Module 11 - Luba: The Angel of Bergen-Belsen

Module 11 - Luba: The Angel of Bergen-Belsen

Summary

Luba, a survivor in a concentration camp, is wondering why she is still alive when she hears the sound of crying children.  She goes out into a frozen field and finds 54 children who have been left to die by their Nazi captors.  She and the other prisoners bring them into the barracks and shelter them.  Luba uses cunning and negotiation to hide and feed the children until the camp is liberated at the end of the war.  In the end, 52 of the children are still alive because of Luba's efforts.

My Impressions

I liked this book because it presents the idea that one person who is willing to work can make a difference.  When good people stand up against tyranny, violence, or injustice, they can have an effect.  It also put a human face on the Holocaust, which can be a hard subject to connect with because of how horrific it can be.

Reviews

Publisher's Weekly offered guarded praise for this book, noting that "more of a context may be needed for the message to resound in its fullness, but this is a welcome story of hope" (Anonymous, 2003).  The reviewer criticized McCann's presentation of the "miraculousness of the children's survival as opposed to the notorious conditions of the camp," and the illustrations which "show what appears to be a carefully crafted view of Bergen-Belsen: no immediate acts of brutality are depicted, and other hardships are downplayed" (Anonymous, 2003).  Booklist reviewer Hazel Rochman concurred, stating that "children will need the useful introduction and afterword to fill in the facts about the millions who did not survive" (Rochman, 2003).

Use in a Library

Keeping in mind the criticism from reviewers, I think this book would be a good way to enrich and humanize a Holocaust unit.  It would not be good on its own, but it could be used in conjunction with several non-fiction works as well as The Diary of Anne Frank, whose author died in Bergen-Belsen.  It would be a great way to help students looking at Holocaust literature to understand that the Holocaust happened to real people.  This book is a hopeful way to drive home the history of World War II.

References

Anonymous. (2003).  Luba: The Angel of Bergen-Belsen." Publishers Weekly, 250(51), p. 61. Retrieved from Literature Resource Center.

Rochman, H. (2003). McCann, Michelle R. Luba: the Angel of Bergen-Belsen. Booklist, 100(5), p. 494. Literature Resource Center.  

Tryszynska-Frederich, L, and McCann, M. (2003).  Luba: The angel of Bergen-Belsen. Berkeley, CA: Tricycle Press.