Fredy built a wall against suffering in their hearts…

At the dark heart of the Holocaust, there was a wooden hut whose walls were painted with cartoons; a place where children sang, staged plays and wrote poetry. Safely inside, but still in the shadow of the chimneys, they were given better food, kept free of vermin, and were even taught meditation to imagine full stomachs and a day without fear. The man who became their guiding light was a young Jewish prisoner named Fredy Hirsch.

But being a teacher in such a brutal concentration camp was no mean feat. Whether it was begging the SS for better provisions, or hiding his homosexuality from his persecutors, he risked his life every day for one thing: to protect the children from the mortal danger they all faced.

Time is running out for Fredy and the hundreds of children in his care. Can he find a way to teach them the one lesson they really need to know: how to survive?

My Thoughts:

This was a hard hitting and powerful read about one of the Teachers that taught the children that were in some of the concentration camps. What Fredy must of seen I could never imagine and something that would stay with him forever. Let alone what the children have to go through day to day, Fredy is there to try to help the children to survive each day as it comes. When I read books set around the Holocaust, I always feel pain in my heart that these people went through and it makes me so angry and sad, I loved Fredy’s bravery to help the children as best as he could but I also felt for him in the conditions he had to endure. It is a poignant and truth telling story that helped me learn more about the holocaust. It is a book that will stay with me forever and I would highly recommend.

Today is Holocaust Memorial Day to remember those that we lost.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

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