The Secret of Gabi's Dresser

The Secret of Gabi's Dresser PDF Author: Kathy Kacer
Publisher: Second Story Press
ISBN: 1926739647
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 109

Get Book Here

Book Description
Gabi is a young Jewish girl living in Czechoslovakia during the time of the Holocaust. Gradually life is getting harder and harder. Jews are bullied at school, they can't visit each other at a certain time, they have to walk everywhere, they are not allowed to go to non-Jewish stores, and finally Gabi's best friend deserts her because she is Jewish. One day, the Nazis start visiting all the houses looking for Jewish children. In a tremendous act of courage, Gabi's mother protects Gabi from the soldiers by hiding her in their dining-room dresser. This is the story of author Kathy Kacer's own mother, who was the real-life Gabi. The only thing retrieved from their family's home after the war was the dresser that saved Gabi's life. It now sits in author Kathy Kacer's home in Toronto.

The Secret of Gabi's Dresser

The Secret of Gabi's Dresser PDF Author: Kathy Kacer
Publisher: Second Story Press
ISBN: 1926739647
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 109

Get Book Here

Book Description
Gabi is a young Jewish girl living in Czechoslovakia during the time of the Holocaust. Gradually life is getting harder and harder. Jews are bullied at school, they can't visit each other at a certain time, they have to walk everywhere, they are not allowed to go to non-Jewish stores, and finally Gabi's best friend deserts her because she is Jewish. One day, the Nazis start visiting all the houses looking for Jewish children. In a tremendous act of courage, Gabi's mother protects Gabi from the soldiers by hiding her in their dining-room dresser. This is the story of author Kathy Kacer's own mother, who was the real-life Gabi. The only thing retrieved from their family's home after the war was the dresser that saved Gabi's life. It now sits in author Kathy Kacer's home in Toronto.

Clara's War

Clara's War PDF Author: Clara Kramer
Publisher: Emblem Editions
ISBN: 1551993686
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 362

Get Book Here

Book Description
“You lose your loved ones, and still you want to live.” On 21 July 1942, the Nazis reached the small Polish town of Zolkiew. Life for fifteen-year-old Clara Kramer would never be the same. While those around her were either slaughtered or transported, three families found perilous refuge in a hand-dug cellar. Hers was one of them. Living above and protecting them were the Becks. Mrs. Beck had been the families’ maid. Mr. Beck was alcoholic and a self-professed anti-Semite, yet he risked his life to keep his charges safe. But survival under his protection proved to be anything but predictable. Whether it was his nightly drinking sessions with officers of the SS in the room just above or his torrid affair with one of the hiding women, it seemed that Clara and the others often had as much to fear from Beck as they did from the war. Clara’s mother told her to keep a diary while they lived in the bunker in order to fill her time and “so the world would know what happened to us.” Over sixty years later, Clara Kramer has finally turned those diaries into a compelling and heartbreaking memoir — a story of love and memory and survival.

Night Spies

Night Spies PDF Author: Kathy Kacer
Publisher: Second Story Press
ISBN: 1926739450
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 180

Get Book Here

Book Description
Based on real events and real characters! It is the middle of World War II, and Gabi and her mother have been lucky so far, eluding the grasp of Nazi soldiers who are sending Jewish people away to unknown fates. But she, her mother and her young cousin, Max, realize that they will never be safe in their town. With the help of a trusted friend, a kind-hearted priest and a poor yet brave farming family, they go into hiding in a tiny mountain village. It takes great willpower and patience to endure months of fear in their cramped hiding space at the back of a barn. But one night, Gabi and Max can't stand the confinement any longer, and they sneak out for the first of many secret nighttime walks. Deep in the forest, the children make a discovery that turns out to be very useful to the anti-Nazi partisan soldiers camped out nearby. Through their new roles as scouts for the partisans, Gabi and Max find strength and courage, and a renewed sense of hope in dark times.

The Brushmaker's Daughter

The Brushmaker's Daughter PDF Author: Kathy Kacer
Publisher: Second Story Press
ISBN: 177260139X
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 94

Get Book Here

Book Description
It is 1939 in Berlin, Germany, and twelve-year-old Lillian and her Papa are on the run from Nazi soldiers. Because they are Jewish, they are in danger of being arrested and put in prison. Lillian's father is blind and it seems no one is willing to help them, until they meet Otto Weidt. Mr. Weidt runs a factory that makes brushes for the Nazi army, and his secret is that he employs blind Jewish workers. Lillian soon learns that Otto Weidt is determined to keep her, Papa, and all the Jewish workers safe. But will he be able to? Inspired by a true story.

