Surviving Hitler: A Boy in the Nazi Death Camps

Surviving Hitler: A Boy in the Nazi Death Camps

By: Andrea Warren

Published by: Harper Collins Publishers

Biography, Nonfiction

This intriguing true story follows Jack Mandelbaum through the trials and tribulations of being a fifteen year old Jewish boy during the Holocaust. Jack is torn from his well-to-do family one member at a time, until he is finally on his own in the Nazi death camps. The story takes the reader through Jack's journey through different concentration camps and making it through the war. Jack's only goal is to make it out alive and see his family again. But will they be there in the end to see him?

Reading Level:

     Grade Level Equivalent: 6.2

     Lexile Level: 820L

Suggested Delivery:

     Small Group Read

Electronic Resources:

http://www.ushmm.org/

Students can navigate through the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum website to discover more about the Holocaust. There is an education link on the website with a section for students. Students can look at the museum's online exhibitions and even look at Auschwitz prisoner lists.

http://dornsife.usc.edu/vhi/survivorexhibit/vhfmain.htm

Recommended in the 'multimedia recommendations' portion of the book, this website is an interactive storybook that follows real people through their journey in the war. Upon entrance into the site, click on one of the four people to see, hear and read their story.

Key Vocabulary:

anti-semitism, kapo, dysentery, Joint Distribution Committee, liberation, SS(special forces), typhus, Yiddish

Comprehension Strategies:

Before Reading:

Have students look at the cover photo and the different photos scattered throughout the book. Have them predict what the story will be about.

During Reading:

During reading the story, sutdents can record anything they relate to. When this happened to Jack he was about the students' ages. When the students are done reading, they can write about how they would try to survive if they were Jack. Using the things they relate to from the story in their writing will be helpful.

After Reading:

Students can research the history of the war and compare it to the first hand account of the story. Make a venn diagram for the comparison.



Writing Activity:

Pretending they are Jack, students can write two journal entries. The first one will be after Jack's first day in the concentration camps, while the second one will be from the day Jack was freed from the camps.



Warren, Andrea. Surviving Hitler: a boy in the Nazi death camps. New York: HarperCollinsPublishers, 2001. Print.