Inge Auerbacher was one of only 100 children to survive the Nazi concentration camp of Terezin in Czeckoslovakia. Over 15,000 children passed through the gates of Terezin from 1941 through 1945.   She tells of her family’s horrifying experiences as the Nazis loom every larger and closer over their fates in I Am a Star: Child of the Holocaust (Scholastic 1986).  Through a combination of luck and determination Inge survived with both of her parents.

Inge was just three on the night of Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass, November 9, 1938) and just seven when she was taken to Terezin.  She recounts the growing terror her family experienced as they lost their German citizenship, their home, and finally, their freedom within the walls of Terezin.  Against her personal memories, she provides the context of the Nazi’s rise to power in Germany and across Europe.  Photographs of Inge, her family, and Terezin bring the story into sharper focus.  Poems written by Inge shine light into the dark of the camp and make my heart ache for those who suffered and died.

If you have read Anne Frank:  The Diary of a Young Girl and want to learn more about the Holocaust, I Am a Star is a good place to start.