To Hope and Back

To Hope and Back PDF Author: Kathy Kacer
Publisher: Second Story Press
ISBN: 1926920406
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 242

Get Book Here

Book Description
Lisa and Sol board the luxury ocean liner St. Louis in Hamburg, Germany on May 13, 1939. Lisa and her family are in first class; Sol and his parents are below in tourist class. Both children have mixed feelings Ð theyÕre excited to be beginning this voyage to a better life, but sad to be leaving their old lives behind. They are Jewish, as are almost all of the 937 passengers on board, and although war has not been officially declared in Europe, the Nazis have been persecuting Jews for years. As the ship sets sail for Cuba, the atmosphere is optimistic. The passengers feel fortunate to have been able to buy landing permits, and their German captain, Gustave Shršder, is determined to get them to safety. The captainÕs voice alternates with Sol and LisaÕs, revealing the details they didnÕt know. As HitlerÕs propaganda machine turns Cuba against them, the mood on board changes to despair. The St. Louis and its Jewish passengers are turned away Ð first from Cuba, then the United States, and then Canada. This was the tragic true history of the St. Louis. Denied entry from port after port, the captain was forced to return his passengers to Europe, where many died in the Holocaust. Through the eyes of Sol and Lisa Ð both of whom survived the war and shared their experiences with Kathy Kacer Ð we see the injustice and heartbreak that were caused by the prejudice and ignorance of so many.

Shanghai Escape

Shanghai Escape PDF Author: Kathy Kacer
Publisher: Second Story Press
ISBN: 192758311X
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 294

Get Book Here

Book Description
Shanghai, China is a strange place for a young Jewish girl from ViennaÉ But that is where Lily Toufar finds herself in 1938. She and her family have left their home to find safety far away from Europe, where Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party are making life unbearable for Jews. TheyÕve had to travel fast Ð Lily even had to leave behind most of her toys and books Ð but here she feels free from danger. Despite their hopes, it quickly turns out that all is not safe in Shanghai. Now that the area is controlled by Japan, whose leaders support Hitler, the local government orders Jewish refugees, including Lily and her family, to move into a ghetto in an area of the city called Hongkew. Once again Lily wonders what will happen next. Life changes for Lily and her family when they are forced to the over-crowded ghetto. There is little food to eat, and many people become sick. Lily remains hopeful, but when rumors begin to circulate that Jews may be in as much danger here as they were in Europe, she wonders if she will ever feel truly safe and at home again. Based on a true story.

Hiding Edith

Hiding Edith PDF Author: Kathy Kacer
Publisher: Second Story Press
ISBN: 1926739310
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 182

Get Book Here

Book Description
The remarkable true story of a young girl named Edith and the French village of Moissac that helped her and many other children during the Holocaust. The town's mayor and citizens concealed the presence of hundreds of Jewish children who lived in a safe house, risking their own safety by hiding the children from the Nazis in plain site, saving them from being captured and detained and most certainly saving their lives.

Broken Strings

Broken Strings PDF Author: Eric Walters
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0735266255
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 218

Get Book Here

Book Description
A violin and a middle-school musical unleash a dark family secret in this moving story by an award-winning author duo. For fans of The Devil's Arithmetic and Hana's Suitcase. It's 2002. In the aftermath of the twin towers -- and the death of her beloved grandmother -- Shirli Berman is intent on moving forward. The best singer in her junior high, she auditions for the lead role in Fiddler on the Roof, but is crushed to learn that she's been given the part of the old Jewish mother in the musical rather than the coveted part of the sister. But there is an upside: her "husband" is none other than Ben Morgan, the cutest and most popular boy in the school. Deciding to throw herself into the role, she rummages in her grandfather's attic for some props. There, she discovers an old violin in the corner -- strange, since her Zayde has never seemed to like music, never even going to any of her recitals. Showing it to her grandfather unleashes an anger in him she has never seen before, and while she is frightened of what it might mean, Shirli keeps trying to connect with her Zayde and discover the awful reason behind his anger. A long-kept family secret spills out, and Shirli learns the true power of music, both terrible and wonderful.

Stones on a Grave

Stones on a Grave PDF Author: Kathy Kacer
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
ISBN: 1459806603
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 221

Get Book Here

Book Description
In this YA novel, Sara arrives in Germany determined to explore her newly discovered Jewish heritage and solve the mystery of her parentage.

I Am Not a Number

I Am Not a Number PDF Author: Jenny Kay Dupuis
Publisher: Second Story Press
ISBN: 1772602329
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 36

Get Book Here

Book Description
When eight-year-old Irene is removed from her First Nations family to live in a residential school she is confused, frightened, and terribly homesick. She tries to remember who she is and where she came from, despite the efforts of the nuns who are in charge at the school and who tell her that she is not to use her own name but instead use the number they have assigned to her. When she goes home for summer holidays, Irene's parents decide never to send her and her brothers away again. But where will they hide? And what will happen when her parents disobey the law? Based on the life of co-author Jenny Kay Dupuis’ grandmother, I Am Not a Number is a hugely necessary book that brings a terrible part of Canada’s history to light in a way that children can learn from and relate to.