imagine the unspeakable things this guy had to see and was
forced to do to his own people. I even learned a few facts I had never
heard of before–like the Nazi’s harvesting thousands of pounds of
hair from the prisoners and shipping it off to make textiles
(including uniforms) for the German army. *shudder*
"This is a great book for gaining general
knowledge about the Holocaust, particularly the concentration camps, and
would be a wonderful resource for researchers, because of all the
primary sources. It lends invaluable insight into the terror that
was Auschwitz. I recommend for grades 10 and up."
Association
of Region XI School Libraries
(October
2011)
"The
format of telling the stories of the people makes it interesting and
hard to put down."
Christian
Library Journal
(February/April
2012)
"The
narrative, which is nonjudgmental and non-sensationalized, includes true
accounts from prisoners of the camp . . . What sets Auschwitz by Deem
apart from other titles is the view it provides in looking at this
unspeakable horror through the eyes of survivors who had to watch those
around them suffer and perish."
Library
Media Connection
(November/December
2011)
"This
new series packs an emotional punch as it disseminates historical facts
from multiple perspectives . . . These unique perspectives lend an
authenticity and immediacy to these stories that can rarely be achieved
through traditional nonfiction."
Southwest
Ohio and Neighboring Libraries
(October
3, 2011)
". .
. a great asset to a library collection . . ."
Delaware
County Library System
(January
2012)
".
. . a very useful source for research, and compelling reading for anyone
interested in resistance movements and World War II and Holocaust
history."
Denver
Public Schools
(December
12, 2011)
"This
approach and format is much more extensive and personal than most
Holocaust books for this age group, and will appeal to those who crave
more depth and understanding."
